Shakespeare / Bellini: Romeo & Giulietta (Romeo and Juliet)

On Friday, March 23, 2018, the Saint Joseph Hill Retreat Center on Staten Island will host Romeo & Giulietta, a combination of scenes from William Shakespeare's dramatic masterpiece Romeo and Juliet and highlights from Vincenzo Bellini's magnificent bel…

Comments Off on Shakespeare / Bellini: Romeo & Giulietta (Romeo and Juliet)

Museums and Private Collectors (Business of Art, 3)

Almost 20 years ago, I wrote a couple dozen essays on the history of painting for BeyondBooks.com, a subscription service that provided online supplementary materials for high-school students. The site’s…

Comments Off on Museums and Private Collectors (Business of Art, 3)

Tigress and Cubs, by Auguste Cain (Central Park)

Date: 1866 Sculptor: Auguste Cain Medium & size: Bronze, over lifesize. Location: Central Park Zoo, Intelligence Garden. To see it, you must pay admission for the Zoo. Once inside the…

Comments Off on Tigress and Cubs, by Auguste Cain (Central Park)

Eagles and Prey by Christophe Fratin, Central Park

Date: Cast in 1850; placed in Central Park in 1863 Sculptor: Christophe Fratin Medium & size: Bronze, lifesize. Location: Central Park, west of the Mall. If the city street grid…

Comments Off on Eagles and Prey by Christophe Fratin, Central Park

The Arsenal, Central Park

The Arsenal has a motley past. Despite its forbidding battlements, it wasn’t designed to withstand a siege - only to store gunpowder and cannonballs so that they could be hauled…

Comments Off on The Arsenal, Central Park

Speaking of Art (Business of Art, 2)

Almost 20 years ago, I wrote a couple dozen essays on the history of painting for BeyondBooks.com, a subscription service that provided online supplementary materials for high-school students. The site’s…

Comments Off on Speaking of Art (Business of Art, 2)

John Ericsson, by Jonathan Scott Hartley

This essay is adapted from Chapter 2 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…

Comments Off on John Ericsson, by Jonathan Scott Hartley

Honoring Frederick Douglass (d. February 20, 1895)

In 2011, two life-size bronze sculptures of Frederick Douglass were dedicated in New York: one at the north end of Central Park, one at the New-York Historical Society. Douglass at…

Comments Off on Honoring Frederick Douglass (d. February 20, 1895)