The earliest surviving letter by Hamilton is dated November 11, 1769. It was written by 12-year-old Alexander, who had lost his mother a year earlier, to his friend (half-brother?) Edward Stevens, who…
You could pass the small bronze Stead Memorial without noticing it, but the man it commemorates was much more aggressive about getting attention. Stead on the glories of the future ...…
When the Organ Rehearsal was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1885, a dealer offered to purchase it on condition that Lerolle cut it in half, discarding the part "where there is…
The opening number of Hamilton: An American Musical, "Alexander Hamilton," has brief references to every important aspect of Hamilton's life and character: his being illegitimate and an orphan, his ambition, his constant rushing, his…
A couple weeks ago, while zipping through the Metropolitan Museum's galleries taking photos of favorites, I spotted this 9-inch bronze in a glass case in the American Wing galleries. What's this painter…
Violent disagreement with the driver Dude, I told you not to get us on the Beltway! Who are you, and what have you done with my cubs? What does Alexander the Great…
"Never forget that if you don't hit a newspaper reader between the eyes with your first sentence, there is no need of writing a second one," said Arthur Brisbane to his reporters…
How does a fifty-something opera fan fall in love with a hip-hop Broadway show? Not easily. The first clip I heard from Hamilton: An American Musical was the opening number,…
Here's another handful of portraits I find irresistible. (See also my post on portraits of women at the National Gallery.) Bellini, Portrait of a Condottiere (Giovanni Emo) My favorite Bellini is…
The Art Renewal Center sponsors an annual competition for contemporary realistic art. Since the winning paintings don't usually go on tour, I was delighted to see that for a short time, the…