By Marilyn Bauer
The Cincinnati Enquirer

In the excitement and rush of this weekend's festivities, it may be easy to miss the museum's most outstanding works. We suggest starting with the two special exhibitions of 10 watercolors by J.M.W. Turner in the Keystone Gallery and To Observe and Imagine: British Drawings and Watercolors, 1600-1900 in the special exhibitions space in the new wing. From there, any walk through the house will wow you, but here are a few pieces you'll definitely want to see:

"Virgin and Child"

The museum's most famous and precious artwork, "Virgin and Child," a 13th-century statuette from the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis in Paris, is considered the finest Gothic ivory in the world. It is one of three carved statues that survived the French Revolution. (Medieval Treasury)

"Robert Louis Stevenson"

John Singer Sargent is considered the premier watercolorist of his generation. He is known for his beautiful landscapes and provocative portraits. Sargent met Stevenson in 1884 through a mutual friend, expatriate author Henry James. Sargent painted three portraits of Stevenson; the Taft's portrait was painted right after the author published Treasure Island. Of the painting, Stevenson said: "Sargent represents me as a weird, very pretty, large-eyed, chicken-boned, slightly contorted poet." (19th Century Portrait Gallery)

The Longworth foyer

The front entryway to the house has been restored and recreated to look as it most likely did during the time the Tafts lived there. The eight landscapes by Robert S. , Duncanson, commissioned by Nicholas Longworth in 1850 and considered the greatest antebellum murals in the country, are now set off by faux wood graining painted on the molding, doors and wall panels. The carpeting, a Brussels loop pile in a trellis pattern, was selected for its representation of late Federal-period (1790-1840) taste. Two Hiram Powers busts stand front and center on pedestals before the entrance to the Music Room.

"Portrait of a Man Rising From his Chair," by Rembrandt

Most of the Taft's 103 European old-master and 54 19th- and early 20th-century paintings were collected by Anna Sinton and Charles Phelps Taft between 1902 and 1928. This magnificent Rembrandt is sometimes shown with a companion piece, "Portrait of a Woman in an Armchair." It is a remarkable example of the artist's portraiture from the 1630s. (Music Room)

Kangxi porcelains

From thereign of the emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) of the Qing dynasty, these ceramics include underglaze-blue-decorated wares for the domestic, Middle East and Dutch markets, one of the finest collections of Kangxi imperial peachbloom-glazed objects designed for the scholar's desk and a rare garniture (collection) of baluster vases and beakers with black backgrounds. (Throughout the museum)

"At the Piano," by James Abbott McNeill Whistler

This was the first work by Whistler shown in England. It is the earliest example of the artist painting in the manner of Baroque Spanish painter Diego Velazquez, displaying strong silhouettes, unemotive profiles and a lean composition. It is an intense portrait of two members of the Whistler family. (19th Century Portrait Gallery)

"Portrait of Francois de Cleves, duc de Nevers," by Leonard Limosin

This is the largest of the Taft's exquisite collection of Renaissance Limoges enamels, considered one of 10 of the largest and finest collections in the world. De Cleves earned honors commanding the German infantry in the service of the king of France and is painted in a black coat trimmed in ermine, a frilled collar and black felt hat. (Renaissance Gallery)

"The Song of the Talking Wire," by Henry Farny

One of the most, if not the most, popular pieces of art in the Taft Museum, this painting of a glowering Sioux Indian pressing his ear against a telegraph pole is an amalgam of Farny's favorite visual motifs.(Orientation Gallery)