#QueerQuote: “Your Own Life While it’s Happening to You Never Has Any Atmosphere Until it’s a Memory.” – Andy Warhol

By Stephen Rutledge on August 6, 2022 7:55 am

Bianchini gallery opening, 1963 Left to right: Bob Stanley, Ultra Violet, Andy Warhol, Paul Bianchini, public domain Andy Warhol (1928-1993) was an ardent, practicing Catholic of the Eastern Byzantine strain, going to mass every day. But, he was also a secular artist, a … [Read more...]

#ArtDept: Madonna’s Favorite Painter, Tamara de Lempicka

By Stephen Rutledge on July 20, 2022 10:20 am

Public Domain, Wikimedia Common ''I live life in the margins of society, and the rules of normal society don't apply to those who live on the fringe.'' Madonna is a collector of her work and has lent paintings to events and museums, and inspired her music videos for Open … [Read more...]

#QueerQuote: “Love is a Striking Example of How Little Reality Means to Us.” – Marcel Proust

By Stephen Rutledge on July 10, 2022 11:00 am

Photograph by Otto Wegener, 1882, public domain via Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust's (1871- 1922) quote is better in French, but then most things are: "L'amour est un exemple frappant de la façon dont la petite réalité nous paraît." I have often thought of … [Read more...]

#BornThisDay: Frida Kahlo

By Stephen Rutledge on July 6, 2022 3:03 am

July 6, 1907 - Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón: "I paint myself because I am often alone, and I am the subject I know best." Queer artist Frida Kahlo is one of the most iconic Mexicans of all time. When I hear the word Mexico, I think of her first. Her brilliant paintings … [Read more...]

#BornThisDay: Jean Cocteau

By Stephen Rutledge on July 5, 2022 3:03 pm

1923 portrait, Wikimedia Commons, public domain July 5, 1889 - Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau: "Life is a horizontal fall." He was a poet, writer, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. While still in his teens, Cocteau began to date older, well-connected … [Read more...]

#BornThisDay: Photographer, James Van Der Zee

By Stephen Rutledge on June 29, 2022 3:03 am

Self-Portrait, 1918, public domain June 29, 1886- James Van Der Zee: "Being an artist, I had an artist's instincts. You can see the picture before it's taken; then it's up to you to get the camera to see." For several years, Van Der Zee played piano with Fletcher … [Read more...]

#BornThisDay: Writer / Illustrator, Maurice Sendak

By Stephen Rutledge on June 11, 2022 3:03 am

Photo via Creative Commons, public domain June 11, 1928 – Maurice Sendak: ”There must be more to life than having everything.” It's curious because I am zany for children's books, but I don't care much for children. I am not certain how the tradition started, but … [Read more...]

#BornThisDay: Actor, Vincent Price

By Stephen Rutledge on May 27, 2022 3:03 am

House On Haunted Hill (1959), Wikimedia Commons, public domain May 27, 1911 - Vincent Price: "I played so many gentlemen at the beginning of my career that I certainly wanted to play some villains and so I got kind of stuck in villains." Price will always be famous for … [Read more...]

#ArtDept: The Male Nudes of English Painter, Brian Hatton

By Stephen Rutledge on May 22, 2022 4:05 am

Brian Hatton, Seated Nude; Hereford Museum and Art Gallery, public domain In his very short life, his works showed considerable promise and included local landscapes, family portraits, figure studies, and book illustrations. Brian Hatton was born in 1887 in Hereford, … [Read more...]

#QueerQuote: “All Photographs are Accurate. None of Them is the Truth.” – Richard Avedon

By Stephen Rutledge on May 15, 2022 2:02 pm

What do Jean Genet, Jimmy Durante, Brigitte Bardot, Georgia O'Keeffe, Jacques Cousteau, Andy Warhol, and Lena Horne have in common? They are just a few of the many personalities immortalized on film by photographer Richard Avedon. For 50+ years, Avedon's portraits filled the … [Read more...]