Art | dual personalities

Dear March–Come in

by chuckofish

Dear March — Come in —
How glad I am —
I hoped for you before —

Put down your Hat —
You must have walked —
How out of Breath you are —
Dear March, Come right up the stairs with me —
I have so much to tell —

I got your Letter, and the Birds —
The Maples never knew that you were coming — till I called
I declare — how Red their Faces grew —
But March, forgive me — and
All those Hills you left for me to Hue —
There was no Purple suitable —
You took it all with you —

Who knocks? That April.
Lock the Door —
I will not be pursued —
He stayed away a Year to call
When I am occupied —
But trifles look so trivial
As soon as you have come

That Blame is just as dear as Praise
And Praise as mere as Blame —

(Emily Dickinson)

The painting is “A Study, In March” by John William Inchbold (1830–1888)

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Have a nice Wednesday

by chuckofish

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued.

(Robert Frost)

(All paintings above by Andrew Wyeth and one bonus piece by N.C. Wyeth below)

8 Comments

This and that

by chuckofish

So hey, there’s only a week of February left! March is in sight! Spring is on the horizon, right?

I only ask because I have been shivering in my office all week, reduced to wearing a wool shawl around my shoulders because it is so freakin’ cold! Here’s the local weather report:

Some areas are seeing temperatures below zero this morning. Snow flurries are on the way for tonight, plus freezing rain this weekend.

But at least we don’t live in Niagra Falls, NY where the famous falls have frozen. Zut alors!

Moving right along…Today is the birthday of Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984), American photographer and environmentalist.

The Tetons and the Snake River

ansel-adams-1942-yosemite-valley-clearing-winterstorm

Winter storm in Yosemite Valley 1942

Ansel Adams in Yosemite 1942

It is also the anniversary of the death of the great Broadway star John Raitt (January 29, 1917 – February 20, 2005). In his honor, I suggest you watch this show-stoppin’ scene from The Pajama Game (1957) where he and Doris Day sing with gusto and precision one of the hardest darn songs to sing ever written!

Aren’t they great? This always reminds me of the episode in season 5 of Angel when Lorne (of the Deathwok Clan) has to listen to every staff member at Wolfram & Hart sing a song so that he can tell if they are hiding something. One girl sings “There Once Was a Man” and it is pretty funny. I guess you had to be there…

On the Episcopal Church front, we remember Frederick Douglass on the liturgical calendar today, the anniversary of his death in 1895.

Almighty God, whose truth makes us free: We bless your Name for the witness of Frederick Douglass, whose impassioned and reasonable speech moved the hearts of a president and a people to a deeper obedience to Christ. Strengthen us also to be outspoken on behalf of those in captivity and tribulation, continuing in the Word of Jesus Christ our Liberator; who with you and the Holy Spirit dwells in glory everlasting. Amen.

We are grateful for the lives of Ansel Adams, John Raitt and Frederick Douglass and for their contributions to our American culture. And we are grateful that the coach stopped by for dinner!

He moved some big boxes for me. Wasn’t that nice? And it’s Friday! Have a great weekend. Stay warm!

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February 18, 2015

“How great thou art “

by chuckofish

Today is the birthday of Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) who was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his works in stained glass.

One of America’s most acclaimed artists, his career spanned from the 1870s through the 1920s. He embraced virtually every artistic and decorative medium, designing and directing his studios to produce leaded-glass windows, mosaics, lighting, glass, pottery, metalwork, enamels, jewelry, and interiors. As the son of Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812–1902), founder of Tiffany & Company, he chose to pursue his own artistic interests in lieu of joining the family business.

One could spend a lot of time looking at/visiting his marvelous windows which are found all over the U.S. (You can click on these images to see them enlarged.)

The Holy City (1905)–St. John’s vision on the isle of Patmos–is one of eleven Tiffany windows at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland. It has 58 panels and is thought to be one of the largest Tiffany Studios windows.

All 62 windows in Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Indiana were created by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

St. Michael’s Episcopal Church at the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 99^th Street in Manhattan boasts the largest collection of such windows in New York City.

Here is the May Memorial Window at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan on East 63rd Street.

This is the Tiffany window in the Pullman Universalist Church in Albion, New York.

This is “Education” in the Chittenden Memorial Window at Yale University.

We even have some right here in town, such as this one at Second Presbyterian in the CWE:

There are so many! Aren’t they wonderful? Well, I have to say it: they don’t make ’em like this anymore!

I’ll be toasting Louis Comfort Tiffany tonight. How about you?

(BTW Tiffany is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY–just another reason to visit this awesome place.)

7 Comments

October 28, 2014

“In silence the three of them looked at the sunset and thought about God.”*

by chuckofish

This is one of the trees in my front yard. These last few days of Indian Summer have really reminded me of Maxfield Parrish paintings–especially the light at the end of the day when the setting sun reflects so beautifully off of the orange leaves.

Know what I mean?

If you haven’t noticed, be sure to look this evening.

*Maude Hart Lovelace, Betsy-Tacy and Tib

4 Comments

October 15, 2014

Here is the deepest secret nobody knows

by chuckofish

“The Tree of Life”, 1909, Gustav Klimt

Yesterday was the birthday of e.e. cummings, the poet, essayist, author, playwright, and Unitarian (October 14, 1894 – September 3, 1962). So I thought I’d share this famous poem of his which I like very much.

