Miss Nora Kerin, edwardian stage actress. 1907
Do you love the theater? When you’re watching a play, you are witnessing a kind of magic at work. As much as the actors take center stage and embrace the spotlight, a crucial part of the live performance happens off-stage. From stage hands to the sound crew, these are the people who make sure that…
As a home staging training school, we get asked these pricing questions almost daily: “How do I charge for my home staging business?”“If I am staging a 2 bedroom home, what’s the price for staging?”“How much should I charge for rental furniture?” Our answer is always a question for home stagers to…
Chip and Joanna Gaines from HGTV's "Fixer Upper" co-wrote a new memoir, "The Magnolia Story," in which they reveal some home-staging mistakes to avoid.
Aurore Lephilipponnat is a French artist who incorporates Japanese Butoh dance into her charcoal drawings. Her visions often comprise of female or hybrid bodies who move gracefully across the page, suspended in various stages of life, death, and decay. In an interview with Artists of France, Lephilipponnat explains how Butoh is an art form capable...
It’s no secret in the theatre world that stage managing is difficult. Between creating schedules, tracking each and every change and development in rehearsal, making sure the show runs smoothly each night, and of course, managing actors and tech staff, it gets hectic. You are ultimately charged with
John Kander and Joe Masteroff discuss the history of Cabaret and the process of collaborating with Harold Prince while adapting the novel and play into a musical.
Based in Los Angeles, creative studio Meatwreck is a photographic collaboration between artist couple Mitra Saboury and Derek Paul Boyle. The artist duo creates preposterous...
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Mariell Amélie is a photographer based in London who does the best self portraits i have seen in a while. like, crazy good you guys. she’s been making them since 2006 and it’s interesting to see how…
Sumptuous. Regal. Decadent. Avant-garde. Magnificently detailed, staged and shot, Franz Szony's vision is anything but ordinary.
When the edges take center stage.
Brooke DiDonato’s series of photographs call into question the boundaries of reality, straddling the line between the mundane and the absurd
The Dutch artist’s visual tricks and teases continue to delight and infuriate us – here is some of his best work
Learn about the work and career of artist Jeff Wall. Artworks, biography, exhibitions, editorial content, news, museum exhibitions, press, and more.
Erin Wasson Stars in the New Lookbook for Melbourne’s Chicest Brand Scanlan & Theodore
A Five Shot HDR Of The Inside Of The Sheffiled Winter Gardens. Shutter Speeds: 1/80 - 1/160 - 1/320 - 1/640 - 1/1250.
The Saatchi Gallery is one of the most interesting venues in London for contemporary art lovers. The current exhibition is entitled Out of Focus: Photography, and it will last until the 22nd of July 2012. It is a survey of 40 artists, depicted with a massive array of techniques and different styles and methods. Interesting fact, a lot of the photographers are women. And it seems that they have a lot of absorbing stories to tell, from a particular perspective.
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A selection of striking news photographs from around the world this week.
Drag queens enjoy mainstream success, yet their masculine-dress allies remain an exciting subculture. With so many artists now making waves, that may be about to change
Picture this. The nearest clock strikes midnight, and you find yourself in the parking lot of an abandoned K-Mart, underneath the only lamp post that isn’t flickering. The store’s lot is full of potholes and cracks, all of which extend towards the neighboring lot, where an old Chinese
Upon William Henry Vanderbilt's death, he left his side of the Vanderbilt triple palace in New York City, which he had built for him and his daughters, to his youngest son George Vanderbilt. Upon George Vanderbilt's death it was to pass to George's eldest son, if he had a son. George Vanderbilt died without a son, so the Vanderbilt mansion at 640 Fifth Avenue, along with $1 million, passed to the eldest son of the eldest son of William Henry Vanderbilt, Cornelius Vanderbilt III and his wife, Grace Wilson. Neily, As Cornelius Vanderbilt III Was Called, Was The Handsome Son Of Cornelius Vanderbillt II, Who Disinherited Him Because of His Marriage To Grace Wilson Grace Wilson Vanderbilt, Of The "Marrying Wilsons", Would prove Them All Wrong And Succeed Them All As The Last Mrs. Vanderbilt Neily had been disinherited by his father, who disapproved of Grace and her family. Since Cornelius didn't like Grace, none of the Vanderbilts did and she was shunned by the entire family. Not even Neily's stern mother, Alice, who was considered a saint, would see them. The only Vanderbilt