
—Michael Caine

Woman playing a virginal
c. 1635
38.5 x 29.5 cm
Oil on panel
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam


Darl’Mat Roadster

—Jean Arthur

Cooling off at Shijō by the Kamo River, 1885
From the series One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (Tsuki Hyakushi)
color woodblock print
Dimensions: Sheet approximately 15 1/2 × 10 1/2 inches (39.4 × 26.7 cm)

Peter, Sarah & Karen, Earlscourt, June 2020
Rick says: “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.”
More neighbour portraits here.

“A Wall Grows in Teaneck”
2020

—Irene Dunne

A Boy Bringing Bread
circa 1663
oil on canvas
Height: 74.5 cm (29.3 in); Width: 60 cm (23.6 in)
The Wallace Collection

Summer Lower East Side, NYC, 1937


Young Jewish Woman, Beirut c.1875

I always liked Michael Caine as an actor. And anyone who can portray a German WW2 officer who had honor – with a cockney accent – convincingly – has my vote. (The Eagle Has Landed)
I was surprised to learn that when Jean Arthur did Shane, she was ready for retirement and was talked into doing the movie. I wonder how many movie stars are painfully shy?
Can you get the Vacheron Constantin Historiques Triple Calendrier at Costco? 😉
Congratulations on the grand daughter, Robert. Our newest one was one year old last week and we had a Zoom virtual party for her.
Robert,
I was away and missed the announcement of Charlotte’s birth.
May she live a long and blessed life, walk in peace and be happy.
Christopher:
Thanks so much.
Jean Arthur’s heavy-handed self-analysis means she is clearly someone not to know. As for Irene
Dunne, she may be the most talented person ever on screen; Beatuy, music, humor and drama. My kind of girl.
Barry:
I think that Jean Arthur was probably bipolar.
Irene Dunne was, to my mind, the most versatile actress of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She did comedy, drama, and she sang beautifully. She led a scandal-free life, was a pious Catholic, married to one man her whole life and was a life-long Republican.
Exactly. And possibly not just the Golden Age.
And Robert, what doees that mean, a wall grows in Teaneck?
I shot the picture in Teaneck, N.J. And I like catchy titles.
Takeoff of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
I love the watch, Robert. A beautiful design, albeit pricey.
Can’t you imagine tooling around the country-side of southern France in the Peugeot? It’s not a Morgan, but a worthy substitute maybe.
Quite the contrast between the two women: Irene Dunne and Jean Arthur. Arthur was painfully shy, to the point of being a recluse, while Dunne spoke before the United Nations and was highly active in her philanthropic pursuits. Honestly, Shane is the only performance I recall of Arthur’s career, although I know I’ve seen several of her other films.
Again, Charlotte is beautiful. Congratulations to the entire family and have a wonderful weekend celebrating her arrival.
Prophet Joe:
We are all very happy with the addition of Charlotte to the family. Thanks so much for your kind words.