Modern History

[image] You never know. This ordinary French farmhouse became a significant D-Day site. The de Vallavieille family’s farm, Brécourt Manor, was occupied by the Germans because of its strategic location for a concealed artillery position. The family was forced to live on the property

[image] Mysterious. Tiffany Studios Bronze and Turtleback Glass Tile Desk Lamp, crafted around 1910.

[image] When Winston Churchill visited the United States during Prohibition in 1932, he was issued a doctor's note authorizing the Prime Minister to drink an "indefinite" amount of alcohol for health reasons.

[image] This is how you turn eating dinner into a "gastronomical experience." 19th-century agate flatware.

[image] Marie Antoinette's personal theatre in Versailles.

[video] “I put my heart and soul into my work, and I have lost my mind in the process.” - Vincent van Gogh

[image] Surreal. Art Nouveau Pond Lily Table Lamp, made by Tiffany Studios around 1902-10

[image] Gothic Revival in all its splendour at Strawberry Hill House, England.

[image] A Stunning Art Nouveau wicker armchair from France around 1910.

[image] Beauty will save us. Trembleuse Art Nouveau Dragonfly crafted with Aquamarine, Diamond and Ruby. London, around 1900.

[image] Art Nouveau Liberty Bridge, designed by János Feketeházy and built for the late-19th-century Millennium World Exhibition, spanning the Danube river between Buda and Pest.

[image] Prague doesn't just have history - it lives in it. A city of cobblestone, secrets, and soaring gothic spires 🏰

[image] In 1518, residents of Strasbourg were struck by a bizarre and terrifying phenomenon now known as the Dancing Plague. Dozens (possibly hundreds) of people danced uncontrollably for days on end. Some reportedly collapsed from exhaustion, while others are said to have died from

[image] Art Nouveau Lamp cast in bronze from around the 1890s.

[image] "I hold a number of beliefs that have been repudiated by the liveliest intellects of our time. I believe that order is better than chaos, creation better than destruction. I prefer gentleness to violence, forgiveness to vendetta. On the whole I think that knowledge is preferable

[image] Remembering Captain Walter J. Huchthausen, killed in action in the final months of WWII. Before the war he was an American architect and educator. He served with the MFAA ("Monuments Men") unit, tasked with protecting cultural monuments and rescuing Nazi-looted art. He was

[image] A lovely display of Victorian-era cosmetics. There's just one catch. Used long enough, and they can be lethal. Victorian cosmetics sometimes contained toxic ingredients including lead, mercury, ammonia, and ... arsenic.

[video] 🏺 A 2,400-YEAR-OLD MYSTERY ON GÖKÇEADA – ANCIENT IMBROS: WHO WAS BURIED IN THESE TWIN SARCOPHAGI? ⚰️⚰️ On Gökçeada, known in antiquity as Imbros, there is an extraordinary ancient tomb that has fascinated me… Around 2,400 years ago, two sarcophagus-shaped burial pits were

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: In 1986, Keith Haring opened the Pop Shop, a retail store in New York’s Soho neighborhood, to sell merchandise. The store offered shirts, posters, magnets, and buttons with his artwork on them.

[image] A Michigan woman is drawing admirers for a piece of American flag art that she created using 7,700 pennies. Kayla Dominique of Cement City says she needed to install a fireproof barrier wall behind her wood stove – and somehow got the idea that a wall full of pennies might work.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Before becoming synonymous with brilliance, Vincent van Gogh had a rough time. During one of his emotional lows, he reportedly tried to eat yellow paint because he thought the color symbolized happiness. Thankfully, he stuck to canvas afterward.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Artists used to paint with egg yolk. Powdered pigments were mixed with egg yolk and water or vinegar to improve the paint’s adherence. The technique went out of fashion around 600 years ago when oil paint was invented.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Rembrandt's early works are signed RHL (Rembrandus Hermanni Leydensis). He later switched to RHL-van-Rijn. Eventually, he signed his name simply as 'Rembrandt' for the majority of his career.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: As a young boy, Pierre-Auguste Renoir took singing lessons with the local church choirmaster. He had a great talent for singing but due to his family's financial situation, was forced to quit.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: The Mona Lisa was acquired by the French King Francis I after the death of Da Vinci in 1519. It is rumored that the king had offered to buy the painting but Leonardo had politely turned him down.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Norman Rockwell hadn’t even turned 16 when he received his first paid commission: a set of four Christmas cards, requested by a neighbor. After that little milestone, the artist would tackle his first major assignment in 1912.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Once Albrecht Dürer had established his own reputation as an independent master, he soon developed a network of communication with Europe’s other prominent artists.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Janet Sobel's journey began with an unexpected challenge from her own son. When Sobel criticized her son's artwork, he handed her a brush and challenged her to do better. Sobel accepted and discovered a hidden talent for abstract expressionism.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Permission is required to paint an Aboriginal dreaming. Artists need permission to paint a particular story: Where ancient and important stories are concerned, and particularly those containing secret or sacred information, an artist must have permission