who would talk to them was Neily's uncle, William Kissam Vanderbilt. "Why, It's The Back Hole of Calcutta" Grace Exclaimed Upon Entering The Mansion "I Couldn't Possibly Live Here" At Grace's desiring, Neily quickly had plans drawn up for major alterations to the mansion at 640 Fifth Avenue. Once done, he turned the plans over to famed architect Horace Trumbauer, who would carry out the renovations. The cost of the renovations would total to $500,000, which at that price the newspapers commented "For that amount, as fine a private home as the average wealthy man could wish for could be built in the most exclusive residential part of the upper east side" Horace Trumbauer (middle) Had Done Numerous Commissions For Several Of The Super Wealthy, Such As The Wideners And The Stotesburys Once Completed The House Was One Of The Most Luxurious And Grand Homes In All Of New York City 2 years later the house was ready for occupancy and the Vanderbilt's immediately opened the house with a large ball. The exterior had been completely stripped of most of it's decorative features and the home had been expanded in the back. The most obvious addition was the large, one story entrance pavilion. Grace Always had A Red Carpet Rolled Out From the Entrance Pavilion To Greet Arriving Guests And Lead Them Inside The interiors had been completely gutted, the only thing salvaged was the large, malachite vase that had stood in the original entrance vestibule. The new interiors included on the ground floor a marble-lined hall, two dressing rooms, a three-story great hall, a ballroom, music room, dining room, family dining room, library, art gallery and the red and gold ante room. The second floor held Neily and Grace's private master suites, each with their own bath and dressing room, Grace's pink boudoir, Neily's private sitting room and sound proof laboratory, the breakfast room and the children's rooms. The next two floor held the guest rooms, guest sitting rooms, bathrooms, dressing room and the female servant's rooms. The basement held the male servant's rooms, kitchens, laundry rooms and other service rooms. The Stone Steps In The Entrance Pavilion Led Up To The The House, A Portrait of The Commodore Greeted The Guests The Great Hall Held The Large, Malachite Vase That Had Been In The Original Vestibule Before The Renovations The French Ballroom Could Hold 500 People And Was Used At Least Once A Month For Balls, Events or Parties The Music Room Had A "Parquet De Versailles" Floor That Was Considered Too Beautiful To Cover Up The Art Gallery Held The Art Collection That William Henry Vanderbilt had Spent His Life Collecting The Library, Which Held Barely Ant Books, Was Where Grace Had Tea Every Morning, Around The Room Were Pictures Of The Famous People Grace Had Entertained The French Dining Room Had A Table That Could Extend Out To Hold 50 People, All At Once, At One Of Grace's Many Dinner Parties The Family Dining Room Was Where The Family Had Their Private Meals On The Rare Occasion That They Weren't Entertaining, The Paneling Had Come From Their Original New York City Townhouse By the time the house was completed, Grace had already been recognized as the new Queen of New York City Society, replacing Mrs. Astor, who had died back in 1908. Grace began to host several balls and dinners during the New York City season. An invitation to her house, would secure social success. Every year, at the opening of the Metropolitan Opera House, Grace's arrival was always the one most looked forward to. Her box at the Met was located on the famous first tier of boxes, the famous "Diamond Horseshoe" as it was called (Mrs. Astor had always claimed that the "Diamond Horsehoe" had been named after her famous 200 stone diamond necklace, which she had always worn at the opening of the opera). The Opening Night At The Metropolitan Opera House Was The Highlight Of The New York City Social Season Shortly after they moved into the Vanderbilt mansion, Neily began to realize the mistake he made, sacrificing a fortune for a pretty face, because once a pretty face was gone, it was gone. Grace began to grow uglier and uglier with the years. She began to grow white hair early in life and she left it alone, except for dying it a special Chinese Tea. She began to gain weight from all the French cooking at her dinners and, because servants did everything for her, she did absolutely nothing to lose weight. Grace Vanderbilt At The Opening Of The Metropolitan Opera House, Which She Never Missed, Always Receiving Guests In Her Private Box Grace had a very organized schedule, which was, one ball a month, two large dinner parties a week and smaller dinners and brunches daily. At Grace's dinner parties were the usuals: Berwinds, Goelets, Hammonds, Aldrichs, Burdens, Harrimans and Biddles. At her large dinners there was normally around 100 people, most of whom Grace scarcely knew, but at her small dinners of normally 