The Pope’s Funeral

The Metropolitan Museum owns a quietly beautiful drawing by Michelangelo, a presentation drawing illustrating his design for a tomb dedicated … More

Little Pink Boxes: Why Bakery Boxes in SoCal (and in other parts of the West Coast) are Pink, a Post in Honor of Boxing Day

Stephanie Shih, “Brueghel’s Breakfast,” 2020. Today is Boxing Day … so let’s talk about boxes. Actual boxes. But let’s go … More

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas: A Christmas Mix Tape

It’s a cold and bright Christmas Day here in NYC. I hope you’re doing something you enjoy, with people you … More

Reading New York: 2022 Edition

Jane Mount, Ideal Bookshelf #364-New York, 2008. (You can order a copy of this illustration as a print from Jane’s … More

Jennifer Rochlin and Shary Boyle

Jennifer Rochlin, Sycamore and Poppies, 2022. Glazed ceramic, 19.5 x 16 x 11.5 in. These short December days can really … More

“To Make Ginger Breade” : Transcribing a 17th-Century Gingerbread recipe

Every year, the Early Modern Recipes Online Collective (EMROC) holds a virtual Transcribathon event. This year, I finally took the … More

The High Cost of Living with No Tangible Future

David Lance Goines, Poster for UC Berkeley Summer Sessions, 2001. I used to have a copy of this David Lance … More

Consensus

“Scholars agree…”“Most scholars believe…”“It is the generally accepted opinion…”“It is the scholarly consensus…” These phrases crop up, again and again, … More

Among the Flowers: Katherine Sherwood at George Adams Gallery

Katherine Sherwood, Violet Wishes, 2022. Mixed media on found cotton duck, 50 x 40 inches. Katherine Sherwood was my painting … More

(Almost) Doubled: Jost Amman after Lucas Cranach

Jost Amman made his copy of Lucas Cranach the Elder’s print, The Penitent St. Jerome, at the very beginning of … More