Villa Lewaro

in the NYDailyNews

"Villa Lewaro, the sprawling estate of Madam C.J. Walker in Irvington, N.Y., may soon be on the market. In the era of Prohibition, the grandiose Italianate-style villa served as a gathering place for notable leaders of the Harlem Renaissance. Now, preservationists are looking to Harlem’s contemporary cultural vanguard to help ensure its long-term well being."

The Irvington Historical Society


Irvington History Center:

Villa Lewaro, then and now:

Rest in Peace, Joan Rivers

In 1994, Joan Rivers co-wrote and starred in a play about Lenny Bruce's mother, Sally Marr, and it was called "Sally Marr and Her Escorts."

My sister saw that play and later wrote a fan letter to Joan Rivers complimenting her work in that show. Several weeks later, my sister received a personal handwritten gracious reply.

It was over a decade later when I saw Joan Rivers with a small film crew in front of Bed, Bath and Beyond on the Avenue of the Americas. Pedestrians were being given the opportunity to present their opinion in a small segment with Joan about some issue that was in the news on that day.

I waited for my turn and stepped up to the plate. Joan adjusted my Greek Key necklace, which she said was "very beautiful." Then, she asked me what I do. I told her I am a retired teacher.

She went ballistic. "What do you mean you are retired," she asked me. "You are young; go back to work and keep busy and do something every day."

That is a part of Joan Rivers I will always remember. She related to me on that day not as a celebrity but as another woman who was encouraging another woman to stay productive.

That wistful memory of Joan Rivers stays with me.

Here and There

Annie Leibovitz: Pilgrimage at the NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs at MoMA

The Paris of Toulouse-Lautrec: Prints and Posters at MoMA

El Greco in New York at THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

Madame Cézanne at THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

Something Very Wild

The film, Something Wild, was made in 1961. It starred Carroll Baker and Ralph Meeker... and was directed by Jack Garfein.

The building which was used for the location where "Mike" lived was on Monroe Street in NYC and it is still there in 2014...

and the Manhattan Bridge was visible in this scene as Mary Ann and Mike entered the basement apartment.

And in 1961... this was the view of Pike Street, at the corner of Monroe Street:

And this is that corner in 2014:

at the Brooklyn Museum

Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe

coming soon!

Christian Louboutin "Printz" Spring/Summer 2013

French. Shoes 1690–1700

Walter Steiger "Unicorn Tayss"

at the Brooklyn Museum

in the NYDailyNews

in the NYPost

"Mac" Connor at the Museum of the City of New York

coming soon!

The New York saga of illustrator McCauley “Mac” Conner (of the original "Mad Men") is in a new show at the Museum of the City of New York.

in the NYPost

"How Do You Love Me" in Woman's Home Companion, August 1950

"Where's Mary Smith?" in Good Housekeeping, June 1950

"Let's Take a Trip Up the Nile" in This Week Magazine, November 5, 1950

The Party That Sticks With Me

One of my earliest memories is of the time when I was about 4 years old and went with my grandmother to a party in this Clara Barton School in Bordentown NJ.

I can still remember all the colorful balloons and sweet things to eat. After the party, we walked the short distance back up E. Burlington Street to my great aunt's house, which is still there.

The memory of that party so long ago still lives within me.

‘Degenerate Art’ Opens at Neue Galerie

Adolf Ziegler’s “The Four Elements,” a 1937 triptych

Neue Galerie

in The New York Times

exhibit site

Degenerate Art at the Neue Galerie in New York on YouTube

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Charles James: Beyond Fashion

Women of a Certain New York: 7 Portraits of the City’s Grandest Dames in New York Magazine

First Look: ‘Charles James: Beyond Fashion’ at the Costume Institute in New York Magazine

Revisit the World of Charles James’s Opulent Ball Gowns in New York Magazine

Then and Now

in Lombardy, Italy:

Chasing Ron

In about 2010, I was in Whole Foods and saw Howard Stern on the checkout line! Or so I thought. It actually was a Howard Stern lookalike named Ron Brawer, and much to my annoyance I did not have my camera. I wanted some pics of him because a Ron Brawer sighting is quite the photo op!

Well, the next time I saw him in Whole Foods was in 2011, and again I did not have my camera. I approached him and we began a conversation. He told me he lives in my neighborhood, so I took a bold step! I asked him if he would meet me on another day so I could take a few photos of him for this blog. He gave me his E-mail address and later that day I sent him an E-mail... to which he promptly replied: "I'm swamped with work/family right now..." I was disappointed, but did not pursue it.

Cut to July 2014: I saw him again early last week in Whole Foods. And again I had no camera. I asked him if he would meet me on another day for the same purpose of taking a few photos for my blogs. This time, he cheerfully agreed. I gave him my contact information and he reliably sent me an E-mail in which he said, "If I recall correctly, I was reluctant to do any photos last time we met... because I wasn't promoting anything at the time. I'm still not. Or, at least, not one single thing... But if you just want a photo or three of a NYC local "character" -- I could take a bit of time on Wednesday afternoon or over the weekend." I answered and said Wednesday worked and I gathered my "stuff" so everything would be good to go.

On that Wednesday, he sent me an E-mail and canceled due to work related assignments. He suggested I contact him at the beginning of the following week for a Thursday "shoot." I thought: okie dokie.

We exchanged a few more E-mails and today we met in front of Whole Foods where he graciously posed for a few photos. We even had a brief conversation about the NYC schools and the pursuit of creative endeavors. Ron has written a screenplay called, "Becoming Howard." He described it to me and it does sound exciting!

I am glad he showed up. If he stood me up or canceled... I was thinking of hanging out on the block and morphing into a wild "paparazzi." "Chasing Ron" is now history and well... what for years seemed so difficult actually today was quite a pleasant (although brief) experience.

Ron Brawer on IMDb

The Dead Howard Show

Here are the photos I took today of Ron Brawer. (I am visible taking the first photo. I am on the lower left corner in the reflection of the store's glass window).

"A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby," photos by Bee Kaye

  Kara Walker's "A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby" was at Brooklyn's legendary Domino Sugar Factory.

Here are some photos Bee Kaye took of this exhibit, the full title of which is: "an Homage to the unpaid and overworked Artisans who have refined our Sweet tastes from the cane fields to the Kitchens of the New World on the Occasion of the demolition of the Domino Sugar Refining Plant."

Sugar Baby and the Blackamoors

"Marilyn: The Lost Photos"

in the NYDailyNews

This exhibit is at the Sumo Gallery in NYC.

On the Road 8

a tour through Gilded New York in the NYPost by Esther Crain

The Siegel Cooper Department Store at the corner of 6th Avenue and West 19th Street

Central Park East carriage ride

Tompkins Square Lodging House for Boys

Tompkins Square Lodging House for Boys today:

Isaac Rice Mansion at 346 West 89th Street

Isaac Rice mansion today:

Astor Mansion at 5th Avenue and 65th Street