Annie visits!

Annie came to visit!!!!!

We had a packed few days - she got here on Thursday and that night we went to go see the portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, at the National Portrait Gallery. On Thursday and Friday nights, the National Portrait Gallery is open late - music, a bar, and art make for a wonderful atmosphere. No pictures allowed in here but here is the portrait! 

Out to dinner in Soho for pizza and wine - we went to Bar Italia, a restaurant that is the subject of an Ed Gray painting! (remember the show we did for him on the dixie queen?! same artist) This is a terrible shot, but the painting he made of the outside of the place was hanging right above where we sat!

On Friday, I went to class while Annie hit up the British Library, Tate Modern, and the Globe theatre. That night we went pub-hopping with a friend (a bit of a late night but definitely worth it). Saturday we went to Sloane Square market and the Saatchi Gallery (modern art, see post here when I went there for the first time).

 We got brunch and walked through the gallery. Took a walk up to South Kensington and went through the Victoria and Albert museum next.

And then that night we were off to Birmingham for the Tough Guy race! A dodgy hostel but incredible curry dinner complete with the best mango lassi I've ever had. Off early that morning for the race! 

All smiles before the race...

 and it took me a while to smile afterwards. Nevertheless, happy to have finished the grueling 4 hour race through ice water and endless pits of mud...won't bother with the details except to recommend watching this short video about the race last year. Did manage a smile when we got the medals though -

goodbye shoes...

 This is literally what the ground looked like everywhere - this wasn't even that bad...it got much deeper.

Here was the start...

and some shots from the race (at least I wasn't wearing that)

in a word...insane.

But we did it! 

We caught the train back to London that night after a clean-up at Caroline's house and curled up to watch some Netflix and deserved snacks in my room that night. I went to class the next day and we met for fish and chips at a pub before she went to the airport :-(

MISS YOU ALREADY ANNIE!

xx

Antiquing

My next assignment is an "object analysis" - I need to pick an object either up for auction or for sale at an antique gallery and write up an incredibly detailed report on everything from its dimensions and provenance to the historical context in which it was made. At first, I went to an antique mall in Mayfair (booths set up in a series all under one roof) and chose this lovely tea set from a friendly man at one of the small booths...

...but then I realized that writing about tea consumption in Britain is an incredibly banal and overdone subject around here. Also, because it was such a small booth, the teapot didn't have any known provenance and quite honestly it wasn't very creative nor intrinsically valuable (in comparison to the myriad of other objects I could chosen). After a bit of research, I decided to go antiquing again. 

This time, I went to Mallett, one of the oldest and most well-respected antique firms in London. Founded in 1865, they are located in a Georgian mansion in the heart of Mayfair. The interiors exceeded my expectations in every way - it was the most incredible space and most impressive array of furniture and decorative arts I have ever seen. 

(this picture taken from the internet)

Christie's has a special relationship with the company so I was able to and set up a time to chat and pick something out. 

Three floors of incredible objects! 

I kept getting distracted from the task at hand...how amazing are these carved ivory chess pieces?!

I ended up choosing the most incredible lacca povera bureau bookcase - early 18th century and from Italy, the decoration is a bit over-the-top (but what would Italian decoration be if it wasn't so?)

The decoration is done by taking prints (engravings, etchings, and the like), painting them, and then pasting them onto furniture with many layers of varnish. Lacca povera translates roughly to "poor man's lacquer" because it was imitating Chinese lacquer furniture. Even though it was imitating something else entirely, I absolutely love the unique effect. Wonderful details! 

I have quite a bit of research ahead of me but this piece is so much more interesting than a silver teapot! Off to the library :-)

Great runs lately

I've been loving my runs lately - thought I would give you a peak into my favorite places! 

This canal is about a 5 minute run from my room - here it is in the morning...

...and here it is at dusk.

and THIS is the view from the top of primrose hill, an area about 3 miles away from my room when I take the canal route - it has the best view of london from the hill in the park! 

Last but not least, this is a view of the sunrise in Regent's Park. I don't usually stop to take pics on runs but once in a while on an easy run, its too pretty to resist.  

weekend recap

It was a busy weekend! 

Thursday night, a friend from Princeton visited and I joined him and a few other friends for drinks after dinner...we ended the night at this incredible club Jalouse near Oxford Circus - a friend of a friend had a table there (lucky us!) and the music was great. 

