When I’m feeling like having an Art Attack – or perhaps – in need of a bit of Art Therapy, I head north from my home in Silicon Valley to San Francisco to one of the many beautiful museums dotted throughout the city.  The Legion of Honor building was built in the Beaux-arts style on the headlands above the Golden Gate bridge.  The building was built in 1921 and opened it’s doors on Armistice day to honor those fallen in World War I.

Based on the Palais de la Légion d’Honneur in Paris, the San Francisco Legion of Honor building is a 3/4 size replica.  The collection spans more than 4000 years of art history.  It’s a place I go to when I need time to reflect on the nature of history, on the beauty of art, and the dual mysteries of genius and inspiration.

For more information of the building and the collection visit their website here:

Below: Laocoön, a later reproduction of a ancient Roman piece in the Hellenistic style attributed to Polydorus of Rhodes, and dates to 40-30 BCE  The original is in the Vatican Museum in Rome.