Category Archives: Museums

Library of Exile

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

I first discovered the ceramic artist and writer Edmund de Waal through his best-selling book The Hare with the Amber Eyes. If you are not familiar with the memoir, it’s a compelling read that encompasses not only de Waal’s family history, … Continue reading →

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Strap-on your skates

Posted on February 25, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Winter Landscape with Skaters  or Winterlandschap met Ijsvermaak is a c.1608 oil on oak painting by the Dutch artist Hendrick Avercamp in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.The painting shows ice skaters of all sorts enjoying a day on a frozen river. People dressed … Continue reading →

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Chronicles of New York

Posted on February 11, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Dramatically set atop a set of stacked blue shipping containers, the French street artist JR just completed his latest large-scale wheat paste work, Chronicles of New York at Domino Park in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. The installation is a compilation of … Continue reading →

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Sometimes in Winter

Posted on January 7, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Gabriele Münter (Berlin, 1877 – 1962) was a German expressionist painter who was at the forefront of the Munich avant-garde in the early 20th century. She studied and lived with the painter Wassily Kandinsky and was a founding member of the … Continue reading →

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Decolonizing the Metropolitan

Posted on December 20, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is one of my favorite go to places in the city. In fact, I’ve been visiting the Met since before I could walk. The museum’s grand entrance hall never fails to awe. … Continue reading →

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The 17th Century Kindle

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

In 1617. William Hakewill commissioned a traveling library to give as a gift to a friend. The Jacobean miniature mobile library consisted of fifty gold-tooled vellum-bound miniature books contained in a wooden case that resembled a large folio. Inside there were … Continue reading →

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Charles Dickens and the Marketing of Christmas

Posted on December 13, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Charles Dickens and his iconic story A Christmas Carol have become synonymous with Christmas celebrations, however a special holiday exhibition at  the Charles Dickens Museum in London demonstrates that his connection to the holiday season is not all candy canes … Continue reading →

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Still Life (with books)

Posted on November 27, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Still Life with Books, a Globe and Musical Instruments, Jan Vermeulen, 1660, Mauritshuis Museum  

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MOMA gets a facelift

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Devoted fans have been anxiously waiting for New York City’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) to reopen. The museum closed in summer for a four-month $450 million renovation project, and will finally unveil its makeover to the museum-going public today. … Continue reading →

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American Voyageur

Posted on October 11, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Few American writers have achieved the cultural impact of Herman Melville, author of the eternal classic Moby-Dick, yet he died unrecognized by his contemporaries for his genius. To commemorate the 200th anniversary of Melville’s birth, Philadelphia’s Rosenbach Museum and Library has … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, History, Libraries, Museums, Tourism, Uncategorized, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment