After a night of half sleep in damp straw, I sneak out of the falling-down barn into the thick, white air. My feet are still wet and cold. My back still aches. But I barely feel these discomforts anymore. They are no more than nagging. What I can't ignore—what flashes bright and insistently at the … Continue reading Wouter Johannes van Troostwijk, The Raampoort in Amsterdam, 1809
No. 17: My Aunt Judy Collection
Artist: Judy BeamanTitle: Various GiftsDate: 1992ish-2018Culture: AmericanProvenance: Gifts given to EAH by her aunt over the years I didn't quite notice until I learned that my aunt was dying how many treasures she has given me over the years. There are a million and one reasons why I loved her, but these seven objects give … Continue reading No. 17: My Aunt Judy Collection
No. 16: Scottish Fantasy
Artist: Max BruchTitle: Scottish FantasyDate: 1880Culture: GermanProvenance: Album gifted to EAH by her mother in 2003 I had no idea that my last trip to my family home in Vermont would be my last. Had I known, my sentimentality would surely have ruined it. I would have had that terrible painful lump in my throat … Continue reading No. 16: Scottish Fantasy
Dorothea Lange, End of an Era: Funeral Cortege in a Small Valley Town, California, 1938
Uncle Bob was the last of the elder generation to go. It started when my great-aunt Louisa passed two years ago. A steady stream of the older generation falling away: Uncle Larry and Aunt Kay died within days of each other in their home, too weak to tolerate the flu, the doc said. My mother … Continue reading Dorothea Lange, End of an Era: Funeral Cortege in a Small Valley Town, California, 1938
No. 15: Heirloom Autograph Book
Artist: Unknown/Olive May McQuown Title: Autograph Book Date: 1884 Culture: American, Remington, Indiana Provenance: Olive McQuown's sister (or cousin?) Anna (my great-grandmother), passed this on to her daughter Elma (my grandmother) who passed it on to my mother. It ended up with me after my mother's death. As far back as I can remember, my … Continue reading No. 15: Heirloom Autograph Book
Dormition Cathedral, Vladimir, 12th Century
Its stone walls stood sentinel on the tall embankment overlooking the Klyazma River, which wended its way sluggishly through an ocean of marshy green meadows. One end of the building swelled away from them toward the sunrise like an overripe fruit ready to burst. The other walls stood erect and prim, a musical rhythm in … Continue reading Dormition Cathedral, Vladimir, 12th Century
No. 14: High School Awards
Artist: Unknown Title: Collection of School Awards Date: 1998 Culture: American Provenance: Awarded to EAH in her senior year of high school High school looms large in my memory, as I guess it does for many people. But aside from one tattered old t-shirt, a collection of five or six diaries that I kept religiously … Continue reading No. 14: High School Awards
Anne Brigman, The Breeze, 1910
Up here—shrouded in mist and the scent of pine, a halo of fuzzy golden light surrounding my fragile silhouette—I am like a goddess. And so I strip myself of those most dull human identifiers. My hip-length jacket with the brass buttons that march up my torso, and my wide-brimmed hat with the plumage of feathers … Continue reading Anne Brigman, The Breeze, 1910
No. 13: My Ántonia
Artist: Willa Cather & Houghton Mifflin Company Title: My Ántonia Date: 1918; copyright renewed 1977 Culture: American Literature Provenance: Given to EAH by her mother in July of 1987 I recently found myself thumbing through my old copy of My Ántonia and felt an unexpected ache. I'm sure this is partly because I associate the … Continue reading No. 13: My Ántonia
Giuseppe Pellizza, Il Sole, 1904
Forty days, they told me—quaranta giorni—but I think it was more. Sixty? Seventy-five? No matter. It's over now. During my solitude, my bedroom quickly became a dark, fusty, unwelcoming place, so I slept on my balcony most nights, in spite of the cold, my down comforter and flannel pajamas wrapped tightly around me, the slender … Continue reading Giuseppe Pellizza, Il Sole, 1904
Ellen A. Hurst 