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Artists & Authors
Vincent Van Gogh - Nature Unleashed
Van Gogh's early biographer, C. Lewis Hind, wrote the artist's letters are "soliloquies which Van Gogh held in the presence of his own soul." He added, "The communications to his brother and his friend," [fellow artist, Emile Bernard, who Van Gogh wrote to from 1887 - 1890] are "a running commentary to his lifework, a Sabbath's meditation upon and contemplation of his six days' labour..."
In his letters, Van Gogh sometimes reverts to his years as an art dealer to assess the quality and "commercial value" of his work.
Learn more here. Bibliography. Image credits.
To learn more, visit the Van Gogh Museum.
Jane Austen
What a pleasure to spend time with Jane Austen. She was so funny. So clever. Six months after the publication of Emma, her brother Charles noted in his diary, “… after dinner, finished the three volumes of Emma being the 3rd time of reading it –. ” Makes you wonder about all the witticisms he saw in Jane's book.
Learn more here. Bibliography. Image credits.
Jane Austen-related sites:
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Elvis - The Legend
In the early '80s, author Elaine Dundy plunked herself down in Tupelo, talked to everyone who had known Elvis and his family and wrote a beautifully researched biography, Elvis and Gladys.
If you have the opportunity to visit Graceland, plan to spend the whole day. Sun Records in Memphis and Studio B in Nashville are also well worth visiting.
In this photo-essay, we look at the forces that shaped Elvis Presley and at the high price he paid for fame and fortune.
Agatha Christie - Queen of Crime
The world's #2 best-selling author, after William Shakespeare, Agatha Christie's career was sparked by an argument with her sister.
Her sister didn't think she could write a mystery story. "They are very difficult to do." Agatha said, "I should like to try."
This photo-essay is based on Agatha Christie's autobiography.
Image credits here. Bibliography here.
To learn even more about Agatha Christie, visit agathachristie.com.
Irving Berlin - America's Maestro
For 15 years, I lived on Beekman Place. My time there didn't overlap with the Berlins but I did attend parties in their former home and got to know some of their delightful neighbors.
The stories were wonderful - the piano that changed keys at the flip of a switch - "it was right there!"
"The two Irvings" who out for exercise would run into each other and "mostly stand around and talk."
And one unforgettable story, told to me by the organizer, about a memorable Christmas Eve.
Photo-essay here.
Image credits here. Bibliography here.
To learn even more about the extraordinarily talented
Irving Berlin, visit IrvingBerlin.com
Edward Hopper- American Master
From early childhood, Edward Hopper displayed a remarkable gift for drawing but he didn't achieve recognition and success in his field until he was in his 40s.
Learn more about this gifted artist here.
See more of Hopper works at the Whitney Museum.
Julia Ward Howe and the Battle Hymn of the Republic
Inspired by Elvis Presley's magnificent American Trilogy, this is a look at how Julia Ward Howe came to write "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" in the first year of the Civil War.
Julia Ward Howe and her husband were in the forefront of the abolition movement.
Learn more here.