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart) i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing, my darling)

i fear

no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want

no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

If you want to read more about Cummings, here’s an interesting article by Susan Cheever.

4 Comments

October 7, 2014

The Era of the Wild Apple

by chuckofish

“In the Orchard” by Winslow Homer

“To appreciate the wild and sharp flavors of these October fruits, it is necessary that you be breathing the sharp October or November air. What is sour in the house a bracing walk makes sweet. Some of these apples might be labeled, “To be eaten in the wind.” It takes a savage or wild taste to appreciate a wild fruit. . . The era of the Wild Apple will soon be past. It is a fruit which will probably become extinct in New England. I fear that he who walks over these fields a century hence will not know the pleasure of knocking off wild apples. Ah, poor soul, there are many pleasures which you will not know! . . . the end of it all will be that we shall be compelled to look for our apples in a barrel.”

– Henry David Thoreau

How right you are, Henry!

Claude Monet, 1878 “Apple Trees in Bloom at Vetheuil”

Winslow Homer “Green Apples”

Well, it is apple season and, although I can’t pick them wild off a tree, I do buy some pretty good ones at my local Dierberg’s. And you know what they say about an apple a day, right?

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October 1, 2014

Way Back When Wednesday

by chuckofish

On this date back in 1942 the first twelve titles of the Little Golden Books series were published. You remember. These were the books your mother used to buy for you in the grocery store when you were a good child and deserved a treat. The books, which initially sold for 25¢ (rising to 29¢ in 1962 and currently $3.99), were published by Simon and Schuster.

Many of the best children’s writers and illustrators have worked on the series, including several of my personal favorites:

Mary Blair,

Margaret Wise Brown and Alice and Martin Provensen,

Garth Williams,

and, of course, Richard Scarry.

You will be happy to know that now there are Little Golden Book apps for children: “Now the Little Golden Book that you loved as a child can be shared with a whole new generation in this magically interactive storybook app. Open the cover, complete with its distinctive gold spine, to reveal the timeless story, beautifully rendered with interactive illustrations on every page, and activities that encourage reading comprehension and creativity.”

“Magically interactive”! Oh brother. Just what every 3-year old needs for his/her iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch! Gone I suppose is the magically interactive time you spent with your mother or father while you were read these books.

I know I am an old curmudgeon, but this concerns me. And I have to say, it’s sad that there is no name plate on an app where you can make that first attempt at proudly writing your own name on your own book.

Oh well. C’est la vie. Do you have a favorite Little Golden Book?

7 Comments

September 10, 2014

For the wonder state we’ll sing a song*

by chuckofish

On Sunday Daughter #1 and I drove down to Bentonville, Arkansas

Love those Missouri rest stops.

and visited the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

The museum, founded by Alice Walton and designed by Moshe Safdie, officially opened on November 11, 2011. I had heard rave reviews of it from several people so I have been anxious to go. And I like road trips–even when I am the driver.

Bentonville is, indeed, a lovely town, built around a square in the southern tradition, with a monument to Confederate Soldiers in the center.

The town appears to be thriving–supported by copious amounts of Wal-Mart money–but it is a real town, not a Disney immitation. It is lushly landscaped and full of friendly locals who say hello and smile.

The Museum itself is impressive.

An “official” photo of the museum at night when it looks best.

Another professional photo–but here the murky water cannot be hidden.

My photo.

The design is “cool” but the concrete is not aging well–it never does. I am not a fan of the “brutalist” look. I mean, three years old and it looks terrible! Oh well. The inside is beautiful and full of an impressive art collection. We saw many wonderful American paintings–many famous ones that it was a thrill to see up close.

“Kindred Spirits” by Asher B. Durand

Daughter #1 and I had a marvelous time driving, talking, eating, drinking, looking at art, buying postcards, walking on the lovely nature trails. And that’s what the trip was really all about.

*”The Arkansas Traveler”

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September 3, 2014

A sonnet for Wednesday

by chuckofish

As if you didn’t already know, I’ll remind you that on this day in 1802 William Wordsworth composed the sonnet titled “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802”.

Thomas Rowlandson (1756–1827) and Augustus Charles Pugin (1762–1832) (after) John Bluck (fl. 1791–1819), Joseph Constantine Stadler (fl. 1780–1812), Thomas Sutherland (1785–1838)

Westminster Bridge as it appeared in 1808 by Thomas Rowlandson (1756–1827) and Augustus Charles Pugin (1762–1832)

Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

Now you’ll have something to discuss at the water cooler! Do they still have water coolers?

Joseph Nicholls 1742

Daniel Turner

Henry Pether 1862

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dual personalities

Category: Art

March 4, 2015

Dear March–Come in

by chuckofish

February 25, 2015

Have a nice Wednesday

by chuckofish

February 20, 2015

This and that

by chuckofish

February 18, 2015

“How great thou art “

by chuckofish

October 28, 2014

“In silence the three of them looked at the sunset and thought about God.”*

by chuckofish

October 15, 2014

Here is the deepest secret nobody knows

by chuckofish

October 7, 2014

The Era of the Wild Apple

by chuckofish

October 1, 2014

Way Back When Wednesday

by chuckofish

September 10, 2014

For the wonder state we’ll sing a song*

by chuckofish

September 3, 2014

A sonnet for Wednesday

by chuckofish