Uffizi Gallery, Florence: Five Favorites

About the Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is housed in a huge complex whose core was commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici from Giorgio Vasari. Vasari (who is today…

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Andrew Haswell Green Bench, Central Park

Who most influenced the shape of Central Park in its early years? There was Egbert Ludovicus Viele, whose detailed topographical study of the site helped make the park’s design a…

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Henry Kitchell Webster (1875-1932), Novelist and Short-Story Writer

Republished Webster novels The Sky-Man. Available from Amazon; other stores via Ingram (9781088271353 print, 9781088271384 ebook). A King in Khaki. Available from Amazon; other stores via Ingram (9781088270929 print, 9781088270950 ebook).…

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Theodore Roosevelt by James E. Fraser, Central Park

This essay is adapted from Chapter 20 of Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide. I’ve kept cross-references to other chapters in the book, all of which will eventually be updated and…

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Robert Burns by Sir John Steell, Central Park

Robert Burns Dedicated 1880 Sculptor: Sir John Steell Medium & size: Bronze, over lifesize. Location: Central Park, on the Mall. If the city's street grid continued in the Park, it…

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Independence Flagpole, Union Square

Did you know that in Union Square, the words of the Declaration of Independence are inscribed on a  ten-foot-high bronze tablet? The Independence Flagpole in Union Square commemorates the 150th…

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Frederick Law Olmsted and Central Park

If you’re in the Ramble, you’re probably wandering aimlessly – and Frederick Law Olmsted would be pleased about that. This wooded area with its convoluted paths harks back to the…

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Calvert Vaux and Central Park’s Dairy

In the early days, Central Park had sheep, but no cows. It did, however, have a Dairy, because of a scandal that broke in the summer of 1858. The Swill…

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Egbert Ludovicus Viele, first engineer of Central Park

During the Mexican-American War, Lieutenant Egbert Ludovicus Viele watched helplessly as his men died of cholera. No one knew how to prevent or cure the disease, but it clearly spread…

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Virginia Women’s Monument: Photo Shoot at StudioEIS

As you might have guessed by now, I'm fascinated by the process of creating sculptures. See, for example, my posts on Clarence Darrow and on King George III, or my series of…

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