My View of Life on the Dock
Color spread looks great! Gloucester’s history of summer seasons, the 400+ Anniversary festivities, the 4th of July Fireworks, and Cape Ann Museum’s Edward Hopper exhibition & walking tours are mentioned.
“When I was growing up in Gloucester, Mass., we were steeped in…”
McGrath, Ellie. “Summer at the Seaport.” Wall Street Journal. Print edition May 27-28, 2023. On line read here
A record number of lighthouses are being offered to the public during 2023 “Lighthouse Season”
BOSTON. May 26, 2023 – Each May, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), offers lighthouses to the public and other entities as part of its mission to deliver value and savings in federal real estate for taxpayers. This year, GSA is offering a record number of lighthouses, including at least six to nonprofits and government entities and at least four to the public through auctions.
GSA press release. Read more here.
A few lighthouses will be auctioned straight off. For the others, a right of first refusal process enables transfer of the property–buildings and grounds–to “federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofits, educational agencies, and community development organizations” that are in a position to maintain them, and may already be fulfilling that mission. Thacher Island Assoc. does a beautiful job for Twin Lights and Straitsmouth Islands.
Where have all the foghorns gone?
Stage Fort Park after the rain on this atmospheric morning was formal and dreamy. Skies above felt like passages in paintings by Odilon Redon and Florine Stettheimer. May 21, 2023.
Blackwood March Auction – Fine arts and antiques
Saturday May 20th at 11AM
“Artworks from the estate of noted Rockport art dealer and collector Donna Dussault, and antiques from the estate of historian Prudence Fish.”
Sale price plus 20% buyers premium (or 25% buyers premium on line)
Register ahead to bid live on line at Invaluable here
Sotheby’s Auction House | The New York Sales. Modern Day Auction, May 17, 2023. New York. See auction results and selection of highlights below. The Morning Session 1 lasted from 10:00 AM-12:30 PM and covered catalogued lots 101 – 323*. Session 2 resumed at 2:30 PM to auction lots 401-575*.
Sotheby’s averaged about 40 lots auctioned per hour today.
From the Whitney deaccession | Three of the four Whitney Hopper works sold in Session 2. The 4th Edward Hopper—linked indirectly to the Whitney bequest—a sailboat watercolor from 1899 (Lot 531) was near the end.
Edward Hopper from the Whitney Museum (Josephine Nivinson Hopper bequest)
Lot 531 Edward Hopper Sailboat study from 1899 from the Sanborn batch (w/ art and papers in the Nyack family home following Hoppers’ deaths) presale est. $100,000. SOLD HAMMER PRICE 80,000
The Prendergast (Lot 250) from the Whitney collection sold under its presale estimate (400,000-600,000), hammer price was $300,000. The John Marin (Lot 429) from the Whitney Deaccession Seven sold for $140,000.
notes on images: The Feiningers were friends with the Hoppers. Ditto Hartley. The Hartley Pink Houses, ca. 1940, like a Hopper motif, was inspired by Stonington, ME. Henri taught Ed Hopper and Jo Nivison. The Benton Train Station that’s a bit more of a Hopper composition is dated 1929.
selection of works that failed to find a buyer at this time
*Various lots are withdrawn and or fail to sell at auction. As a result, the final lot tally generally doesn’t match the total number of lots promoted ahead of the live sale.
Note: Hammer price indicates last bid before the gavel drops. Fees are added to the hammer price.
Four more Hoppers still to come this week.
May 16, 2023
Masterworks were auctioned by Sotheby’s in two evening sales in New York on May 16, 2023. The priciest presale estimates and expectations were set on works by Edward Hopper, Rene Magritte*, Gustav Klimt, Vincent van Gogh, Peter Paul Rubens and Giacometti. Sotheby’s catalogued 69 lots between the two sales. As the first sale opened no lots were pulled and three women featured: Joan Mitchell (first to announce “Reserve” on the sale, sold for 6.8 million hammer price), Georgia O’Keefe, and Berthe Morisot.
Edward Hopper. Cobb’s Barns, South Truro (1930-33) was slated in the later sale, one of seven works the Whitney Museum of American Art will sell at Sotheby’s this week and the only one tonight (May 16).
Oliver Barker, Chairman Sotheby’s Europe, welcomed and opened the sale at 6:10pm. Lots from Mo Ostin’s estate, a music industry legend and “visionary collector”, were offered first. Both Magrittes from the Ostin sale sold on the lower end of their presale estimate window despite dragging out bids for the first, Lot 3.
images above: selections from the Sotheby’s Mo Ostin Collection 6pm Evening sale 5/16/2023. Stunning trio he had acquired! [Magritte. L’Empire des lumières, 1951, (pre sale est. 35-55 million | hammer price, before fees 36,500,000 ); Magritte. Le Domaine d’Arnheim, 1949 (presale est. 15 mil-25 mil. First time at auction. hammer price 16.2 mil); Mark Tansey. Study for Action painting. 1985. (presale est. 1.5-2 mil | hammer price 2.1)]
images below: selections from the Sotheby’s 7pm Evening Sale 5/16/2023
[Klimt. sold hammer price 46 million; Hammershoi. sold hammer price 7,650,000; Matisse hammer price 3.2; Magritte. passed; O’Keefe passed; Bonnard 3,488,000 with fees; van Gogh sold with fees 23,314,500; Rubens hammer price 22.5 million ; and Hopper sold hammer price 6 million. ]
Oliver Barker opened part 2 of the major evening auction at 7:25 pm.
The intermission pre-hype video before the auction that focused on the Whitney Museum Hoppers, one oil and 3 watercolors from Jo Nivison Hopper’s bequest, where they remained for more than 50 years and are now to be deaccessioned, was narrated by Lisa Dennison, Chairperson Sotheby’s Americas. “This is an extraordinary opportunity to acquire works of this great American artists with such distinguished provenance.” