Revival Curiosities
I once was a teaching assistant in a furniture history course in grad school, and have subsequently loved historic furniture and design. One of the mantras we chanted about the history of furniture wa ...
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Curator's Corner
A Beautiful Idea...and Building
Once, while on a plane landing at O’Hare when I lived in Chicago, the sun was going down and we flew in low over this spectacular building. I’ll never forget that sight. And, yes, it was i ...
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Curator's Corner
German American Heritage Month
The more things change, etc. I get really irritated with people who say in speeches that immigrants to the US should “speak American.” For one thing, “American” isn’t a l ...
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Curator's Corner
Layered Magnificence
I am eternally grateful for the ability to be “wowed” on a continual basis when I see works of art/artists I’ve never seen before! This may just be the art historian nerd in me, but ...
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Curator's Corner
Design for Living with Flair
William Morris (1834–1896, British) is not the only artist who can be associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late 1800s. I uncovered this artist in our collection who, in many ways, ...
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Curator's Corner
Comfort and Ingenuity
One of the most charming things, I think, is the enthusiasm of American designers after the “Industrial Age” kicked off in the early- to mid-1800s. The phenomenon led to the mass-productio ...
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Curator's Corner
It's Spring!
Really, my sinuses are driving me crazy, and I’m yearning for SPRING. What better image to feature this week than springs? ...
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Curator's Corner
Sculpture as Jewelry
As you know, I consider artists in any medium to be ARTISTS, not “artisans” or “craftspeople” or “decorative artists.” When one looks at jewelry, even if it has bee ...
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Curator's Corner
Furniture conforming to.....?
Traditionally, furniture was designed to conform to the human body and what was being worn at the time. That’s why we see low side chairs with no arms during the mid-1800s when women were wearin ...
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Curator's Corner
National Jewish American Heritage Month
As an art historian who grew up in the age of blossoming feminist art movements, one of my major disappointments has always been the significant women artists of previous movements who were not given ...
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