Category Archives: Museums

New York State of Mind

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Both branches of my family emigrated to New York City from Eastern Europe during the late 19th century. So, it’s natural that I’ve always viewed New York as the center of the known universe. Back in the 19th century, marketers … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Travel, Architecture, Art, History, Museums, Photography, Public Transport, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

One man’s junk is another man’s museum

Posted on March 17, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

I’m not much of a collector, other than books, but I have to respect this guy’s commitment to his beachcombing project. The video below is an intimate portrait of retired plumber John Anderson and his 46-year obsession with collecting manmade … Continue reading →

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How can a painting fail

Posted on March 16, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

I really enjoyed this is farcical ad for the 2024 AICP Awards about the perils of focus-grouping and corporatizing art, featuring a peeved van Gogh (“How can a painting fail?”) and an even more annoyed Frida Kahlo.  

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Atlas of Antiquity

Posted on March 11, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

I don’t know how I missed the amazing site vici.org which offers an excellent interactive map of archeological sites. It’s easy to spend hours down the rabbit hole exploring the thousands of locations with significant ancient buildings or ruins. Most … Continue reading →

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art too bad to be ignored

Posted on February 18, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Over the years I have visited hundreds of art museums. Most of those institutions made sincere efforts to curate collections of quality art works. Sometimes there were fails and truly bad art was exhibited. But nothing compares to the extraordinary … Continue reading →

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The Expressionist As Flâneur

Posted on February 17, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

I recently stumbled on the charming video below which led me to the story of the marvelous exhibition MAX GOES FOR A WALK . “A hand-drawn Max Beckmann walks through his collection of postcards, occasionally changing outfits or morphing into … Continue reading →

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A House upon the Height

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Closed since 2019, the Emily Dickinson Museum has now completed a multi-year preservation effort at The Evergreens, aimed at improving environmental conditions for objects in its recently documented collection, and reducing energy consumption. Reopening on March 1, The Evergreens is an integral … Continue reading →

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Oh, horror upon horror!

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Few writers have the ability to evoke a sense of horror and dread more effectively than Edgar Allan Poe, born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. Poe’s parents were actors. Their bright but unstable son grew up to be … Continue reading →

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Judging a Book by Its Cover

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

One of New York City’s best tourist attractions for book lovers The Grolier Club starts 2024 off with an impressive exhibition detailing the history and aesthetics of fine bookbindings. Judging a Book by Its Cover: Bookbindings from the Collections of The Grolier Club, 1470s-2020 which … Continue reading →

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New York to London in two hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Before commercial flights of the famed Concorde were discontinued 20 years ago, a world record flight time of 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds was set on a flight from New York City to London. Since then the Concorde … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Travel, Architecture, Europe, History, Museums, Public Transport, Tourism | Tagged , , | 2 Comments