Category: Books

Manhattan Moments: More Art

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FINE ART FOR AUCTION

Christie’s

Les Flamants, 1910

Christie’s has its New York gallery and auction headquarters in Rockefeller Center.  Thanks to a tip from our son, we went down to see a wonderful Rousseau and other marvelous works.  We walked into a wide lobby space, a coat check and coffee bar tucked in on the left.  No one spoke to us, and no one asked for identification or what our business was.  We wandered into a transverse hall and saw the first pieces of art.  

Eglise Saint-Philibert by Maurice Utrillo

Everything on display was from private collections. All were here to be auctioned off during a week of high-profile sales.  The art ranged from Impressionism to Contemporary and 20th and 21st century pieces.  

The Gate by David Hockney

Shown in the top photo, this beautiful Rousseau of flamingos by a shore (Les Flamants, 1910) sold for $43.5 million on May 11 in the largest sale price ever for this artist and as the highest price piece in the 20th Century Evening Sale.  That same week, the third chapter of Masterpieces from the S. I. Newhouse Collection was also very successful with its inclusion of notable works by de Kooning and Picasso.

Rachel Zurer by Alice Neel
Au Casino, Bonnard

We wandered from gallery to gallery as the intertwined spaces opened to us with more walls of art.  I especially liked a portrait by Alice Neel (having seen her work on exhibit at the Met two years ago); two portraits by Alex Katz, one on a vibrant orange background; Bonnard’s Au Casino; a church streetscape by Utrillo; several gloriously colorful landscapes by David Hockney; and a white rose by Georgia O’Keeffe.  It was a marvelous experience!  

White Calico Rose, O’Keeffe

Part of the fun was the people watching—the very professionally suited Christie’s staff with their notebooks and usually a small clutch of exhibit catalogues under their arms–and the mix of potential buyers and just lookers like us.  Dress in the latter groups ranged from an elegant black pants suit on an elegant white-haired woman to jeans and a white shirt, to khaki pants, and even the occasional rumpled sweater.  

ARTY SUMMER READ

The Price of Inheritance by Karin Tanabe

By happenstance, I read this early novel by Karin Tanabe just after being at Christie’s.  The Price of Inheritance is about the fine art industry and provides a detailed look at how dealers go about evaluating and acquiring pieces from private collectors.  Carolyn Everett, ambitious and intense, is a young star in the Furniture Department at Christie’s in Manhattan.  Botching her career after a record-breaking sale, Carolyn returns to small-time art buying and begins a questionable romance with a magnetic Marine.  Romance that is tied up with the inside world of buying and selling art.  A fast, suspenseful read!

Note: Art photos by JWFarrington. Header photo is Ada by Alex Katz.

Watching, Reading, & Eating

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FEEL GOOD MOVIE

Downton Abbey:  A New Era

Lady Mary with family and staff (TVLine)

The characters in the original Downton Abbey TV series, are the favorites of many, me included.  This latest movie, the second one, brings everyone together again prompted by Tom Branson’s wedding to Lucy.  There are several children running around, Lady Violet is hanging on, just, and Lady Mary has grown into her lady of the manor role.  A short trip to France raises some puzzling family history.  Against this backdrop, Lord Grantham grudgingly agrees to let the abbey be the set for one of the first talking films.  The filming provides fodder for several subplots.

Isobel Crawley (Baroness Merton) & Lady Violet Crawley (NPR)

Overall, this is a set piece rather than high drama.  There are sweet vignettes between Downton’s married staff and some couples who aren’t.  Add in nostalgia and the recognition that the mantle is being passed on to a new generation.  What would have been the logical ending was instead followed by a scene preparing the way for yet another film.  

The Chief Penguin and I thoroughly enjoyed this return to Downton.  It’s fun and affirming in a good way.  

CIVIL WAR NOVEL

Wild, Beautiful and Free by Sophfronia Scott

Author Scott (Rob Berkley)

E-mails from Amazon bring newly published titles to my attention.  A few are freebies while others are bargains from mostly unfamiliar authors.  This new novel from Sophfronia Scott came via that route.

