Art museums make me feel amorous. It's true. A walk through rooms filled with paintings, particularly if they're from the Impressionism art movement, soften me right up. The sounds of shoes on marble or wood floors, the polite guards making sure people don't get too close to the artwork, the creativity and genius of human beings in an outpouring of color and images. Yum!

Evidently, I'm not alone in my mushiness. According to a survey done by the 24 Hour Museum in the United Kingdom, 65% of the respondents said they would take a person to an art museum to make a favorable impression. (Hmm. impression. Impressionism. Is there a connection here?) Some (20%) said they had fallen in love in a museum. Was it in front of a Renoir, I wonder?

In this one research article I came across by Courtney Spousta, she points out that in the movie Play It Again Sam, Woody Allen's character goes to the Modern Art Museum in NYC looking for love. Throughout the article, she cites examples of how certain nights at art museums are geared to help people mix and mingle. At the Milwaukee Art Museum there are even speed dating events. The last one was on February 2, it seems.

This month there are some art museums I came across that are capitalizing on the romance and love theme.

• The Cincinnati Art Museum is dishing up some romance with "A Night Out with Your Valentine." On Valentine's Day you can enjoy a dinner, music, plays and art for a special occasion happening.
• In Falmouth, Cape Cod at the Cotuit Center for the Arts you can "Buy your Love a Little Art" at this art exhibit of renowned local artists.
• At the Huntington Museum of Art in Huntington, WV there is currently an exhibit called A Romance with the Landscape: Realism to Impressionism
• At the Milwaukee Art Museum, even though the speed dating party is not happening on Valentine's Day, there is the Valetine's Day Date Candlelight Dinner.

If you do head to a museum with that special someone or you're out looking for that special someone at an art museum, it wouldn't hurt to read "Cupid on the prowl" by Mary Louise Schumacher. She gives some tips on what to say to impress particular types of people and what not to say.

Oh, and the most romantic art museum in London according the the 24 Hour Museum survey? It's the Victoria and Albert.

Filed under: Arts and Culture, History, Learning, Festivals and Events, Food and Drink, Europe, North America, United Kingdom, United States, Holiday Ideas