But hardy art-hikers will still have plenty of traveling and looking to do, and should keep two things in mind.
Growth Chart Now a hardy perennial, "Art in Bloom" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, began in 1976, when the art of flower arranging was used to complement the museum's works of art.
Classical music audiences, with their ceaseless demands for silence in their surroundings, may be seen as a pampered and intolerant lot by the hardier fans of other art forms.
It is this readiness to confront bitter facts, and to make their bitterness sweet through his art, that makes Hardy not just a great writer but a wise and trustworthy one.
The foundation Judd set up there, in a half-horse town called Marfa, has become one of the sacred places of modern art, visited by pilgrims hardy enough to brave the road from El Paso.
The museum recently hosted a round-table luncheon in which scientists and artists addressed the hardy evergreen issue of how much the arts and sciences had in common and where they differed.
"We believe the values of the liberal arts and free inquiry are hardy; they have withstood many challenges -- even within our own nation -- and can succeed in other settings, too," Beckman said.
Still, there are hardy souls who continue to try to define rigorously what a liberal arts education is, and how it ought to be delivered.
But a few hardy individuals made impressive descents even to the quiet low G flat at the end of "Blessed Art Thou".
Mr. Hardy finds a common thread in the 21 designs he offers up, many for theaters and arts centers, and all accompanied by interviews with clients or other stakeholders.
