NEW! From The magazine antiques
#TMAexplains
Say what?
Our new video series #TMAexplains combines twenty-first-century digital storytelling with the scholarship that readers of The Magazine ANTIQUES expect. We answer questions both simple and complex about the fields of art, design, and decoration.
Scroll down to see all there is to learn!
Scroll down to see all there is to learn!
WATCH NOW!
Why Period Films Are Suddenly Colorful
In the past, people liked grays and browns and frumpy gowns, right? Wrong. Films like Little Women, Emma, Dickinson, and Bridgerton make use of NEW historical research and cutting-edge material reproduction techniques to show us that people from days gone by loved bright colors and lively patterns just as much as today! Plus ça change . . .
In the past, people liked grays and browns and frumpy gowns, right? Wrong. Films like Little Women, Emma, Dickinson, and Bridgerton make use of NEW historical research and cutting-edge material reproduction techniques to show us that people from days gone by loved bright colors and lively patterns just as much as today! Plus ça change . . .
Join us:
Your passion for art and antiques is our passion.
#TMAexplains was created for a broad audience, and is intended to foster and renew appreciation for fine art, historical design, and decoration in the culture at large. Support #TMAexplains by subscribing to our channel on YouTube, and by liking and commenting on our episodes.
Become part of the conversation — we want to hear from you.
#TMAexplains was created for a broad audience, and is intended to foster and renew appreciation for fine art, historical design, and decoration in the culture at large. Support #TMAexplains by subscribing to our channel on YouTube, and by liking and commenting on our episodes.
Become part of the conversation — we want to hear from you.
Lettuceware, Explained
The preppy WASP look has never really fallen out of fashion, but one particular brand of chic—lettuce ware—is experiencing a resurgence. TikTok has brought sweater vests, tennis skirts, and lettuce hems—long at the back of the closet—back into daily rotation. So, of course, we have to have some lettuce bowls too.
The preppy WASP look has never really fallen out of fashion, but one particular brand of chic—lettuce ware—is experiencing a resurgence. TikTok has brought sweater vests, tennis skirts, and lettuce hems—long at the back of the closet—back into daily rotation. So, of course, we have to have some lettuce bowls too.
Brutalism is the most polarizing style EVER – here's why
No architectural style is as hated as brutalism. An ironic fate for a method and philosophy of building that had its origins in postwar utopianism, but whose prestige was diminished by government malfeasance. And yet, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, this raw, impressive style is once again all the rage amongst aesthetes.
No architectural style is as hated as brutalism. An ironic fate for a method and philosophy of building that had its origins in postwar utopianism, but whose prestige was diminished by government malfeasance. And yet, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, this raw, impressive style is once again all the rage amongst aesthetes.
What weathervanes tell us about the early American republic
They’re “perhaps the most famous iron . . . form of all,” scholar Elizabeth Stillinger wrote. As scientific instruments, advertisements, as well as examples of folk sculpture, old weathervanes can tell us a lot about the early United States.
They’re “perhaps the most famous iron . . . form of all,” scholar Elizabeth Stillinger wrote. As scientific instruments, advertisements, as well as examples of folk sculpture, old weathervanes can tell us a lot about the early United States.
Beatrix Farrand’s Lost White House Garden
Never heard of Beatrix Farrand? No surprise. The innovative landscape gardener once had over 200 gardens to her name, but today there are fewer than 5. All the rest were destroyed, including one at the White house that melded impressionism with ecology, and inspired Jacqueline Kennedy.
Never heard of Beatrix Farrand? No surprise. The innovative landscape gardener once had over 200 gardens to her name, but today there are fewer than 5. All the rest were destroyed, including one at the White house that melded impressionism with ecology, and inspired Jacqueline Kennedy.
Why is this one chair EVERYWHERE?
There was nothing exceptional about eighteenth-century English cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale . . . except for his brilliant (and simple) idea to publish his designs. With a little help from the growing British Empire, and the English lust for all things French, soon everyone knew his name.
There was nothing exceptional about eighteenth-century English cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale . . . except for his brilliant (and simple) idea to publish his designs. With a little help from the growing British Empire, and the English lust for all things French, soon everyone knew his name.
How Hoosier Cabinets "Saved" the American Housewife
Before there were vacuums, washing machines, air fryers, or blenders . . . there was the Hoosier cabinet. This "cupboard with brains" rang in the era of functional design. And you could say it saved the American housewife . . . from a life of inefficiency, at least.
Before there were vacuums, washing machines, air fryers, or blenders . . . there was the Hoosier cabinet. This "cupboard with brains" rang in the era of functional design. And you could say it saved the American housewife . . . from a life of inefficiency, at least.
The Unexpected Art of the Napoleonic Wars
Imagine you’re a prisoner of war. You’ve got your two feet of living space, your meager rations of mutton and bread, and no idea when you’re going home. Would you lie down and die? Or would you construct model ships out of bone and human hair that are accurate down to the pad eyes on the planks of the poop deck . . . ?
