Category: AJBlogs

Edward G. Robinson was Hollywood’s first major art collector, and in 1939 he and his (first) wife and son had a family portrait done in pastels by Edouard Vuillard. La famille d’Edward G. Robinson “passed to his former wife” (i.e., in the divorce settlement) and seemed to have disappeared, but Terry has tracked it down. – Terry Teachout

What is your favorite key? Assuming that it’s not Z-minor, you will find it in the video below, as vibraharpist (vibraphonist, if you prefer) Terry Gibbs explains in his introduction. – Doug Ramsey

“Welcome to a primordial world that’s fiercer than anything religious texts ordain.” – Deborah Jowitt

Some props have long lives, and others, well: “The celery and carrot, the cabbage and water melons, all make a distinct if self-immolating impact.” – David Jays

From coast to coast, our national landscape is dotted with fine-arts institutions that exist because of people like the late David Rockefeller. Unfortunately, big-ticket philanthropy is in the middle of a protracted sea change that is already having a direct effect on the arts. – Terry Teachout

There may be a longshot chance that you are unfamiliar with the mrudangam. It is a South Indian percussion instrument that Rajna Swaminathan has introduced into American music since she became a part of the New York City jazz community in 2011. – Doug Ramsey

Gary Tinterow, director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has a knack for attracting distinguished staff. After Gary’s homecoming to Houston (where he grew up), to assume the MFAH’s directorship in 2012, one of his first and best hires was David Bomford, who became chairman of conservation and curator of European art. — Lee Rosenbaum

There is stuff you expect to find in a garage. A car. Metal shelving, peg board. Strip lighting that tints everything stark and queasy. A toolbox. Gaffer tape. An Amazon delivery box (there’s always a swoosh-marked Amazon box). They’re all here in Vicki Mortimer’s design. There’s also a strap-on. — David Jays

Morgan’s critiques, reviews and album notes were among the most widely read of those by any contemporary jazz critic. — Doug Ramsey

I enjoyed seeing the Brooklyn Museum’s Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving, but the exhibit was about her, not about her art. (That was its goal, and it succeeded at its goal.) The balance between her life and her art is, as ever, askew. — Judith H. Dobrzynski