On Friday night, I went out to East London to bar hop for a friend's 24th birthday. Lots of really trendy/young/cool cocktail bars, clubs, and pubs. I'll definitely go back to the area! We passed this little piece of street art and I had to snap a pic - really love it. 

On Saturday, a friend studying at Oxford visited and we had a tourist-y day (which was a perfect excuse not to do work)...hit up Buckingham Palace and the National Gallery, lunch in China town/Leicester Square, walked down to Parliament, then walked all the way to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge (with a quick stop in the Tate Modern along the way for some tea and to warm up). The snow was literally unrelenting and didn't stop all day but it was super fun! Ended the day walking through Harrod's and then got dinner close to the train station so he could catch a bus back to Oxford. Here is London in the snow!

Here we are at London Tower

snow men :-)

and more snow falling until dusk. 

Now to take on the rest of the week! 

Tudors, Stuarts, Hanoverians..oh my!

Today's visit to the National Portrait Gallery cemented the timeline of British monarchs in my head...essential for cataloguing, dating, and identifying portraits (and really any of the decorative arts - especially in the 18th century - "Georgian" furniture is perhaps the most valuable and expensive furniture on the market right now along with 18th century French rococo & regence period pieces).

In an effort to REALLY get this stuff firmly in my mind, I thought I would share it. The best way to learn is to teach, right? 

First up...we'll start with Elizabeth I. Daughter of Henry VIII (and we all know him) and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1559 after both her brother, Edward VI, and sister, Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary) had their turns. There are quite a few portraits of the queen and due to her exceptionally long reign - we can see her face age and her fashions change as time passes. 

Here is an early version of Elizabeth... c.1560

c. 1575

c. 1592

(notice how the waistline has become much more pointed and ruff, which is the lace collar around the neck, has changed)

and c. 1600.

Interestingly, this one below was probably done posthumously by looking at printed images of the queen from 1559 - the fashion of the sloping shoulders was contemporary with the time it was painted but the face is the face of a young Elizabeth from 40 years earlier. This was no matter though - people just wanted to see a powerful symbol of the nation (this picture shows anything but a weak leader) but the fashionable sloping shoulders made her look modern.

Ok, enough of her. Next up is James I (and James IV of Scotland), who reigned 1603 - 1625

He was a Stuart and although was the son of Mary Queen of Scots (Catholic), he was raised Protestant. It was during his reign that the "Gunpowder Plot" took place. He also was the first king to rule over both England and Scotland simultaneously (even though they were not formally united until 1707). See shakespeare post for more re: James. Fun fact about this guy - he never allowed water to touch his body his entire life.

James died in 1625. His youngest son, Charles, ascended the throne the same year (the oldest son, Henry, died in his twenties - see post on Henry: The Lost Prince for more info on that...and the middle child was a female). 

Charles I didn't last long unfortunately...he lost his head in the English Civil War in 1649. This probably had something to do with his extravagent taste for the arts, disregard for and dismissal of parliament, and attempts to impose religious uniformity. He married Henrietta Maria, a Catholic Portuguese princess. After so much Protestant antagonism, Catholic sympathies were suspicious. 

The "interregnum" is the story of Cromwell, not a monarch, and in classical puritan manner, rejected the frivolity of expensive art, tapestries, and furniture. He sold most of the collection Charles I assembled. Also loathed by most Irish citizens...he doesn't get a portrait here. Onto the Restoration (1660) with Charles II.

Quite the lascivious womanizer, James II was known for his many mistresses and illegitimate children. He too was deposed for his Catholic sympathies though...this was the end of the Stuart line in England.

In 1688, William III and Mary II were invited back to England (they were in the Netherlands) to make sure Protestantism continued to reign. Mary was the daughter of James II but William, her Dutch cousin, was Hanoverian. 

Queen Anne reigned after this pair from 1702 - 1714. Tragically, Anne had 18 pregnancies but not one of her children lived past childhood.

After her death began the Georges, or "Georgian" period...

George I (reigned 1714 - 1727)

George II (reigned 1727 - 1760)

and George III (1760 - 1820)

and that brings us to the 19th century, which is further than we've gone so far in the course...will get there soon!