Before it happened, I was stitching together the red-orange flower that would eventually find its home at the far edge of my quilt. I was bone tired after a day of cleaning and cooking and running after the children, and this was a special time of reflection. There is something divine in the devising of … Continue reading Rebecca Davis, Honeycomb Quilt, 1846
M. Elizabeth Price, AKA Mary Elizabeth Price, was a prominent American painter in the early twentieth century. And yet I hadn't heard of her, nor do I remember ever seeing her work until I stumbled upon her Flower Border II (undated) quite by accident on the internet a few weeks ago. The work struck me … Continue reading M. Elizabeth Price
In my fourteen plus years of training as an art historian I somehow never learned about the wonderful Horace Pippin. And then last week I stumbled across one of his paintings online: "The Getaway, The Fox (The get-a-way)" from 1939. Pippin's biography is fascinating. He was born near Philadelphia and educated in segregated schools in … Continue reading Mr. Pippin
I learned of a major gap in my knowledge of the art world last week while at the post office of all places. I was sending birthday presents to my niece and nephew who live on the other side of the country, and while contemplating my shipping options I saw one of those sheets of … Continue reading Martín Ramírez; or, My Artistic Education at the Post Office
Ellen A. Hurst 