Imagine you’re a prisoner of war. You’ve got your two feet of living space, your meager rations of mutton and bread, and no idea when you’re going home. Would you lie down and die? Or would you construct model ships out of bone and human hair that are accurate down to the pad eyes on the planks of the poop deck . . . ?
How "micronations" use stamps to propose a new world order
Once upon a time postage stamps were one of the most ubiquitous public art forms. As digital forms of communication gained ascendance they’ve become just another relic of the past. But there’s one way in which philately is being made relevant again ...and it has the potential to shake up how we think about nationhood.
Once upon a time postage stamps were one of the most ubiquitous public art forms. As digital forms of communication gained ascendance they’ve become just another relic of the past. But there’s one way in which philately is being made relevant again ...and it has the potential to shake up how we think about nationhood.
The Lost Mural of 30 Rock
In 1932 John D. Rockefeller Jr. joined forces with Diego Rivera to produce a mural about socialism, capitalism, science, and industry in the lobby of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. But visit 30 Rock today and you’ll find nothing of the sort. What happened? Fanaticism, battling egos, and bad press all had a part to play in the mural’s ultimate destruction . . . but it was one misplaced drop of paint that got the wrecking ball moving.
In 1932 John D. Rockefeller Jr. joined forces with Diego Rivera to produce a mural about socialism, capitalism, science, and industry in the lobby of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. But visit 30 Rock today and you’ll find nothing of the sort. What happened? Fanaticism, battling egos, and bad press all had a part to play in the mural’s ultimate destruction . . . but it was one misplaced drop of paint that got the wrecking ball moving.
This is the Renaissance's Most Mysterious Painting
Bronzino’s so-called Allegory with Venus and Cupid, painted for the French king around 1545, is a hodgepodge of leering, cavorting, scowling, and howling figures arranged in careful counterpoint to one another. Of especial concern: why is Cupid kissing his mom, Venus?? In the newest #TMAexplains video we interrogate the romantic, sexual, and even syphilitic symbolism of this most confounding of Renaissance artworks, with a little help from Joost Joustra of the National Gallery in London.
Bronzino’s so-called Allegory with Venus and Cupid, painted for the French king around 1545, is a hodgepodge of leering, cavorting, scowling, and howling figures arranged in careful counterpoint to one another. Of especial concern: why is Cupid kissing his mom, Venus?? In the newest #TMAexplains video we interrogate the romantic, sexual, and even syphilitic symbolism of this most confounding of Renaissance artworks, with a little help from Joost Joustra of the National Gallery in London.
"The Credenza," Disambiguated
It owes its existence to poisoners—yes, poisoners—in Italy during the Middle Ages. Today, the credenza is lumped in with other furnishings such as sideboards, buffets, and consoles. In the new installment of our #TMAexplains video series, we redeem the credenza furniture form—from the word “credence,” or, “belief in or acceptance of something as true," with a little help from interior designer Amy Lau.
It owes its existence to poisoners—yes, poisoners—in Italy during the Middle Ages. Today, the credenza is lumped in with other furnishings such as sideboards, buffets, and consoles. In the new installment of our #TMAexplains video series, we redeem the credenza furniture form—from the word “credence,” or, “belief in or acceptance of something as true," with a little help from interior designer Amy Lau.
The Team:
Producer Sammy Dalati
Dalati is ANTIQUES’ senior editor, and the editor of the magazine’s podcast, Curious Objects.
Co-producer and Host Michael Diaz-Griffith
Diaz-Griffith is the executive director of the Design Leadership Foundation; former executive director of Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation; former associate executive director of the Winter Show; and author of The New Antiquarians, forthcoming from Monacelli Press in 2023.
Art Director Martin Minerva
Minerva designs the visual style of ANTIQUES, and also runs the magazine’s weekly Instagram quiz, #NameThat.
Production Assistant Elizabeth Lanza
Lanza is ANTIQUES’ editorial assistant, and writes the weekly online column “Openings and Closings.”
Digital Media Assistant Mateo Solis Prada
Dalati is ANTIQUES’ senior editor, and the editor of the magazine’s podcast, Curious Objects.
Co-producer and Host Michael Diaz-Griffith
Diaz-Griffith is the executive director of the Design Leadership Foundation; former executive director of Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation; former associate executive director of the Winter Show; and author of The New Antiquarians, forthcoming from Monacelli Press in 2023.
Art Director Martin Minerva
Minerva designs the visual style of ANTIQUES, and also runs the magazine’s weekly Instagram quiz, #NameThat.
Production Assistant Elizabeth Lanza
Lanza is ANTIQUES’ editorial assistant, and writes the weekly online column “Openings and Closings.”
Digital Media Assistant Mateo Solis Prada