My Innovators in Sculpture tour starts at Frishmuth's The Vine, one of my favorite sculptures in the Metropolitan Museum of Art - and a great example of how far sculptors had…
"Employ all your leisure in reading" By early July 1780, Alexander and Eliza had been engaged for several months. (For Alexander's list of requirements for a wife, his letter to sister…
I posted in April on the new Tappan Zee Bridge. Here's an update: pics from the end of May 2016, taken from the bridge rather than the viewing platform on…
A note on long-distance relationships in the 18th century In the 1770s, there is no Snapchat or Twitter, no email or phone. If you can't talk to someone face to…
Jacob Wrey Mould did remarkable decorative work in Central Park, at Bethesda Terrace and elsewhere. You can also see his hand in the oldest section of the Metropolitan Museum. These…
The British fleet arrives General George Washington to John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress: New York July the 3d 1776 Sir Since I had the honor of addressing you and…
On getting the reader's attention The truth isn't the truth until people believe you, and they can't believe you if they don't know what you're saying, and they can't know…
Washington asks Congress for help Commander-in-Chief George Washington to John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress: New York July the 11th 1776 As I am truly sensible the time of Congress…
Back in the 1870s, German archeologists began extensive excavations at Pergamon, an ancient Greek city whose ruins lie in modern Turkey, near the Aegean Sea. The museum built to house the…
In several violent Acts and interludes, with important and incendiary dialogue in (of course) red. Setting: A world before the Industrial Revolution and capitalism, with countries ruled by kings and assorted…