Tag: new-york-city

Quotes · The World

“Ruins, for me, are the beginning. With the debris, you can construct new ideas.”

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The artist Anselm Kiefer is new to me but has been around for a long time. I like this quote of his.

Ruins, for me, are the beginning. With the debris, you can construct new ideas.

Anselm Kiefer

This quote is fitting since he was born in Germany at the end of World War 2. This guy is literally the personification of rebirth from ruins.

His art looks amazing. I’ll have to check it out in person next time I’m in New York.

Everyone Stands Under His Own Dome of Heaven
Quotes

“There’s no such thing in anyone’s life as an unimportant day.”

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Here is a great quote by an interesting person who seemed to live by these words.

There’s no such thing in anyone’s life as an unimportant day.

Alexander Woollcott

On the surface, Mr. Woollcott was a “drama critic”, which sounds like a horrible job to me. 😆

But he must have had something going on because he started the infamous Algonquin Round Table in 1920’s Manhattan, hosting Harpo Marx and Dorothy Parker, among others.

He grew up in poverty, served in World War I, and was a columnist in The New Yorker. You can still read his work there.

He even has a published book of letters about his life and the lives of his creative friends.” That sounds like a fun read.

History · Travel

Christmas Night Drama: Washington’s Crossing

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Next time I’m in New York City 🙏, I’d like to see the original Washington Crossing the Delaware painting.

I’m sure you’ve seen this painting before, but it would be amazing to see it in its original, massive form (12′ by 21′) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

There are so many fascinating things about this painting. Here are a few highlights, but I recommend listening to at least the intro of Washington’s Crossing to really appreciate it.

  • The painting depicts the secret Christmas-night 1776 launch of the momentum-grabbing surprise attack on the British and German soldiers occupying New Jersey.
  • At the time, five months after the Declaration of Independence, the new American army had seen defeat after defeat and was 90% destroyed. Thus the gloomy atmosphere with a hint of sunshine in the background.
  • The painting was made by German-American painter Emanuel Leutze in 1850 with a goal of promoting democracy in Europe and fighting slavery in the United States. 🤩
  • The painting makes efforts to show all kinds of people from all over America literally in the same boat together. This includes a black man, a big statement back in 1850 during slavery. The paining was used for abolition fundraising.
  • The copy in NYC was the second one painted by Leutze. The first went to his native Germany and was destroyed by a British bombing raid during World War II — Britain’s final revenge on the American revolution. 😆
Washington Crossing the Delaware, Emanuel Leutze (American, Schwäbisch Gmünd 1816–1868 Washington, D.C.), Oil on canvas, American