February 1, 2015

Inimitable Churchill

Killer Quotes from Winston, sometimes witty, often solemn, always true…

-1940-

As we commemorated the funeral of Winston Churchill last week I want to follow WWII per year with his quotes.

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”

cecil-beaton-london-bomb-victim-c-1940Photograph of Air raid victim by Cecil Beaton

In 1940 as Prime Minister, Churchill in a speech refers to the ongoing efforts of the Royal Air Force pilots who were at the time fighting the Battle of Britain, the pivotal air battle with the German Luftwaffe with Britain expecting a German invasion.

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a comment
January 31, 2015

My Personal Top 10 Female Singers – No 2

…in no particular order & with my favorite recordings…

Number Two: Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald & Count Basie 12

Ella Fitzgerald 1917-1996

The Ella Fitzgerald Song Books were a series of eight studio albums released in irregular intervals between 1956 and 1964. The eight albums covered the Songbooks of Cole Porter (1956), Rodgers & Hart (1956), Duke Ellington (1957), Irving Berlin (1958), George and Ira Gershwin (1959), Harold Arlen (1961), Jerome Kern (1963), and Johnny Mercer (1964). The full collection is available on Amazon.

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a comment
January 30, 2015

Arts & Crafts

Appliqué, Patchwork, Embroidery & other Embellishments in Fashion

I have an eclectic collection of fashion photography that I stick on my mood board and enjoy watching all the time, sometimes for the beauty of the garment or the atmosphere the photograph conjures up. I also collect “fashion stories” about women that inspire me. One woman who embodies eclectic taste in fashion is Gloria Vanderbilt, a New York socialite, who had a very successful jeans brand in the 1970’s and is an accomplished painter too.

gvb3Patchwork Queen! Photograph by Horst P. Horst 1975

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a comment
January 29, 2015

Tulip Mania

Economic speculation, the birth of futures & options contracts and a market crash in Holland’s Golden Age

There is something so deliciously mad about the phenomenon of Tulip Mania in 17th century Holland where “protestant restraint” was “de rigeur”. This was the “Golden Age” of the Netherlands, when sophisticated modern economic systems were invented: the first-ever multinational corporation (the Dutch East India Company founded in 1602), financed by shares that established the first modern stock exchange and the Bank of Amsterdam (established in 1609), the precursor to, if not the first true central bank.

Tulip Anonymous 17th-century watercolor of the Semper Augustus, famous for being the most expensive tulip sold during tulip mania.

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a comment
January 28, 2015

The Art of Conversation

Powerful French Women and their Famous “Salons”

“Why not start a virtual “Salon?” was my idea when I decided to write this blog. The Art of Conversation is something I want to vigorously keep up!

Watch the French film “Ridicule” to fully understand the power of women skilled in conversation in 18th century France:

ridicuActress Fanny Ardent in the 1996 French film “Ridicule” (Netflix)

“Salons” started in Italy in the 16th century and soon took hold in France. They were the artistic and literary “Think Tanks” of the 17th, 18th & 19th century, mostly held by society ladies in their beautiful homes. A lady who held a “Salon” would reign as she set the topics, the tone and “ambiance” of the gathering. There was fierce competition amongst ” Salonnières” about who would draw the most brilliant crowd. I will highlight two famous “Salonnières”: Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun and Juliette Récamier.

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a comment