History – crawlin' from the wreckage

BENJAMIN WEST(to the tune of GO WEST YOUNG MAN)

Benjamin West young one Benjamin West or Don’t Grow Up in This Country

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”

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”