When I leave, I want to take this picture with me. The Empire, the Chrysler, the reflections, the myriads of windows. The stories that go on behind them that I cannot even begin to imagine.
A typical working day in Midtown Manhattan.
October 10th, 2017
I would have spared you of yet more photos of the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center had it not been for this exquisite costume designed for Birgit Nilsson, for the 1961 production of Turandot, by the multi talented Mr. Cecil Beaton.
I had ample time to be bedazzled as I used the intermission to join that familiar long line to the Ladies Room. Gazing at her headpiece, it thought it was matched only by the Sputnik chandeliers in sparkle.
But, while Turandot is my favourite opera (and Nessun Dorma my favourite aria of all times), that evening we were there to enjoy the ever so charming Die Zauberflöte. It was as grand as a Metropolitan Opera production was expected to be. 
Birgit Nilsson in Turandot, 1961. Photo from the Metropolitan Opera Archives
September 30th, 2017
These Tiffany artifacts don’t necessarily involve breakfast. Equally brilliant, precious and a tad more colourful, they are at their best and brightest at dinner. They are also part of the New-York Historical Society’s permanent collection and light up an entire – recently renovated – floor. 
The New-York Historical Society’s extensive collection of Tiffany Studios lamps was the gift of pioneering collector Dr. Egon Neustadt (1898-1984), an Austrian immigrant an orthodontist. Along with his wife, Hildegard Steininger (1911-1961), Neustadt began buying Tiffany lamps at a time when Americans scorned them as passé. Shortly after their marriage in 1935, the couple, looking for affordable furnishings for their Queens home, found a ”strange, old-fashioned” Daffodil lamp in Greenwich Village antique shop and purchased it for $12.50. That modest discovery sparked a decades-long quest in which the Neustadts amassed more than 200 Tiffany lamps, perhaps the largest and most encyclopedic collection in the world.
September 23rd, 2017
Intercontinental, Intercultural, Intemporal, Infinite Blue. My favourite colour.
Bodice, ca. 1840-60
Tailleur Filles & Cie, France
Silk, linen, metal
William Merritt Chase
Girl in a Japanese Costume, ca. 1890
Oil on canvas
Wedding Dress, ca. 1860
United States
Silk, cotton
Sarah Elizabeth Fish (1824-1901) of Waldoboro, Maine, wore this elegant full-skirted dress, with stylish pagoda sleeves and a blue and silver jacquard pattern, as her wedding dress. The blue colour was probably achieved using an early synthetic organic dye. It was not uncommon for women in eighteenth- and nineteenth- century America and Europe to wear wedding dresses in colours other than the white that is now customary, and to wear them again after the wedding for other special occasions. Blue was a popular wedding dress colour for its strong association with loyalty, purity and virtue; this is echoed today in the traditional ”something blue” that brides may wear.
Booties, 1898
Probably France
Leather, silk, linen
Embellished infant’s booties of this type would have been worn at a christening or some other important event. The same baby girl who wore this pale blue kid leather pair also wore a matching pair in pink (not shown), suggesting that the code of blue for boys and pink for girls was not yet firmly established at the turn of the twentieth century. Historically, pink had been favoured as a more vigorous and thus ”masculine” colour, suitable for boys and blue as a passive and thus ”feminine” colour, suitable for girls.
Portrait of a Child of the Harmon Family, ca. 1840s
United States
Oil on canvas
Boot, ca. 1795-1810
Europe
Leather
”Current” Chair, 2004
Vivian Beer
Steel, automotive paint
Nun Vessel, ca. 1539-1493 BC
Egypt
Blue faience with black-painted details
In ancient Egyptian origin myths, dark blue and black were colours of the primordial waters that the Egyptians called ”nun”, or nonexistence.
Day Dress 1915. Blue dress with printed fabric
Fashion sketch, Henri Bendel, Inc.
Helen Cookman for Reeves Brothers Inc.
Maintenance Worker’s Uniform and Cap, 1948
United States
Kuosi Society Elephant Mask, early 20th century
Bamileke artist
Grassfields region, Cameroon
Textile, glass beads, plant fiber
Elephants are often associated with political power in the highly stratified kingdoms of the Cameroon grasslands. Because imported beads were historically rare and costly, beadwork is also associated with high social rank, making this mask a potent symbol of power.
The O’Keeffe exhibition was only one of the wonders waiting to be discovered in the various galleries of the Brooklyn Museum.
Infinite Blue, was an array of objects and works of art featuring blue in every possible shade, size and texture, a visual narrative that would expand over the following months, eventually filling the Museum’s first floor.
Brooklyn Museum
July 22nd, 2017
Before we leave – reluctantly and, to be honest, not without a grain of regret that our trip to the West Coast is slowly coming to an end – how about savouring a few more views of the stunning architectural gem that is The Getty Center.
July 18th, 2017
At night, L.A. transforms into a giant mirror, reflecting all the stars of the galaxy.
Griffith Observatory
July 18th, 2017
The Animated Series (1992) opening storyboards, drawn by Bruce Timm and coloured by Eric Radomski.
For me, The Animated Series (1992-1995) is the definitive Batman. And the opening title sequence encapsulates the essence of Batman in way that has yet to be surpassed.
*Watch*
#current_mood
#two_days_to_Halloween
#my_batman
#it’s_my_birthday_and_I’ll_try_if_I_want_to
Warner Bros Studio Tour
July 14th, 2017
There are many wonderful museums and art galleries in this world.
Then, there is The Getty.
Multilayered, modern design; open spaces; galleries drenched in natural light; gardens and streams; breathtaking views of the city and surrounding hills. If you can, go on a Saturday when the Getty remains open until 9 p.m. Because nothing beats watching the sunset from one of the balconies. Or the city lights as they begin to flicker.
June 15th, 2017
Sheer, mind-blowing magnificence in thousands of tiny smalti, left me speechless.
{The Roman Pool is decorated from ceiling to floor with 1″ square mosaic tiles. These glass tiles, called smalti, are either colored (mainly blue or orange) or are clear with fused gold inside. The intense colors and shimmering gold of the tiles combine to create a breathtaking effect. The designs created by the tiles were developed by muralist Camille Solon. The inspiration for some of these designs came from the 5th Century Mausoleum of Galla Placidia.}
For more about the Roman Pool, please go to the Hearst Castle Pools webpage.
July 12th, 2017
Now let your mind do the walking
And let my body do the talking
Let me show you the world in my eyes
I’ll take you to the highest mountain
To the depths of the deepest sea
We won’t need a map, believe me
January 21st, 2017
Stories and photos from Scotland
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An Eclectic Mix Of Revelation By Baldy. A Blog About Cumbria, Home Of The UNESCO Lake District National Park. Photographs, Paintings, Sketches & More. Mountains Are My Bones; Rivers, My Veins; Forests, My Thoughts.
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
For the Glory of God
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The blog of an Art Foundation student, interested in both Science and Art.
"The future is unwritten"
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