Artist: Unknown—Copy of Theophan the Greek Title: Copy of the Icon of the Donskoi Mother of God Date: Modern copy of 14th century icon Culture: Russian/Byzantine Provenance: Purchased as a souvenir by EAH by at the Donskoi Monastery in Moscow in 2011. In the spring of 2011, I visited Moscow for the first time in … Continue reading No. 6: Icon of the Donskoi Mother of God
Before the pump house was built, there was just a stretch of marshy, flat prairie. I was only thirteen when the crews moved in to build the place, but I can still remember games of tag with my brothers in the tall, humid grass that once grew there. Back then, before we were old enough … Continue reading A. E. Staley Pump House, 1919, Decatur, Illinois
Artist: Unknown Title: Key chain and bottle opener (formerly with Abba imagery) Date: Unknown (1970s–90s?) Culture: European or American Provenance: Given to EAH by Kevin O'Rourke on her twenty-second birthday (2002). Purchased by Kevin O'Rourke on eBay in 2001 or 2002. Original owner/provenance unknown. I sometimes like to say that I got my husband for … Continue reading No. 5: Key Chain and Bottle Opener
What is it about the desert that makes me feel so at peace? Maybe it is its subtle, sun-faded colors. Its boundlessness. The fact that it is at once monotonous and variegated. The way the rows upon rows of sagebrush slide out into the horizon, greens and silvers fading into silvers and tans. There are … Continue reading Agnes Martin, Flower in the Wind, 1963
Artist: The Woodknot Bookshop, Newport, Vermont Title: Bookmark Date: 1990s Culture: American Provenance: Tucked into a book purchased at the Woodknot Bookshop in Newport, Vermont. Most likely purchased by the parents of EAH as a gift. Is there anything more ordinary than those paper bookmarks that are slipped into the new book you're buying at … Continue reading No. 4: Bookmark
Artist: Anne Alavi Title: Mix Tape Collection Date: 1990s Culture: American Provenance: Gifted to EAH by the artist Before we had digital playlists and Spotify and Apple Music, we had the mix tape. I recall making mix tapes for myself for special road trips or parties and also making them for other people as … Continue reading No. 3: Mix Tape Collection
The heat has lifted, and a cool breeze is blowing in off the coast. There is a reprieve from the intensity of late summer. All day a steady stream of traffic barrelled south, back toward the city. To concrete, to offices and schools, to the rush of crowds and public transport. It's as though the … Continue reading Edward Hopper, Gas, 1940
Artist: Unknown. (Possibly Anchor Hocking Milano Lido? Morgantown Glass Company? Seneca Glass Company?) Title: Amber Crinkle Glass Date: 1950s or 1960s Culture: American Provenance: Presumably purchased new by the grandfather of EAH some time mid-century. Gifted to EAH by her grandfather around 2002. My grandfather, born the seventh of fourteen in a small town … Continue reading No. 2: Amber Crinkle Glass
I am one of three who toils on this page. We are brothers in the scriptorium of Iona. Our abbey is on a windy and wet promontory. Isolated. An ideal place to contemplate our Heavenly Father, the Trinity, the Gospel. This morning, after tending the kitchen fires, I came to the scriptorium as I do … Continue reading Chi Rho Iota Page, The Book of Kells, 800
This object, which I first discussed on my blog several years ago, is the first "catalogue entry" in my new project, Catalogue. Artist: Pottery Barn Title: Slipcovered Sofa Date: 2003 Culture: American Provenance: Purchased by EAH directly from Pottery Barn in 2003. Gifted to the Philadelphia Charity Uhuru Furniture in 2015. I recently found a … Continue reading No. 1: Slipcovered Sofa
Ellen A. Hurst 