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Wheein from the musical group Mamamoo once got her Mom’s Latin name tattooed on her…and had the spelling corrected. Originally, she got “Soppy” tattooed in different colors on her index finger. It wasn’t long until it was fixed to “Sophy!”

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Auguste Rodin failed to get into the École des Beaux-Arts school in Paris three times. Instead he attended the Petite École with its focus on decorative arts.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Murakami is considered the founder of the Superflat movement, a postmodern art movement that blends traditional Japanese aesthetics with contemporary pop culture imagery.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: On June 18, 2006, Gustav Klimt’s Adele Bloch-Bauer I sold for $135 million, making it the highest priced painting in the world. Less than five months later, Jackson Pollock’s No. 5, 1948 fetched $140 million.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Joan Mir's parents originally wanted him to have a career in finance, so, after spending three years at business school, he secured a job as an accounting clerk.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: In 1964, a Swedish art gallery displayed 4 paintings by unknown artist Pierre Brassau. Every single art critic praised the 'avant-garde work-except one, who said, 'only an ape could have done this"'...and he was right.

[text] Interesting Art Fact: Henri Matisse planned to be a lawyer. He attended law school, passed his exams in 1888, and worked as a law clerk until he came down with a severe case of appendicitis in 1889. While he was recovering, his mother gifted him art supplies for entertainment.

[text] Art Fact: Max Ernst was particularly drawn to birds; in fact, he claimed to have been born from an eagle's egg that his mother had placed in a nest. From 1930 a bird alter ego named Loplop appeared in his work, a kind of "supreme bird" with which he identified himself.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Piet Mondrian has experimented with his name almost as much as his artistic style. Like his forms, Mondrian reduced his name from Pieter Cornelius Mondriaan to Mondrian, distancing himself from his Dutch roots.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Glassblowers work with extremely heated glass, which can reach temperatures of above 2,000°F. It's the same temperature as lava from a volcano.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Andy Warhol had to record his spendings for the IRS as he was having some financial issues, but this led to a minutely-detailed account of his life which he recorded daily in phone calls.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Rembrandt's Portrait of Jacob de Gheyn Ill has been stolen 4 times. The 9x12 inch painting has been nicknamed "the takeaway. Rembrandt" as its small size has led to its numerous thefts.

[image] Interesting Artist Fact: In 2020, a metro train in the Netherlands failed to stop at the end of the line in Rotterdam and crashed through the safety barrier at the elevated station.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: As a child, William Morris was an avid reader. He read poetry, literature, history and science. He would lend books to his friends and family members. He continued to love reading as an adult and valued education greatly.

[text] He worked for several years for the prominent sculptor Albert Ernest Carrier-Belleuse where he learnt skills necessary for running a large studio. It was not until Rodin was 40 that he received his first major commission – The Gates of Hell.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: The term ‘drawing in space’ was first used in reference to Alexander Calder in the French newspaper Paris-Midi. This came after one of his first solo exhibitions in 1929, in which Calder showcased his wire sculptures.

[text] Birds and their ability to hover and mediate between heaven and earth were a recurring motif for Ernst in his creative process.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: The word “art” is derived from the Latin word “ars,” which means “art, talent, or craft.” The word first appears in manuscripts from the 13th century.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: In 1949, Glamour Magazine commissioned Andy Warhol to illustrate shoes, and in the 50s, Israel Miller asked Warhol to work as a shoe designer for his company. Warhol’s love for shoes and feet continued throughout his life.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Bob Ross once appeared on The Simpsons. In the episode "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo", Bob Ross makes a cameo appearance as one of Homer Simpson's friends.

[text] Interesting Artist Fact: Marc Chagall spent six years living in New York City. He never learned English, saying, “It took me thirty years to learn bad French, why should I try to learn English?”