Alphonse Mucha — North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh

My friend Michael introduced me to the art of Alphonse Mucha when I lived in London in the early 1970s.  Mucha, a Czech illustrator and graphic artist, lived in Paris and was known for his stylized Art Nouveau posters. I hadn’t seen much of his work since then.  So, when we arrived at the North Carolina Museum of Art and … Read More

Sunday in New York City — Halloween

Dressed as Dorothy speaking with witches

I will repeat something I’ve written many times—I love New York City.  The plan for yesterday was to attend a matinee performance of American Ballet Theater, then return home and not emerge except for walking Pookah. After the performance I decided to run a couple of errands. The American Folk-Art Museum is across from Lincoln Center. I went there to … Read More

New England Coastal Road Trip – Day Eight

We are now traveling south, heading back to New York City. Our day was spent in Salem, Massachusetts, the stop we aborted last Saturday due to the traffic, crowds, and general mayhem. Today, a Tuesday, was significantly calmer, though the city was still filled with people. I suspect that ANY day in October will be that way, culminating on Halloween.  … Read More

New England Coastal Road Trip – Day Seven

Inside the tavern at Strawberry Bank

The forecast was for a cool, overcast day. Once again, the meteorologists got it wrong – fortunately in a way that was beneficial. On what turned out to be a warm, sunny day we tried to spend as much time as possible outside. We started in Portsmouth New Hampshire, a town I visited about a month ago and fell in … Read More

New England Coastline Road Trip – Day Six

View from Newburyport walkway

As we headed to Portsmouth NH, I pulled off the highway to get gas.  Needing gas changed the entire day.  I’d pulled off in Newburyport MA. Seeing a sign for the historic downtown, we decided to head into town and look.  We spent the entire day in town.  Circling the harbor and then extending for miles is a walking path. … Read More

New England Coastal Road Trip – Day Five

When I sketched out a rough plan for this trip, I was excited about the prospect of visiting Salem MA.  Home of the witch trials Salem does Halloween in a big way.  Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones headed there, it seemed as if half of everyone on the eastern seaboard wanted to go there too.  It didn’t help that … Read More