50 people, Grace knew everyone there. Pictured Above Is One of Grace's Small Dinner Parties, In Attendance That Night Were Mrs. Winthrop Aldrich, Sir And Lady Cadogan, Mr. And Mrs. Hammond, Rep. Joseph C. Baldwin (R-NY), Madame Deprez And J. Watson When in Newport, Grace rented "Beaulieu" cottage, formerly the home of John Astor III and William Waldorf Astor, which she later purchased. It was at "Beaulieu" that Grace gave her first major party, where she had the play "The Wild Rose" come to Newport and perform for her guests. "Beaulieu" Cottage Was Right Down The Street From Neily's Parent's Cottage, "The Breakers", Which Was Still Occupied By Alice Eventually Alice excepted Grace and Neily, although the relationship was frosty. Alice, who was considered one of the most wealthiest women in the world, began to help Neily and Grace out financially, which they needed. Frosty Alice Had Worn Nothing But Black And Pearls Every Since The Death Of Cornelius Vanderbilt Grace also wanted a yacht, like her sister May Goelet, and she had Neily commission a large boat, which they called "The North Star", named after Cornelius Vanderbilt I's yacht. The yacht was fitted with the finest materials and included a drawing room, library and dining saloon. Each Year, At Grace's Urging, The Vanderbilts Sailed "The North Star" To Those Ports Where They Would Most Likely Be Seen By Royalty To escape his wife and the entertaining that she brought with her, Neily joined the army. World War I proved to be his finest hour. Neily also developed horrible habits of smoking and drinking regularly. He was quite mean to his son, who claimed he liked Neily better when he was drunk than when he wasn't. Neily Became Known As "The General", Something Grace Was All Too Pleased To Call Him In Front Of Guests Neily also thought he might like to enter politics, so he attended the Republican National Convention in Saratoga Springs, although he realized it was too expensive for him saying "Look I may be a Vanderbilt, but I am not a Rockefeller!" Most of the time, Neily just retreated to his other yacht, the Winchester. The "Winchester", Which Neily Had Purchased From Vincent Astor, Was Mostly Paid For By Alice And Neily's Sister Gertrude Whitney While Neily would be sailing around on his yacht, Grace would be back in New York City entertaining . Every year at the New York City mansion and "Beaulieu", Grace would be entertaining up to 10,000 people a year. Every night at dinner parties, Grace would have a red carpet rolled out across the sidewalk to lead the guests inside. Greeting guests inside, she would be beside two footmen in livery, welcoming them inside. Although she hated the press, they loved her. She was mostly photographed at the opening of the Metropolitan Opera. Grace Vanderbilt Never Missed The Opening Of The Metropolitan Opera House, Not Until Her Death Would She Ever Miss One When Alice died in 1934, she left Neily the Gwynne Building in Ohio and about $7 million, if it hadn't been for her money, Grace and Neily would have been broke. Grace and Neily were spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on parties, jewelry, taxes, clothes, food, servants and numerous amounts of other things, although this didn't stop Grace. Grace Arriving At The Opera With Her Three Famous Signatures: The Bandeau or "Headache Band"On Her Head, Her Diamond Stomacher And The Famous Silver Fox Wrap When Grace and Neily's son, Neil, announced he would be working as a newspaperman, they promptly kicked him out. Neil had had an unfortunate childhood, Grace had been a distant mother and Neily had wanted nothing to do with his children, so he was not surprised when they kicked him out. Neil Vanderbilt Would Go On To Be Married Very Many Times, Much To The Disapproval Of Grace While Grace was entertaining and mixing with royalty, the world around her was changing. Over time the residences around the 640 Fifth Avenue mansion had been replaced with large skyscrapers and soon the 640 Fifth Avenue mansion became lost in a sea of skyscrapers. The Other Side Of The Vanderbilt Triple Palace Was Getting Ready To Be Torn Down And Replaced With A Large Apartment Building Slowly they came down, one by one Vanderbilt Row disintegrated and soon only Grace and Neily's aunt, Florence Twombly, were left. 640 Fifth Avenue became a shrine of a bygone era, the only private residence left on that side of town. In The Middle Of A Sea Of Skyscrapers Was Grace Vanderbilt And Her Imposing Mansion, 640 Fifth Avenue When Neily died, he left an estate of $4 million. Grace inherited $2 million and $900,000 to his two children. It had turned out that shortly before his death, Neily had sold 640 Fifth Avenue to developers to raise money. Under the terms of the agreement Grace would get to remain at 640 Fifth Avenue until two years after Neily's death. Grace continued to entertain just as lavish as she always had, hosting her last