—Norma Shearer
1662, oil on canvas, 33 x 27 cm. Wallace Collection, London
First Fashion Illustration with Mate Lorenzetti, Milano, Italy, 1950
On view at the Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles
—Dorothy Mackaill, 1930
Her best film is the 1931 Pre-Code shocker, Safe in Hell, in which she plays a prostitute who chooses the gallows rather than sleep with a corrupt policeman. Thus, presumably, she will be safe in hell.
French actress Anouk Aimée and cigarette holder, 1961
The Lacemaker
1669-70
oil on canvas transferred to panel
23.9 X 20.5 cm
Paris, 1950
Sunday, 1926
oil on canvas, 29 x 34 in. The Philips Collection, Washington D.C.
—Constance Bennett
Nicolaes Maes (Dutch, Dordrecht 1634–1693 Amsterdam)
ca. 1656
Oil on canvas
17 3/4 x 20 3/4 in. (45.1 x 52.7 cm)
Mexico, Bacalar Mural 2018
The Chanukah item above is poignant in view of the stabbing in New York. The pathology is getting worse. We seem to be heading back the “Death Wish.” There are rumors the attacker had recently converted to Islam. Black anti-Semitism is bad enough.
Two paintings of lacemakers me think of my great-great-aunt, Anastasia. I only just recently leaned about her thanks to the current genealogy craze. She was from Youghal, and listed as a “lacemaker” in the 1901 census. Apparently, the Presentation Sisters started teaching lacemaking to Irish girls as a way of earning some money during the Famine. They reverse engineered some lace from Italy to the point where Youghal lace became quite well known.
The name Anastasia is odd, though. How did an Irish girl come to be called that? And apparently, there were a fair number of Anastasias born around the same year, 1880. I was VERY surprised at the number of little Anastasias born around 1880 ff. (Obviously, far too early for the Grand Duchess of Russia to have influenced the naming of little girls in Ireland.) I looked up a gazillion royal women for an Anastasia… Nope. Maybe there was an actress or singer of some fame during that time period who has since slipped into an obscurity such that do not warrant a Wikipedia entry…
The name Anastasia dates back to a 4th century saint in Dalmatia. The first wife of Ivan the Terrifying (“the Terrible” is a mistranslation) who bore most of his children was named Anastasia. Most often the name is associated with members of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Anastasia is an odd name for an Irish lass, but for some reason, around 1880, quite a number of girls in Ireland were christened Anastasia. Usually, when an out of the ordinary name takes off like that, it had to do with someone famous.
Not scads of Eastern Orthodox in Ireland in the 1880’s.
I don’t find it difficult to believe that the name of a Christian saint would be used to name girls in a Christian country, just because it was popular in Eastern Orthodox use. The name further means Resurrection, a concept not exclusive to Eastern Orthodoxy.
Having only a minimal of Irish in my own genealogy, I haven’t done any such research to explain the confluence you mention of naming at that time. For whatever it’s worth to you, I found http://fhr.kiwicelts.com/Research/Gen_Nicknames.html referring to Anastasia in section 6 identified among the “Favourite Catholic Christian Names — For Girls”.
Was the “Cat People” movie the inspiration for the “Cat Men” movie that was a plot item in “The Bad and the Beautiful?”
Maybe…
The portraits are beautiful this week, Robert. The car is exceptional and I really like the watch as well.
Rick, you have a wonderful eye for framing a photo — kudos.
Thanks so much.
Livia is as cute as a button! (where did that saying come from?) I have wanted to see the Petersen for years; every time I have been through Los Angeles it is either closed (Monday), or being remodeled. Some cars from John Frankeneimer are supposed to be there. Love the Ford Roadster – modern, yet old.
Like your picture too, Rick. Beautiful colors.
The Petersen is amazing, Bill – keep trying till you get in. I saw an exhibit of vintage Bugattis last time I was there. And thanks for the kind words on the photo.
Bill, the “cute” comes from “acute” from its “sharp” and “small” — less than 90 degrees — meanings. The “button” part refers to the small bud on a plant or flower. Looking for some validation for my recollection, I found one of the best authorities: The Word Detective (http://www.word-detective.com/2010/07/button-cute-as-a/).