It’s the story of a Jeannette, a mixed-race young woman in Louisiana.  Her slave mother died in childbirth, her white stepmother loathes her, and her rich landowner father dotes on her and oversees her education.  He also tutors her in the layout of the Catalpa plantation and tells her she will inherit a portion of it one day.  When he dies, his wife sells her and sends her to a distant plantation.  

Jeannette’s greatest wish is to someday return to Catalpa and claim her heritage.  Narrated in the first person, this is a compelling story of hardship, danger, determination, and love.  Boldness and daring acts shape Jeannette’s journey, making for a most absorbing book. 

Scott began her career as an award-winning magazine journalist and is the author of other novels and numerous essays.  Her young son was at school in Sandy Hook on that fateful day in 2013; Scott’s memoir, This Child of Faith, outlines how religion has played a beneficial role in his life.

WHITE LINEN ITALIAN

Lusardi’s (Upper East Side, Manhattan)

We returned to Lusardi’s for dinner after a long absence.  It’s traditional and elegant in an Old-World sense. Wait staff is all male and the service is impeccable, but not stiff.  It’s perfect for a special occasion, but so welcoming that I could easily dine here frequently.

On this night, we shared an order of tagliolini cacio e pepe to start.  These pasta strands coated in butter sauce with Pecorino cheese and pepper and the added ingredient of strips of zucchini were sublime. The zucchini elevated the dish.  

For our mains, I had delicious almond-crusted John Dory on sauteed spinach while the Chief Penguin went for the chicken breast with black truffle sauce accompanied by butternut squash and Brussels sprouts.  It was a lovely meal. The menu has so many temptations, we’ve vowed to go back again soon!

Chicken with black truffle sauce (Lusardi’s)

Note: Header photo of Lusardi’s dining room is from lusardis.com

Tidy Tidbits: Mostly Watching

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RECENT VIEWING

INTERWOVEN LIVES IN A CAR CRASH

Collision (Amazon Prime)

Detectives John & Ann (The Movie Database)

Collision is a British police series from 2009. The Chief Penguin and I decided to watch it because it stars Douglas Henshall of Shetland fame.  A traffic accident involving 12 cars occurs on a superhighway and three people die.  Detective Inspector John Tolin (a young Henshall) and Inspector Ann Stallwood (Kate Ashfield) analyze the crash scene and talk to the survivors to determine how and why it happened on a perfectly pleasant day.  Tolin lives with his disabled daughter, and you quickly sense he is haunted by a tragedy, but have no details.  Rather than doing the standard follow-up, John becomes caught up in personal aspects of the survivors’ lives.  

We see the accident over and over and the activities of the principals in the several days leading up to it.  One or more crimes may have been committed, and John and Ann follow all sorts of leads to tie it all together.   While not fast paced, we found this a fascinating crime/mystery series.  It was written by Anthony Horowitz (think Foyle’s War), and there are 5 episodes.  

DEADLY CRIME AND QUESTIONABLE COPS

Bloodlands (Acorn) 2 seasons

Detectives Brannick & McGovern (Radio Times)

Set in Northern Ireland in present day, this police procedural handles complex cases with links to Northern Ireland’s past and the IRA.  The principals are Detective Chief Inspector Tom Brannick and his assistant, DS Naimh McGovern, and their boss, Detective Chief Superintendent Jackie Twomey.  Brannick’s wife went missing more than 20 years ago, and he is obsessed with solving these new cases.  Single, Brannick has a college age daughter and a somewhat checkered past.  As he and his colleagues hunt for the infamous assassin called Goliath, one begins to question Brannick’s motives and intents. 

I found the first season suspenseful with some compelling twists and turns.  In Season 2, which I’m now watching, I have a clearer view of Brannick’s values or lack thereof and am wondering how he will fare in the end. This is a hard-edged, gripping series with plenty of killings—not for the faint of heart.  

