Egyptian Obelisk, a.k.a. "Cleopatra's Needle" Date: created ca. 1461 BC; dedicated in Central Park 1881Medium & size: Granite, 71 feet high, 18 feet on each side; later base and steps…
In 2019, I emailed 156 art-related items to my members of my free Sunday Recommendations list. (To join, just ask me: DuranteDianne@gmail.com.) For supporters, I recommended 52 more items. The items…
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January 1, 2020
Original reservoir, 1842. Image: New York Public Library
Imagine standing in the center of that large, open area behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art, taking a deep breath … and sucking in water. For more than two centuries,…
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Except for the four brutally practical transverse roads, the only straight line in the Greensward plan is the Mall. Vaux and Olmsted thought a grand promenade was essential for a…
Jacob Wrey Mould (1825-1886) was a bit of a beast. George Templeton Strong, who admired him, called him “ugly and uncouth.” A leading architectural magazine labeled him “brilliant, accomplished, ingenious,…
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The Belvedere was closed for renovations for over a year: it was reopened on 5/28/2019. Once upon a time, Calvert Vaux designed a fairy-tale castle - not for a princess,…
What a photogenic structure! I meant to include a collage of photos for this week's Sunday Recommendations, but choosing was too difficult - so here's a collection of 18 photos…
Olmsted and Vaux slated the area in the southwest corner of Central Park for one of the required features of the Central Park competition: a military practice ground. Calvert Vaux…
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John Wolfe Ambrose monument, 1936. Bust: Andrew O'Connor, Jr. Relief: Frederick G.R. Roth. Architect: Aymar Embury II. Original bust by Andrew O'Connor, Jr, created ca. 1900; recreated ca. 2017. Monument…
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