Tag Archives: washington dc

Apr 14 2015
Art

lincoln rocker

lincoln chair

Lincoln was assassinated 150 years ago today in DC’s Ford’s Theater.

The rocker Lincoln was sitting in that night was kept by the feds during investigation of the assassination, and then given back to the theater owner’s widow. She put it up for auction, and it was purchased by Henry Ford in 1929 for a cool twenty-four hundred dollars (a measly $32,000 today). The photo above is a part of the series of its arrival to Dearborn, Michigan.

To celebrate their priceless artifact, and the sesquicentennial of all things Lincoln, the Henry Ford Museum is offering free admission tomorrow, April 15th.

Another Lincoln fun fact? The Surratt Boarding House, the infamous conspirators’  meeting place, is now a Wok ‘n Roll on H Street in Chinatown, like four blocks away. What I love most is Wikipedia touts the location’s available karaoke rooms just as it appearing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Tagged , ,
Oct 03 2014
Person

eliza rathbone

eliza rathbone

Being in Washington, DC, I’m pretty used to walking into museums and walking straight out just because they’re free. But sometimes, when I’m feeling like money is no object (which seems to occur one business day after the 15th and 30th of each month…), I do swanky, suave things like unnecessary online shopping and paying admission.

No, but really: One of my most favorite destinations in our nation’s capital is the Phillips Collection. Turns out their Chief Curator stepped down earlier this week — Eliza Rathbone, pictured above, said the following in response to announcing a successor:

No; I don’t think the museum is looking to hire a chief curator, per se…the Phillips is well prepared to carry on with wonderful shows, and I’ll be very much involved in its future—just in a slightly new capacity.

Coy, ‘Liza. You know I’m just gonna go ahead and wait for my phone call.

boating party

Read more about the Phillips’ darling, Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party, here.

Tagged , , , ,
Sep 29 2014
Art

alternate histories

alternatehistories alternatehistories1

Over the weekend, I elbowed through hipster crowds in this unusual late-September heat to view pretzel earrings and graphic tees at Crafty Bastard. I don’t know why there aren’t more things like this in DC. Let’s fix that, crafters!

One of my favorite stands though was Alternate Histories. A T-Rex in Botticelli’s Birth of Venus? A dinosaur interrupting the serenity of The Grande Jatte? Sign me up. Turns out this guy also has a book coming out in October. I mean, you already know how I feel about an altered Venus…

Tagged , , ,
Jun 27 2014
Art Video

lincoln memorial

lincoln memorial

With a week until the Fourth of July, I decided to focus on a major American achievement — the return of overalls the Lincoln Memorial.

Sculptor: David Chester French
Also known for: DuPont Memorial Fountain, John Harvard statue (full oeuvre here).

Memorial, by the numbers:

  • 35 – outer columns (one for each state in the Union at the time of the Civil War)
  • 28 – blocks of marble carved by the Piccirilli Brothers that create Lincoln
  • 9 – replicas of smaller “working Lincolns” French cast from the original
  • 48 – wreathes festoons (one for each state in 1922 — fancy!)
  • 7 – ranking on “America’s Favorite Architecture” list (2007)
  • 0 – at the time of publication of this post, the number of times “Wedding Crashers” was named in the Lincoln Memorial Wiki’s section “In Popular Culture” (like, HELLO!?)

I overheard a tour guide say, “the story gets happier” when he described Robert Lincoln being able to attend the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial. My footnote for that in my notes? “Haha.”

 

Tagged , ,
May 20 2014
Art

like, i can’t…

My jaw is still on the floor, so this I’ll set this up as a math problem. 

Sarah Jessica Parker + Frank Gehry + Chuck Close = fanciest Washington dinner I was NOT invited to.

Like, what MORE do I have to do with this blog, Obama, to be a part of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities?! Whatever it is, I’LL DO IT.

Tagged
May 20 2014
Art Image

corcoran no-more-coran

The Corcoran Gallery, near the White House, will be merging with the George Washington University and the National Gallery. Sooo, basically all my favorite things coming together…this is like the artistic equivalent of me shopping with Ryan Gosling while eating a Zero bar.

Tagged ,