BOOK NOTES

  • My local book group had a lively discussion about Lessons in Chemistry by first time novelist Bonnie Garmus.  The facilitator liked it, everyone else loved it.  We agreed that its humorous moments made what could have been a heavy work enjoyable.  The book’s underlying theme, society’s treatment of women in the 1950’s and 60’s, prompted the sharing of several personal accounts of workplace discrimination or harassment. 
  • I’m currently reading Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson.  Set in London in 1926, it focuses on the indomitable Nellie Coker and her family members who own a series of nightclubs.  So far, I love the writing (meticulous in its telling details) and am finding these characters intriguing.

Tidy Tidbits: Women in Crime & Chemistry

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FEMALE CRIME FIGHTERS

International Women’s Day was this week on March 8th. It seems appropriate, therefore, to focus on women in this post. In the olden days, TV detectives and police officers were pretty much always white men. It’s gratifying and fun to see women—brown, white, Indian, and Irish—as the lead characters in recent crime series. Here are three series, all of which happen to be set outside the U.S., where women are in charge or at least trying to be.

Murders in Birmingham

DI Ray (Prime Video)

Richita Ray & colleague Tony (SBS Movies)

DI Richita Ray is a newly promoted homicide detective tasked to work on a case that is culturally sensitive. Feeling that she is a token hire based on her ethnicity, she faces obstacles from her higher ups as she leads her team in investigating the death of an Asian businessman.  Ray is organized and quick-witted and the episodes are full of action.  She’s also engaged to a white man, also a police detective.  Her relationship with him provides both support and then challenges.  There are four episodes in Season 1, all revolving around the initial case.  I’d call it good viewing, but not exceptional.

Drugs & Terrorists in Ireland

Hidden Assets (Prime Video)

Detectives Emer & Christian (SBS)

Set in western Ireland and Antwerp, Hidden Assets, is a suspenseful series about drugs, diamonds, and international terrorism.  Detective Sergeant Emer Berry and her counterpart in Antwerp, Christian De Jong, work together to solve the murder of an illegal immigrant and to prevent a suspected bombing, both related to a wealthy Irish family.  Tightly written, this may keep you on the edge of your seat.  Recommended!

Crime in Victorian London

Miss Scarlet & the Duke (PBS Masterpiece) 3 seasons

Eliza facing off against William (salon.com)

I’m late to the game of Miss Scarlet …and have just started watching Season 1.  Headstrong and willing to take risks, Eliza Scarlet was always her private detective father’s apt pupil.  When he dies, she defies convention and tries to make it on her own as his successor.  It’s a struggle and she frequently buts heads with Scotland Yard Inspector William Wellington (the Duke) who has little patience and no real interest in helping her succeed.  How she acquires unexpected financial support and gradually gains the Duke’s respect make for an engaging series thus far.

FUN READING—A REBELLIOUS WOMAN

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Author Garmus (Irish Examiner)

Bonnie Garmus’ comic novel, Lessons in Chemistry, was Barnes & Noble’s book of the year for 2022 and continues to ride high on bestseller lists.  I loved it and found some of it laugh-out-loud funny which is unusual for me.

It’s set mostly in the early 1960’s. Any woman who lived through that period, or anyone who has experienced job discrimination due to her gender, will be able to identify with chemist Elizabeth Zott.  Elizabeth is unconventional and determined.  

A talented scientist, she gets short shrift on lab equipment and space and initially accepts her fate.  Taking beakers from “boy wonder” Calvin Evans’ lab, gets her noticed and they become a couple.  But she rejects his proposal of marriage.  When he dies, she is a single mother and soon out of job.  

Her daughter Madeline is unusual also and when Mad and another girl tangle, Elizabeth receives a TV job offer from the other girl’s father.  Elizabeth becomes the host of the cooking show, Supper at Six.  Elizabeth’s straight talk and excessive candor horrify the producers, but over time she wins over her audience as she treats them as capable women.  The novel is a fun tour de force that gallops across the pages with witty twists and intriguing turns and a distinctive cast of characters. Highly recommended! (~JWFarrington)  

Note: Header photo showcases International Women’s Day and is courtesy of Diario AS.