“Too many divorces for so small a town. But then you mustn’t forget that Hollywood is a hard place to be happy unless you’re so absorbed in your work that you haven’t time to get into mischief. I do believe what I say when I tell you that no married person should leave husband or wife alone in Hollywood. There’s too much temptation. Think of all the charming, intelligent people out there.”
– Dolores del Rio
Jules Olitski
Cleopatra Flesh
1962
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
8′ 8″ x 7′ 6″ (264.2 x 228.3 cm)
MOMA
Richard Avedon
John Ford, film director, Bel Air, California
April 11, 1972
Pieter de Hooch (1629–after 1684)
Title Interior with Women beside a Linen Chest
1663
oil on canvas
Height: 70 cm (27.6 in). Width: 75.5 cm (29.7 in).
Dorothea Lange
Cable Car, San Francisco, 1956
Arthur Szyk
The Four Sons,’ 1934, from The Passover Haggadah.
Robbins Family Collection, Palo Alto, California
Bette Davis with her Bette Davis doll at the Film Advisory Board Dinner, April 3, 1982 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California
Greta Garbo by Ruth Harriet Louise, 1925
“I’m a rather unreliable human being. As a traveling companion I don’t recommend myself —I’m too much of a menace. I’m not much company because when the evening descends I usually disappear. I wouldn’t have breakfast with you, either. Lunch and the whole day, but no morning and no evening. If you think you’re going to have company all day I may as well tell you now, you’re not. You’d be saying, “Hell, what do I do all day by myself?” So I don’t recommend myself. It’s not too good to go with maniacs.”
—Greta Garbo
James Nares
Untitled
2004
Oil on paper
59 1/2 x 45″ (151.1 x 114.3 cm)
MOMA
Richard Avedon
Brigitte Bardot
January 1959
Pieter de Hooch
The Bedroom
1658-1660
51 cm × 60 cm (20 in × 24 in)
Location National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Richard Avedon
Sunny Harnett in Paris, 1954.
Arthur Szyk (1894−1951). My People. Samson in the Ghetto, (The Battle of the Warsaw Ghetto), 1945 Watercolor, gouache, ink, and graphite on paper. Taube Family Arthur Szyk Collection, Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, University of California, Berkeley
Delahaye type 165, 1938
Alfred Hitchcock frames Ingrid Bergman on the set of Spellbound, 1945.
“I have always thought I will go on acting and acting and acting because I belong to these people of the theatre and the movies and the make-believe world we create… After all, they always need an old witch in some production or other, especially around Christmas time. So at the end of my life, I’ll be ready and there.”
—Ingrid Bergman
Milton Avery
Sea Grasses and Blue Sea
1958
Oil on canvas
60 1/8″ x 6′ 3/8″ (152.7 x 183.7 cm)
MOMA
Rick McGinnis
Montreal, Sept. 2017
Pieter de Hooch
A Woman with a Child in a Pantry
1658
65 cm × 60.5 cm (26 in × 23.8 in)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Alternative movie poster for The Godfather by Marie Bergeron.
Tatsuya Tanaka
“Slanting Rain”
From the Miniature Calendar series
Richard Avedon, Dovima in an Evening Gown by Cristobal Balenciage, Harper’s Bazaar, UK, 1950
Arthur Szyk
Arsenal of Democracy,’ also known as ‘Democracy at Work,’ 1942.
Property of a Private Collector, New York.
Lauren Bacall for Royal Crown Cola, 1946.
Karen and I reflect upon our reflection in this outdoor sculpture in Jerusalem, October 2017.
Livia Yarden wishes all our friends and relatives a lovely and inspirational Shabbat.
Ariel Chaim Avrech, ZT'L, May His Righteous Memory be a Blessing.
NOTE: Click on video titles inside the thumbnail images, below, to open that video in YouTube
12 Comments
Arthur Szyk’s work is fascinating. There’s a whole world of social commentary in “The Four Sons.” It’s a style that seems to have absolutely no equivalent in contemporary art, commercial or fine.
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My former shul in NJ had a full Arthur Szyk calendar made for 5778. I have selected a couple of the pieces to frame for my walls. Very distinctive style.
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I noticed in the de Hooch paintings that the Dutch at that time seemed to love geometric patterns in their decor. they’re everywhere.
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“Too many divorces for so small a town. But then you mustn’t forget that Hollywood is a hard place to be happy unless you’re so absorbed in your work that you haven’t time to get into mischief. I do believe what I say when I tell you that no married person should leave husband or wife alone in Hollywood. There’s too much temptation. Think of all the charming, intelligent people out there.”
– Dolores del Rio
Not to mention lecherous studio heads.
BTW Robert – I like to watch old Johnny Carson shows (is there any other kind?) and a fascinating one was with Elizabeth Taylor, just a few weeks before his show ended in 1992. She learned at an early age with Louis B Mayer that she was a commodity and not a person.
Starts at 13:15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHgaRSegbK0&t=84s
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Bill, of course she was a commodity as were her colleagues. An actor who is not works in Indianapolis. The big bucks are her compensation, and a pretty fair trade off.
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The “Bette Davis doll” looks like Kathryn Hepburn.
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Robert, I found myself looking at that photograph of a stunning Ingrid Bergman, and it occurred to me to ask: What’s your favorite Hollywood film that deliberately picked very ordinary-looking actors for its lead roles?
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That look-through-the-eyebrows Bacall perfected for “To Have and Have Not” became classic. The only male I can recall who did something like it for totally different reasons was David Janssen.
Couple of minor examples:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0418148/mediaviewer/rm644056064
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0418148/mediaviewer/rm560169984
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Aaaah, I feel much better now. Yes, I did check if it was Friday.
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I feel better to… getting back to my normal schedule.
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Excellent, again! I’m not familiar with Peter de Hooch. Now I’m going to have to do some research!
Have a wonderful Sabbath and welcome home.
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Peter de Hooch was a popular painter of domestic scenes. He has often been compared to Vermeer, but he does not come close to Vermeer’s genius with color and he lacks the transcendent mystery that elevates Vermeer to the pantheon of one of the greatest artists who ever lived. Have a great weekend. It’s good to be home.
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