ball in 1941. Finally she too had to give up. The Movers Came And Packed Up The Large Art Collection, Which Was Being Given To The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Along With The Malachite Vase The Vanderbilt Mansion Under Demolition, 600 Workmen Instructed To Tear Apart 640 Fifth Avenue, The Last of It's Kind The Great Hall Of The Mansion Was Completely Torn Apart, Not One of It's Decorative Features Saved Grace Vanderbilt moved to another New York City townhouse, which was now in the heart of the fashionable district, which had formerly belonged to William Starr Miller, Grace called it "The Gardener's Cottage" because it contained only 28 rooms, compared to the 85 rooms at 640 Fifth Avenue. The William Starr Miller Mansion, Which Grace Bought For $800,000, She Regally Brought Her Butler And Her Bathroom The William Starr Miller Mansion Today, Surrounded On All Sides By Skyscrapers, Which Tower Over The Mansion It was at the Miller mansion when Grace passed away with her family by her side, worrying if the money would last. Grace once said "Poor Marie Antoinette, If the Revolution ever came to America I would surely be the first to go"
These begone beauties, long forgotten, were the It-girls of their era. More than a hundred years ago, at the dawn of the 20th century, they were the most talked about, photographed women of their a…
We’re not technically a Paloma Wool fan club… but we’re not opposed to starting one. One of our (and based on feedback – your) favorite designers is taking us through her office, her photoshoots, and her life. A rockstar in design, in artistry, and in celebrating femininity, you won’t want to miss what this woman’s beh
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"I believe in a visual language that should be as strong as the written word." -David LaChapelle
While staging furniture to sell doesn't come naturally to everyone, the good news is it can be learned. Here are a few basic rules that can help.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read the full disclosure for more information. Welcome to an extraordinary journey through 50+ gorgeous and unique Earthship homes!...
In the last part of my Orlando (1992) review, I’m showcasing some of the fabulous costumes and looks from the film by designers Sandy Powell and Dien van Straalen. As mentioned in my last pos…
In his series Impermanence, South Korean artist Seung-Hwan Oh creates wonderfully distorted photographic portraits by growing emulsion-eating fungus on
Review - Stages of Rot and the Making of a Universe
Contemporary Art Daily. A Daily Journal of International Exhibitions. | Artist: Rute Merk Venue: Gallery Vacancy, Shanghai Exhibition Title: Solitaire Date: June 13 – August 8, 2020 Click here to view slideshow Full gallery of images, press release and link available after the jump. Images: Images courtesy of Gallery Vacancy, Shanghai Press Release: Instead of painting somebody or something standing in front of me, I usually start with […]
This post may contain affiliate links. Read the full disclosure for more information. Welcome to an extraordinary journey through 50+ gorgeous and unique Earthship homes!...
Are you searching for staging a house ideas and tips?This blog post is all about essential tips for staging a house to sell it fast!
These lovely London loos are the capital's selfie-snapping hot spots. Home decorators, take note.
In still life photography, a photographer creates an image with almost full control over lighting, mood, and composition.
Since the 1990s, biologists have witnessed a sudden demise of amphibian species. So far, hundreds of species have become extinct after becoming plagued by a wretched fungus. From mountain lakes to meadow puddles, no matter the continent,
The pop music show The Tube ran on UK’s Channel 4 for five years in the 1980s. Hosted by, among others, Jools Holland and Paula Yates, the program showcased live (as in actually live and not mimed) performances by three or four emerging bands every week, including, in March of 1986, some high badassery from the legendary rockabilly/horror/sleaze/punk band The Cramps. This was a transitional time for the band. Since the departure of guitarist Kid Congo Powers, The Cramps—wildman singer Lux Interior, fuzzgrinding guitarist Poison Ivy Rorschach, and drummer Nick Knox—were unable to find a permanent replacement guitarist, and elected to add a bass to their lineup for the first time ever, only to find themselves unable to settle on a bassist. They were also tweaking their image, tilting their focus away somewhat from their ghoulish b-movie horror side towards a more colorfully cartoonish and kitschy hypersexuality. In accord with that change, representative song titles from that year’s A Date With Elvis LP include “The Hot Pearl Snatch” and “Can Your Pussy Do the Dog?” both of which are featured in their Tube set, along with the single “What’s Inside a...
