Electric cars have been around since the mid 19th century… So why didn’t they catch on sooner? Telegraph motoring journalist Paul Hudson explains the long journey EVs have gone through, from almost extinction in postwar Britain, up to present day and their pivotal role in the future of driving. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/advi..
Category Archives: History
Art & Jewelry: A Brief History Of The ‘House Of FABERGÉ’ (Sotheby’s Video)
Family firm Fabergé was the most powerful and largest jewelry company of its era. In this video, find out how the brand captured the attention of Royal families in Russia and across Europe, and discover works with true imperial provenance, including the Balletta Vase, which is offered as part of Sotheby’s upcoming sale Fabergé and Vertu: Property from the Brooklyn Museum (2 December | London). Other highlights include Fabergé special singular commissions, including a nephrite and moonstone study of mistletoe, a nephrite and diamond dandelion, and intricately carved agate models of a dog, a billy goat and a diamond-eyed cat.
Video Profile: ‘Elsie De Wolfe’ – America’s First Professional Interior Designer (1859 – 1950)
The year 2020 marks the one-hundredth anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted millions of women in the U.S. the right to vote.
The Frick is celebrating with a series of videos honoring the stories of women who made, appeared in, collected, and took care of art in this collection. In the second-to-last episode, meet Elsie de Wolfe, America’s first professional interior designer, who decorated the Frick’s Fifth Avenue home. #WhatsHerStory
Elsie de Wolfe, also known as Lady Mendl, (December 20, c. 1859 – July 12, 1950) was an American actress and interior decorator.
Born in New York City, de Wolfe was acutely sensitive to environment from her earliest years, and became one of the first women interior designers, replacing heavy Victorian styles with light, intimate effects and uncluttered room layouts. Her marriage to English diplomat Sir Charles Mendl was seen as one of convenience, though she was proud to be called Lady Mendl, and her lifelong companion was Elisabeth Marbury, with whom she lived in New York and Paris. De Wolfe was a prominent social figure, who entertained in the most distinguished circles.
Art Books: Watercolor – A History (Marie-Pierre Salé)
The most comprehensive and best-illustrated history of watercolor painting ever published.
The term watercolor calls to mind atmosphere, luminosity, and immediacy―qualities that derive directly from the quick-drying, translucent nature of water-based pigments. In Watercolor: A History, Louvre curator Marie-Pierre Salé provides an authoritative and beautifully illustrated account of this versatile and widely beloved artistic medium.
Salé’s incisive text traces the development of watercolor from the thirteenth to the twentieth century in Europe and the United States, encompassing every type of work―from plein-air sketches to finished studio pieces―and a wide variety of artists. Here are Dürer’s detailed animal studies, Turner’s landscapes, Cézanne’s tireless explorations, Sargent’s light-dappled sketches, O’Keeffe’s pioneering abstractions.
This handsome volume features more than three hundred full-color illustrations, specially printed on Munken paper to capture the vibrancy and texture of the original works. It is sure to be welcomed by art historians and art lovers alike.
Food & Culture: ‘Pekin Noodle Parlor – Oldest Chinese Restaurant In U.S.’
The oldest continuously-running Chinese restaurant in the United States, the Pekin Noodle Parlor, has been feeding customers in Butte, Montana, since 1911. Correspondent Luke Burbank visits the multi-generational family business and takes a step into culinary history.
Cocktails With A Curator: Claude Monet’s “Vétheuil in Winter” (Frick Video)
In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon takes viewers through Claude Monet’s journey as an artist, focusing on “Vétheuil in Winter,” one of only four Impressionist paintings at The Frick Collection. Monet created this work during a particularly difficult period in his life, which included his wife’s passing and the bankruptcy of his biggest patron. For Xavier, this canvas signifies the importance of hope, as Monet persevered and went on to complete some of his greatest works in the wake of these challenges. The wintry landscape is paired with a complementary beverage of mulled wine. To view this painting in detail, please visit our website: https://www.frick.org/vetheuilwinter
Podcast: Howard Hughes & Early Aviation History
Howard Hughes was a lot of things: one of America’s first billionaires, a film producer and an entrepreneur in industries from media to oil to property.
But Hughes was also a keen aviator and owner of the airline TWA, who broke round-the-world records and paved the way for competition in international air travel.
Art: Experience ‘The Wine Harvest’ By 17th C. Flemish Painter David Teniers
Hear the voice of Downton Abbey star Jim Carter bring to life David Teniers’ monumental depiction of a 17th-century wine harvest. Immerse yourself in Teniers’ unrivalled talent for storytelling as we see grape harvesters unloading their bounty, coopers fixing up wine barrels, a wine merchant sealing a deal, and worse for wear villagers raising their glasses to the temple of Bacchus. Unseen in over a century, ‘The Wine Harvest’ is the finest work by Teniers to come to market in living memory.
David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, draughtsman, miniaturist painter, staffage painter, copyist and art curator. He was an extremely versatile artist known for his prolific output.
Historical Walking Tours: Venice, Italy (Video)
Take a virtual journey across the globe and experience years worth of Venetian history with expert tour guide Mose Viero. This “Venice in a Day” tour explores incredible historic landmarks and architecture, including the Grand Canal, St. Mark’s Basilica Bell Tower, Rialto Bridge and Doge’s Palace.
Fruits: ‘The History Of Orange Trees’ (Video)
Orange trees are among the most popular fruit trees grown around the world. But the orange has a unique history that is intimately tied to human civilization and deserves to be remembered. This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
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