Cool Off with Cool Colors
July can be moderately hot in Massachusetts, but I understand some regions of the world are having the hottest July ever recorded (probably due to climate change). So, if it’s hot by you, just s ...
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Curator’s Corner
Happy July
What better way to celebrate a new month than with examples by one of the pioneers of the American Poster Renaissance (my term, covering the period from ca. 1890–1920, others call it the “ ...
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Curator’s Corner
Let It Snow
We have had several snowfalls in the past couple of weeks. On Presidents’ Day I found myself staring at a snow-laden tree across the street and thinking, that looks like a Japanese woodcut of a ...
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Curator’s Corner
Surimono Time for the New Year
I did it before and I’m doing it again: surimono to celebrate the New Year. In the West, we don’t really make little works of fine art to celebrate the New Year. In Japan, the surimono&mda ...
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Curator’s Corner
A Meal and a Plate for It
This week, I’m going to recognize Thanksgiving with works of art, rather than odes to a holiday that has evolved from “giving thanks for blessings” to gluttony and narcissism (gee, n ...
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Curator’s Corner
Compassion in Art, part 1
A couple of mornings ago, a homeless person was in the parking lot of our building yelling his lungs out to get attention at 6:45 am. I feel bad for these folks who have nowhere to land during the day ...
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Curator’s Corner
Woodcuts Like Paintings
My significant other and I just had a redo of our vacation in Provincetown that did not end up happening in July. So, in honor of that, I’m presenting Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011), a tr ...
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Curator’s Corner
"Hmm, Ginko Leaf or Toothbrush?"
I just got a crown on a tooth this week, so I thought I’d do a teeth-themed posting. Goodness knows I don’t love going to the dentist, but he’s a really good one, so I’m no lon ...
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Curator’s Corner
Sumidagawa in July
The actual festival of Sumidagawa (“Sumida River”) occurs in Tokyo in the last week of August, but there are fireworks in Tokyo from May through August, starting with the Opening of the Su ...
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Curator’s Corner
And This Is a Portrait of Whom?
I don’t often laugh about art history (seriously!), but now and then one just can’t help it. With this group of “portraits,” I had to keep in mind that: A) the people who bough ...
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