Category Archives: Profiles

Art: Jacqueline Roque – Picasso’s Ultimate Muse

Picasso’s stunning painting ‘Femme Accroupie’, offered in Sotheby’s upcoming Modern Art Evening Sale (9 October | Hong Kong), is a portrait of his ultimate muse and wife, Jacqueline Roque. In this latest Expert Voices, Sotheby’s Chairman Brooke Lampley tells us of the huge artistic inspiration Jacqueline had on Picasso. Discover how this work was the final summation of an entire series of portraits of her, and how it was inspired by master artists of previous centuries.

Exhibitions: ‘Jeff Koons. Shine’ At Palazzo Strozzi In Florence, Italy (Video)

American contemporary artist Jeff Koons brings some of his most celebrated works of art to Palazzo Strozzi in Florence for a major exhibition entitled Jeff Koons.Shine. His work will be exhibited alongside loan objects from galleries and museums around the world, exploring the concept of “shine” in his work–an ambiguous idea that oscillates between the dualities of being and seeming, or truth and sensation… Continue reading on https://www.nowness.com/series/meet-t…

Art Insider: Van Gogh’s Creative Spark In Paris

Vincent Van Gogh was a master of creating sumptuous still lifes. In this latest Expert Voices, Sotheby’s specialist Simon Stock describes how his painting “Nature Morte: Vase Aux Glaïeuls”, offered in Sotheby’s upcoming Modern Art Evening Sale (9 October | Hong Kong), perfectly captured the essence of the artist’s first summer in Paris in 1886. Discover how the artist infused his inspiration of Japanese wood block prints into his paintings, and how he painstakingly captured the joy of living in his still lifes, but also the transience of life.

Views: Jousting of the Saracens In Arezzo, Italy

In the picturesque walled city of Arezzo, a medieval ritual is conducted twice each year in which locals don the colors and armor of knights to engage in a jousting competition. Correspondent Seth Doane takes in the pageantry of the Giostra del Saracino, where longstanding family rivalries can play out on horseback.

Science & Medicine: Story Behind The mRNA Vaccines

As mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines are deployed to protect hundreds of millions of people across the world from the deadly global pandemic, the University of Pennsylvania scientists whose research breakthroughs laid the foundation for swift vaccine development have been awarded the 2021 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award. Here, mRNA vaccine pioneers Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, and Katalin Karikó, PhD, share the story behind their development of this groundbreaking technology, and what it means for the future of medicine.

Architecture: ‘Inside-Out House’ In Westminster, UK

Architect Barbara Weiss likes to do things a little differently. Indeed, the last time we caught up with her was at her upside-down house: a converted pub in Westminster, central London, where she lives on the secluded top floors and sleeps on the lower floors (yes, it’s as brilliant as it sounds). This time, she’s giving us a tour of her latest self-designed home, which she’s aptly titled the inside-out house.

Profiles: British Painter William Lee-Hankey – ’19th Century Rural France’

William Lee Hankey RWS, RI, ROI, RE, NS was a British painter and book illustrator. He specialised in landscapes, character studies and portraits of pastoral life, particularly in studies of mothers with young children such as “We’ve Been in the Meadows All Day”. 

Tributes: Don Everly Of ‘Everly Brothers’ Dies At 84

Pioneering rock ’n’ roll musician Don Everly of The Everly Brothers has died at 84. The legendary duo is credited for influencing a spectrum of musical acts like the Beatles to Simon & Garfunkel and more recently Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones.

Reviews: ‘The Collected Works Of Jim Morrison – Poetry, Journals & Lyrics’

When the lead singer of The Doors, Jim Morrison, died in 1971 at age 27, he left behind boxes filled with poetry, journals, and handwritten lyrics of what would become some of the era’s most memorable songs. His sister, Anne Morrison Chewning, has now compiled material from his archive into a new book, “The Collected Works of Jim Morrison.” Correspondent John Blackstone talked with Chewning, and with the two surviving members of The Doors – drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger – about Morrison’s impact as a writer and performer.

Books: ‘Hannah Arendt – Critical Lives’ – Samantha Rose Hill (LARB Review)