Elena A.
Yelp
It's been a few weeks, but I happened to be browsing yelp and noticed all the negative reviews are very similar to my experience. It was my first time at the Joslyn, and although I have been to the likes of MoMA and the Louvre, I was very happily surprised with how elegant, intriguing, and memorable it was. I felt like I hadn't appreciated art before like I had that day. There are multiple gorgeous Renoir, some Monet, and Degas in their collection that I thoroughly enjoyed - and I couldn't bring myself to step away from The King of Rome.
However, a very dark smear on the day, which I still enjoyed despite, was feeling like I was being harassed by a particular member of staff. It felt like she was following us around specifically to loudly embarrass us in front of everyone in the room. We were told at the front desk to stay at least one foot away from the art (and at 23 and 24 years old I believe we can handle these directions, but I digress, the general public is always questionable and I acknowledge and respect this). After the attendant came up to us the first time, we were very wary; we actually measured up the pamphlet/map the front desk gave us to around 10 inches, and used that, held in the air several inches away from the paintings, to ensure we were at LEAST 12 inches (and definitely at around 18" realistically) away from the art. She came up to us AGAIN despite making a conscious effort to keep at least a foot away, interrupting us whilst we were genuinely excited about admiring and discussing the art. It put a seriously sour taste in my mouth, to the point that if she had approached us again I probably would have been as rude as she was. This is yet another reason I waited to make a review, I was so genuinely upset by this employee's behavior towards us that I didn't feel I could make an objective review without being upset, and even now I can feel my blood pressure rising. The detail on The King of Rome is so immaculate and captivating and I felt I was unable to truly appreciate it because of this looming snobbish attitude like a sticky cloud in the air. We stood close enough to the carpet-sample-wall exhibit to discuss the difference in fiber colors, and yet no other attendant we passed during our time seemed to have an issue with the way we were handling ourselves around the art.
I will say that our visit was refreshed by a young man at the register in the gift shop who aspires to be a stand-up comedian. He gave us a horrible run at his stand-up routine, but he was so kind and happy. If anyone would ever be the embodiment of bright yellows and springtime, it would be him. He was confident in himself, great conversation, and overall just resumed my happiness and satisfaction with my experience at The Joslyn. I truly would be giving this review 3 stars or less if not for the gift shoppe attendant.