Morse Museum, Winter Park, FL, part 3
Detail of Maxfield Parrish, The Dinky Bird, 1904. Morse Museum, Winter Park.

Morse Museum, Winter Park, FL, part 3

Who’d have expected that the world’s best collection of stained glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) would be within an hour of Disney World? I first visited the Morse in…

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Morse Museum, Winter Park, FL, part 2
Dragonfly mosaic. Morse Museum, Winter Park. Photo copyright © 2021 Dianne L. Durante

Morse Museum, Winter Park, FL, part 2

Who’d have expected that the world’s best collection of stained glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) would be within an hour of Disney World? Aside from gorgeous glass, the Morse Museum has…

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History of Outdoor Sculpture in NYC, 3: Civil War Memorials
Daniel Draddy, Civil War Soldiers' Monument, 1869. Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn. Photo copyright © 2019 Dianne L. Durante

History of Outdoor Sculpture in NYC, 3: Civil War Memorials

This occasional series of blog posts will highlight the most important of the outdoor sculptures in New York City and provide some historical and art-historical context. To read other blog…

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History of Outdoor Sculpture in NYC, 2: Military and Foreign Heroes
By James Goodwin Batterson, General William Jenkins Worth Monument, 1857.

History of Outdoor Sculpture in NYC, 2: Military and Foreign Heroes

This occasional series of blog posts will highlight the most important of the outdoor sculptures in New York City and provide some historical and art-historical context. To read other blog…

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Plaster Cast Collection in Springfield, MA
Verrocchio, Putto with Dolphin, ca. 1465-1480. Plaster cast at the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, Springfield, Massachusetts.

Plaster Cast Collection in Springfield, MA

The Gilded Age mansions of the late nineteenth century were the homes of entrepreneurs who earned their wealth by advancing science, technology, and industry. Those same wealthy entrepreneurs established many…

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History of Outdoor Sculpture in NYC, 1: Animals, Politicians, Folk Art
Henry Frederick Metzler, Atlas Clock, ca. 1853. Tiffany's, Fifth Avenue facade.

History of Outdoor Sculpture in NYC, 1: Animals, Politicians, Folk Art

The occasional series of blog posts that starts this week will highlight the most important of the outdoor sculptures in New York City and provide some historical and art-historical context.…

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Historical Monument of the American Republic
Erastus Salisbury Field, Historical Monument of the American Republic, 1867-1888. Michele and Donald D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield Museums, Springfield, MA.

Historical Monument of the American Republic

In my weekly email of Sunday Recommendations, I promise "art-related suggestions meant to  inspire, to provoke wonder or thought, or simply to amaze by sheer beauty." The Historical Monument of…

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The Breakers, Newport, part 2
The second-floor loggia in The Breakers, Newport, R.I. Photo copyright © 2021 Dianne L. Durante

The Breakers, Newport, part 2

On The Breakers and other Gilded Age mansions, see last week's post. Alice Vanderbilt's bedroom Even though this room is decorated in the Louis XVI style, it's much more restful…

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The Breakers, Newport, part 1
Great Hall in The Breakers, Newport, R.I. Photo copyright © 2021 Dianne L. Durante

The Breakers, Newport, part 1

Many Gilded Age mansions have fabulous gardens that remained open during most of the Corona-virus pandemic, even if the mansions were locked up. Since 2020, I've visited Ventfort, Naumkeag, and…

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Lost Central Park – north end
Conservatory in Central Park, 1902. Image: Annual Report of the Board of Commissioners of Central Park, 1902.

Lost Central Park – north end

If you've read any of my books on Alexander Hamilton, you know I'm a fanatic about primary sources. So when I started to research Central Park, one of my first…

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