1826: Fashioning the American Myth
by Jonathan Prown
The Jubilee is justifiably remembered as a highly significant patriotic moment. But as the historian Len Travers notes in his history of the earliest Fourth of July celebrations, 1826 also needs to be understood as a time of increasing conflict.
Double Exposure
by Pieter Estersohn with Mario De Castro
From the bullfighting ring to the atelier, Portuguese photographic pioneer Carlos Relvas constructed an early studio every bit as eccentric as his life.
Weaving a New Dawn
by Paula Deitz
Jeremy Frey, master Passamaquoddy basket maker, has taken traditional Indigenous forms to new heights.
Trail of Tiles
by Anna Sui with Daniel Robbins
A fantasia in ceramic, Leighton House in London testifies to the decorative sense of its namesake builder, artist Frederic Leighton, and the craftsmanship of William De Morgan.
Exhibitions: World’s Fairs, Re-envisioned - Before the Internet brought us the world through screens, world’s fairs were one of the few windows into our future. ⬬
1926: Ambitions and Ambiguities - The official national celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence nearly didn’t happen. ⬬
1876: Inventing the Colonial Revival - In celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the signing of Declaration of Independence, The Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876 was America’s coming-of-age party. ⬬
Curious Objects: Something Blue: Delftware Ceramics and the Women Who Made Them - In this episode of Curious Objects, we explore the history of Delftware ceramics through the female lens. ⬬
1826: Fashioning the American Myth - By 1826 the annual rite of celebrating the Fourth of July was already a well-established tradition, one that encouraged Americans to look to both the past and the future. ⬬
Curious Objects – Painting with Glass in Limoges - In this episode, Host Benjamin Miller is joined by Laura Kugel of the Galerie Kugel in Paris to discuss the fascinating art of enameling from Limoges, France ⬬
Hidden Gems: Madame Curiosity - Arader Galleries reveals the astonishing watercolors of Maria Sibylla Merian, a rare woman naturalist in eighteenth-century Germany. ⬬
Limoges Renaissance Enamels in Paris - It is difficult to envision a more appropriate setting for appreciating antique enameled objects than Galerie Kugel in Paris, with its rich backdrop of gilded splendor. ⬬
Books: The Life Aesthetic - The World of Peter Dunham: Global Style from Paris to Hollywood, from Vendome, features Dunham’s iconic fig-leaf patterned fabric on the cover.⬬
Objects: The Birth of the Travel Memento - The Grand Tour began as a way for young men of means to see Europe, and resulted in the invention of what became modern tourist souvenirs. ⬬
Curious Objects: 135,500 Pieces (of Wood) - In this episode, the fine line between obsession and madness, illustrated in a piece of furniture.⬬
LIVING WITH ANTIQUES
Habitat for Humanity
By Stacy C. Hollander with photography by Ellen McDermott and Bridget Sciales
