
—Miriam Hopkins

Girl in a White Kimono, 1894
Oil on canvas
Model: Geesje Kwak
23 in × 22 in
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam


Rick McGinnis writes:
“I hadn’t shot a portrait in months when the lockdown entered its third month. Then I realized that the most appropriate subjects were the people on my street, with whom I had become familiar as we got used to each other’s very abbreviated routines. It took a couple of weeks to set up and shoot the series, posing my neighbours in the front or back doors of the homes where they’d been sheltering in place since March.”



—Eva Marie Saint, photo by Philippe Halsman, 1954

The Earring, c. 1893
oil on canvas
Height: 33.2 in; Width: 22.6 in.
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen



by Paul Tanqueray
whole-plate glass negative, 1929


—Hedy Lamarr


Academy Theater, Inglewood California, 1940

Despite its technological excellence and ingenuity, the car was introduced during a rough part of history and the company struggled to find its financial footing. The final Ruxton automobiles were built in 1931.
Engine Type: L-head
Cylinders: 8
Horsepower: 100
Manufacturer: New Era Motors (St. Louis, MO)
Coachbuilder: Edward G. Budd Mfg. Co. (Philadelphia, PA)
Price When New: $3,195
Nethercutt Collection.

Rick, I m puzzled by 2 things in your photo- 1) what is the note in the letter drop? and 2) why is she barefoot? Many women would not pass up the opportunity to show off a fabulous pair of shoes in a portrait session with a talented photographer. By the way, It is an excellent portrait and she looks beautiful.
Robert, regarding the Ophion watch. Blue is my favorite color, but, wow! that’s a whole lot of blue! I prefer the Anthracite model myself, but I still can’t afford it.
Geesje Kwak. Her name sort of rolls off your tongue, doesn’t it? Dead at 22 from TB,
What possessed Hedy Lamarr’s mother to call her an ugly weed? What sort of a parent does that?
No matter what she was painting, Georgia O’Keeffe always included a lot of color and a (not-so-subtle) “female sensuality” in her paintings. With the Horst P. Horst photo it was all about the light and shadow.
The Eye of Horus is interesting. As I read about it’s meaning, it seems like people attribute a lot of mystical symbology to it. Can’t it just be a good luck charm watching over you?
Regarding the Academy Theater, is that a smoke stack, or just signage? If the latter, does it seems like it might be just a wee bit a phallic imagery there? It was originally built to host the Oscars, but it never did. Became a church in 1976, but they’ve kept much of the neon in tact. See color photo at night here: http://tinyurl.com/yc3427q
Have a wonderful weekend.
Nice portrait Rick!
I’ll bet Eva’s children aren’t screwed up like many star’s children. AFAIK she still lives in Santa Monica. Love the story probably you told about her when filming North by Northwest. That Hitchcock didn’t like any of the studio selected clothes for her so he took her shopping in NY.
Plain girls should have someone telling them they are beautiful. Sometimes this works miracles.”
A kind word to anyone is many times remembered for years and can work miracles.
Miriam had a sense of humor!
There was an elegance to those 30s cars. Just saw a 1931-32 Packard Jay Leno reviewed that be bought from the late Phil Hill. Talks a lot about Packard engineering and Phil Hill.
Bill:
I worked with one of Eva’s children. She was a studio exec. She is a lovely woman, normal, well adjusted, and a joy with whom to work.