art & culture

In Weir Farm National Historic Site (Arcadia Publishing), author Xiomaro, Visiting Artist at Connecticut’s Weir Farm and an alumnus of its Artist-in-Residence program, tells the story of Julian Alden Weir (1852–1919), a leading innovator of American Impressionist painting.  Xiomaro chronicles the farm’s rescue from residential development to its establishment as a park. The farm’s landscape inspired countless masterpieces created by Weir, his famous painter friends, two subsequent generations of artist-owners, and contemporary artists who continue […]

Though the story of Christmas was pulled from many sources, writing for The Guardian, Kathryn Hughes reminds us that “Christmas was pulled together, codified, made visible in story and painted in sound by Dickens who dashed down A Christmas Carol in six weeks in the autumn of 1843.” The book, published on 19 December of that year, famously tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a bitter old miser who is given a chance to redeem […]

A letter Albert Einstein penned in German in 1954 will be sold at Christie’s at auction next week. Expected to fetch both controversy and a pretty penny, Einstein’s infamous “God Letter” calls into question almost every aspect of Christian dogma. From the auction catalog: “Einstein’s single most famous letter on God, his Jewish identity, and man’s eternal search for meaning. This remarkably candid, private letter was written a year before Einstein’s death and remains the […]

On June 14th, Christie’s will offer one of the most important illustrated books of all time at auction. The Birds of America by John James Audubon has an auction estimate of $8,000,000-12,000,000. From the Christie’s web site: The two lanky purple herons [at right] appear to be deep in conversation. The adult bird, with its rich brown ruff, gestures with a raised blue leg as if to emphasise a point; the younger heron — its […]

Collectors and admirers of old books will want to know about the discovery and imminent sale of an early al-Tusi astronomical manuscript which will go on the block at Christies in London this coming week. From the Christies blog: “In the world of ancient books and manuscripts, very often even the experts are unaware of the existence of important copies of key works. That was the case here,” explains Romain Pingannaud, specialist in Islamic Art, […]