Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Impressionism
Cubist Cottage
Of all the towns that could have played host to New England’s first modernist building, Lenox, Mass., is among the least likely. When Mrs. Astor’s 400 finished summering at their extravagant, ironically named “cottages” in Newport, R.I., they would shift to Lenox, in the Berkshires, for several more weeks before returning to Manhattan in the fall.
Traveling Collector: Pleasures of Parma
Parma—the name alone conjures a feast for the senses. Great wheels of pungent Parmigiano Reggiano and haunches of glistening pink prosciutto are universally known by the city’s name. But there’s a lot more to Parma than cheese and ham. Historic art treasures and a lively contemporary scene make this charming small city (population 170,000) in Italy’s Emilia Romagna region a pleasure for the eye and mind as well as the palate.
Books: Photos Trouvés
There might appear to be a great, even unbridgeable, distance between the perfectly composed, austerely graceful black-and-white photographs of Walker Evans and the colorized postcard views that were printed by the millions and mailed all over America in the early decades of the 20th century. But Evans, who began amassing postcards as a 12-year-old boy and kept at it his whole life, didn’t see it that way.
Film: Pursuit of Happiness
A New York Times headline dubbed them the “In Couple,” and they are among theGreat Collectors of Our Time, according to the recently published survey of postwar collecting by James Stourton, chairman of Sotheby’s U.K. But Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, who in 1992 became major benefactors of the National Gallery of Art, are neither hotshot jet-setters nor old-money socialites.
Today's Masters: Form and Feeling
“I did that one in ’28,” says Will Barnet, pointing to a drawing of an elegant young man in a double-breasted suit, one hand draped languidly across his lap. He was a poet named Sully De Vito who lived in Barnet’s hometown of Beverly, Mass. “I don’t know what happened to him,” muses Barnet. Nineteen twenty-eight was a long time ago; few people alive today were doing much of anything then, let alone creating serious artwork.
Exhibitions: Shore Thing
When upper-class Romans looked to escape the stress of modern life in the first century A.D., they ventured to the shores of the Bay of Naples, in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, where they built elaborate vacation villas filled with Greek antiquities.
In a Nutshell: Sculpted Stones
Fashionable women from the Renaissance onward were keen on collecting the carved gems known as cameos, which were commonly worn on jewelry as a symbol of elegance and high status. Queen Elizabeth I introduced the concept of using these carved gems—worn on brooches or pendants—as payment for a service or favor. At one time, Catherine the Great of Russia had more than 400 in her personal collection. And Napoleon’s first wife, Josephine, is believed to have broken up some of the family’s jewelry in order to create perfectly coordinated suites.
Collecting: Story Boards
Without documentation of such a popular pastime as the ancient Japanese hunting sport of inuoumono, which literally means “dog chasing,” its history would be as lost as the pursuit itself. Developed during the 12th century and reaching the height of its popularity in the 17th, inuoumono tested a samurai’s archery and riding skills. Contestants would mount their horses, with bows and padded arrows in hand, and compete to earn points by targeting dogs on their sides.
Figments of Pigment
Most artists would be livid if six of the seven works that they had loaned to an exhibition returned damaged, but not Eric Conklin. He was flattered. Conklin, 58, practices a type of still life painting known as trompe l’oeil—French for “deceives the eye.” Conklin strives to do just that with his paintings, to persuade people that they are looking at genuine coins, chalkboards, photographs and other carefully chosen objects.
Subscribe to Art & Antiques for your Digital copy!
