Mass. art, step by step

“We’re the Midwest museum warriors!’’ said Joan Myers, who — I can’t help but notice — is wearing sensible shoes.

My contribution to this tour, conceived and choreographed by Meg MacDonald of Travel Muse, is to assist counting heads (42) each time the bus departs a destination, and ensure everyone is properly hydrated by handing out bottles of water.

In between, I’ve seen a plethora of terrific art in a dizzying array of styles from 16th-century tapestries, to Edo Period Japanese prints, to sculpture made of light, to meticulously painted scenes of tall ships sailing in tranquil harbors. We’ve perused works by Monet, Degas, LeWitt, Horn, Sargent, Avery, Prendergast, Avedon, Rembrandt, and Matta — a partial list — and are cruising to the finish line with only the Norman Rockwell Museum left on the schedule.

This might sound crazy, but the trip has been quite fun.

At each destination, we break into smaller groups and follow docents or guides through the museums. Although our tours were prearranged, most venues offer scheduled gallery talks as part of their ticket price, so this itinerary can be reproduced, with or without 40 of your closest friends.

DAY 1:

We begin at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, an eclectic collection housed in a Venetian-style palace. Our docent explains that looking closely at art improves critical skills. So rather than speeding through the galleries, we spend time discussing several key works, with our docent asking questions such as, “What do you notice about the person in this portrait?’’ and “Why do you think this painting created a scandal?’’ I’m busy scribbling notes when a museum guard taps me on the shoulder and offers a pencil. No pens allowed.

In the late afternoon, we saunter over to the family-run Vose Galleries of Boston on Newbury Street, a multilevel gallery featuring American paintings from the 18th through 20th centuries, and a good introduction to the works we’ll see in Salem and Gloucester.

DAY 2