William Haines & Joan Crawford The new FX show “Feud” is a wonderful exploration of the legendary rivalry between Joan Crawford and Bette...

Hen Egg commissioned by Alexander III for his wife the Empress Marie Fedorovna Even the most humble egg holds a secret. Golden center...

Louse from Micrographia I recently began reading a book by Lisa Jardine called “The Curious Life of Robert Hooke, The Man Who Measured...

Winslow Homer, The Winter Coast, 1890 In the gathering morning I was eager to get out of our house, the blizzard had passed in the...

Detail from Karl Brullov, The Last Day of Pompeii, 1830-1833 Working on last weeks blog, I was reminded of my trip long ago to the city...

Ledoux: Das Theater von Besançon in einer Pupill Art and design style preferences cycle like the seasons—in architecture modernism was...

“La carta de amor” The life of Fernando Ramos was a story of love; a love of home, of his native country, of art, of dance- and, of...

Portrait of María Luisa Gómez-Mena, by Mario Carreño Everyone has a dream of Cuba–the images of art, architecture, and...

Ernest Hemingway famously wrote, “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of...

It is hard to imagine a more elusive mental exersise than attempting to understand the wind. I was walking by a co-workers desk who was...

Winter Scene, Sandringham, Norfolk, 1987 Growing up in the Royal household in England isn’t an easy matter. Saying one’s life can be a...

A storm breaking above a bridge in the South of France, Churchill Noble Pursuits As the Netflix series The Crown brings the British...

A mysterious box was left at my house this week. My father had told me he had something for me that had belonged to my great-grandmother,...

Beatrix Potter, sketch of a wooded landscape viewed from Gwaynynog, Denbigh, 1909 Beatrix Potter is best known for her children’s stories...

Fire Dance (Final Entry) As the ship slid through the dark languid waters a phosphorescent chain reaction made the waters glow with an...

A brisk breeze and full Sail The following morning all hands readied to disembark into vast expanse of the Bismarck Sea. We motored our...

This year we kicked off the Holiday Season by traveling to New York to celebrate with family and to experience one of the great American...

Part II – The Guillotine As our launch approached the ship in the distance her silhouette grew to a surprising scale. Once onboard the...

Part I- A ship awaits I was jolted from my slumber as gravity almost pushed me to the floor. A speaker from the cockpit blared,...

The last month of the calendar year contains the shortest day of the year–winter solstice on December 21st. After the solstice the days...