Baltimore is a city of contrasts. The downtown Inner Harbor, with its glass shopping pavilions, futuristic-looking National Aquarium, and state-of-the-art baseball and football stadiums, reflects a city on the move. Yet Baltimoreans take just as much pride in historic neighborhoods, such as Federal Hill, Fells Point, and Mount Vernon, and the city's rugged, seafaring past

       Another element in the mix is Baltimore's eclectic arts community. The city hosts three world-class museums, art and craft galleries and growing enclaves of artists' studios reclaimed from old factory buildings throughout the city, all of which make for myriad possibilities for visitors in search of visual pleasures. The Walters Art Gallery, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the American Visionary Art Museum anchor Baltimore's visual arts scene. Each is a magnet for clusters of galleries in four distinct area of town.

First Stop: The Inner Harbor
       The American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM), just around the bend in Key Highway across from Harborplace's gleaming pavilions, is the realization of a dream by local philanthropist and art enthusiast Rebecca Hoffberger. She is the guiding spirit behind the building and the sculpture barn that house works many call "outside art," but Hoffberger prefers to call "visionary." Six galleries hold painting, sculptures and pieces that defy description, all created by untrained or self-taught artists, whose works are the result of an intense inner need to create.
       Just west of Harborplace and Camden Yards, near the B&O Railroad Museum, is the glass studio and gallery of Anthony Corradetti, with work by the artist and others, plus a collection of glass jewelry.
Fells Point, the oldest part of the city, is just a water taxi ride away from the Visionary Art Museum. The blue and white boats dock at the harbor's edge near AVAM every 15 minutes. The historic seaport area is little changed from the days when seamen and shipbuilders lived here, right down to the cobblestone streets.
       Just past the tugboats berthed at the Recreation Pier is the Art Gallery of Fells Point. An artists' cooperative of 50 members, it has a continually rotating collection of paintings plus small sculptures and jewelry. Halcyon Gallery, above Margaret's Cafe on Fell Street, is home to the Fells Point Creative Alliance, which regularly mounts changing exhibits that stretch the limits of conventional art.
       It's a quick walk up Ann Street to one of Fells Point's newest galleries, Elzeard Pottery, with functional and sculptural works by regional clay artists. Two blocks east is Zoe's Garden, an eclectic gallery owned by Luanna Carra that displays work almost exclusively by Baltimore artists.
       Little Italy, just northwest of Fells Point, is a warren of narrow streets lined by brick rowhouses. It draws lovers of Italian food like Sotheby's draws art collectors. Taking advantage of the evening restaurant crowds, Water From The Moon Gallery stays open on weekends right up to midnight. Owner Rosanna Williams shows glasswork by Robert McCosker, Joseph Morel and David Lorton, among others. Raku work also gets a lot of attention here, with works by Carol Green and Bruce Johnson.

Elegant Mount Vernon Place
       Charles Street is one of downtown Baltimore's main thoroughfares, and right in the heart of North Charles Street in an area known as Mount Vernon Place sits the Walters Art Gallery. Established by William and Henry Walters, father and son businessmen whose personal art acquisitions from the mid-1800s to Henry's death in 1931 created one of the most extensive private collections in the world, the museum presents a comprehensive history of art from the third millennium B.C. to the early 20th century. The complex includes the Walters' original home and gallery, a contemporary addition opened in 1974, and the Hackerman House, formerly a private residence adjacent to the Walters that now contains the Walters' Asian Art Gallery, with more than 1,000 works.
       A stroll south along Charles Street is a study in gallery cultures. Steven Scott describes the range of artists he features in the bright, sunlit gallery that bears his name as "very eclectic." He prefers painters who work in "painterly expressive" realism versus photo-realism.
       Art furniture is a few steps away at Meredith Gallery, where director Judith Lippman declares that "art should be fun and functional." In addition to chairs, tables and cabinets by Donna Reinsel and Peter Dudley are regularly changing shows, such as "Pull Up a Chair," an annual spring invitational exhibition featuring nationally recognized and emerging artists.

Hamden and the BMA
       The Baltimore Museum of Art, just south of Johns Hopkins University's main campus, is Maryland's largest museum, with more than 85,000 works, ranging from ancient mosaics to contemporary art. The museum's Cone Collection, amassed by sisters Dr. Claribel and Etta Cone during their years as members of Paris' salon scene in the 1920s, includes works by Renoir, Picasso and van Gogh and features a group of 500 works by Henri Matisse.
       A short drive northwest of the museum is a neighborhood called Hampden. This is the Baltimore of film director John Waters, where beehive hairdos never went out of style. Its quirky, free-spirited nature is fast making it a Mecca for studio artists, antique stores, funky shops and lively craft galleries along 36th Street.
At Mud and Metal Fine Craft, owner Carol Randrup carries a full range of ceramic and metal art, including an extensive selection of unique light and drawer pulls and switchplates. Even the restroom is artsy; it's decorated with an underwater mural painted by Paula Millet.
       Next door is the Pearl Gallery. Rather than removing the old kitchen that was once part of an apartment on the second level, gallery owner Mary Ellen Bronco uses it to display hand-painted plates, tea-serving cart made from an old surfboard, and other kitchen items in their "natural" surroundings.
       The Rotunda, a Hampden landmark on 40th Street, houses the Tomlinson Craft Collection, a premier showcase for American crafts for more than 25 years. The gallery carries an extensive collection of pottery, jewelry, glass, fiber and leather. Richard MacDonald's glasswork and Paul Sahlin's Tiffany-style lamps are always on hand, as is fine pottery by Bill Campbell and Matthew Patton.
       More galleries are tucked into the Village of Cross Keys, a residential, business, and retail community north on Falls Road. The variety of wearables and art objects on hand at Gazelle makes it a browser's delight. It is an exclusive outlet for David Bacharach jewelry, Janna Ugone paper and porcelain lamps, and Dia hand-loomed sweaters.
       Betty Cooke Jewelry and The Store, Ltd., owned by Cooke and husband William Steinmetz, have been in Cross Keys since its inception 34 years ago. Cooke's jewelry reflects her attraction to simplicity of design and clean lines, executed in gold and silver. The same focus on design applies to the wearable art and accent pieces available in The Store, which showcases - among other artists - Hulda Bridgeman's jackets and vests made with strips of raw silk, and Joan Vass' knits.

Last Stop: Mount Washington
       Mount Washington, a tree-lined neighborhood of fine old houses, was originally a summer escape for Baltimore families on the banks of the Jones Falls. Right in the middle of Mount Washington is Baltimore Clayworks, a bustling center for artists, students, and the public to experience ceramic arts. Housed in a former public library, it includes a small gallery, studio space for artists, and classrooms.
       Jewelry is the focus at OXOXO Gallery. Owner Judy Donald looks for sophisticated designs from artists worldwide, including pieces by Barbara Heinrich, Ginny Whitney, and Flora Book. Around the corner is Jurus, Ltd., opened by Phil and Sandra Jurus a decade ago. Offerings here include flameware by potter Terry Silverman and brooches by Lea Stein.
       After that, it's time to relax and refresh. Take your own bottle of wine to Ethel and Ramone's Restaurant, adjacent to OXOXO, and enjoy a meal. Or go full circle back to AVAM and Joy America Cafe, the museum's upper-level restaurant, where dinner comes with spectacular views of the Inner Harbor.
-0-