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The First House Antoni GaudĂ­ Ever Designed Is Now An Incredible Museum

Antoni Gaudí is known to many as the genius behind Sagrada Família, the monumental church in Barcelona, Spain, that has been called “the most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic architecture since the Middle Ages.”

Originally commissioned in 1882, Gaudí became the lead architect of Sagrada Família in 1883, working on the astonishingly detailed project right up until his death in 1926. The massive structure was famously only a quarter of its way to completion at that point, nonetheless, tourists have continuously flocked to the monumental feat of art, marveling at the ways various architects have attempted to finish Gaudí’s vision over the years.

Sadly, those waiting to see Sagrada Família in all its finite glory will have to wait until at least 2026, the projected date for its highly anticipated completion, which not-so-coincidentally will mark the 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death. In the meantime, though, fans of the Spanish Catalan architect can soon visit another one of his distinctive designs ― Casa Vicens, the first house he ever built.

What was once a private home in Barcelona, built for the broker Manel Vicens from 1883 to 1885, will be transformed into a museum dedicated to Gaudí this fall. In the 1920s, the tiled house temporarily served as three separate apartments ― arranged by architect Joan Baptista Serra de Martínez with Gaudí’s approval ― but for the last century has functioned as a private home to one family. The Andorran bank MoraBanc bought the property in 2014, and renovations have been underway since 2015, overseen by Martínez Lapeña-Torres Arquitectes S.L.P. and architects José Antonio Martínez Lapeña, Elías Torres and David García.

Casa Vicens, which has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, along with seven other GaudĂ­ buildings, since 2005, will reopen to the public in just a few months. While no set date has been announced, organizers have recently released a batch of images that allow people around the world to tour the yet-to-open, but ever so ornately decorated destination. Enjoy:

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Native American Art Gets Its Rightful Place In The Metropolitan Museum Of Art

The American Wing of the storied Metropolitan Museum of Art has long held a collection of typically “American” artifacts: portraits of wigged colonial leaders, Tiffany chandeliers, Frank Lloyd Wright chairs, silver owned by Paul Revere Jr., quilts by unknown 19th-century makers.

Together they tell a specific, but noticeably incomplete, history of the United States.

Beginning in the fall of 2018, however, the American Wing will attempt to course correct by including a subgroup of art that has been regrettably missing from the section: Native American art. Thanks to a donation from collectors Charles and Valerie Diker, a batch of 91 works of Native American art will be headed for the American Wing, marking a historic change in the way art is curated at New York’s most famous museum.

In the past, Native American art has been housed in The Met’s Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas galleries, a section that spans 3,000 years, three continents and several islands. According to The New York Times, this was a bit confusing to international patrons who were accustomed to seeing indigenous art displayed as part of their own national narratives.

“They go through [the American Wing] and expect to see Native American work here,” Met curator Sylvia Yount explained. “Because often where they come from, indigenous art is part of the narrative of a nation’s art, in a way that it’s not in the United States. We’re really behind the curve.”

The Met characterizes its move to incorporate work from the Dikers ― including bowls, dresses, drawings and bags created by Washoe, Wasco, Arapaho and Anishinaabe artists ― into the American Wing as a “curatorial decision to display art from the first Americans within its appropriate geographic context.”

“This transformative gift marks a turning point in the narratives presented within the American Wing,” Rebora Barratt, deputy director for The Met’s collections and administration, wrote in a press release shared with The Huffington Post. “With the addition of these works, The Met will be able to offer a much richer history of the art of North America, one that will include critical perspectives on our past and represent diverse and enduring native artistic traditions.”