April 2020 – crawlin' from the wreckage

Ode to T.S.Eliot

I used to laugh at TS EliotWhen April came aroundThere was no cruelty that I could seeIn the cherry blossoms blooming wildlyOr the Magnolia treeThe purple vinca that strafed the hillOr is it myrtle(google says they are the same)There was no cruelty in this game The daily fight at the bird feed boxWon every dayContinue reading “Ode to T.S.Eliot”

The Great American Essay

…fiat justitia, ruat coelum Lord Mansfield, The Decision in Somerset’s Case, June 22, 1772[1] America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. Frederick Douglass, 1852[2] The wealthy landowners of Virginia and other southern colonies were fat and happy in 1766. TheContinue reading “The Great American Essay”

The Legacy Perhaps of James Smithson

by Jerry Leibowitz Knowledge is the pathway from slavery to freedom… Frederick Douglass Ever since the British burned the White House down, there’s a bleeding wound in the heart of town… Bob Dylan, Narrow Way (2012) The most vast and incredible complex of museums in the world sprang from the bequest of a manContinue reading “The Legacy Perhaps of James Smithson”

Who is James Renwick and What are His Plans?

Who is James Renwick? This is not an Ayn Rand question about a fictional engineer. There was an engineer turned architect named James Renwick (1819-1895) who designed several of the most iconic structures built in America’s early years, including the Castle at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D. C., and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NewContinue reading “Who is James Renwick and What are His Plans?”

Dedicated to Art

Why Jackie Kennedy Saved the Renwick by Jerry Leibowitz In 1962 the building we now know as The Renwick Gallery was set to be razed for a park as part of a massive redevelopment of Lafayette Square. Everything was “go” for the demolition except for one thing. The First Lady of the United States wasContinue reading “Dedicated to Art”

Bust of Bill Richmond

My inquiry into the sculpture known as Bust of a Man begins with some known facts. There are two similar sculptures known as Bust of a (Black) Man. One is unsigned and is at the Yale Center for British Art. A lesser one, to my eye, is at the Getty Museum and is signed “FrancisContinue reading “Bust of Bill Richmond”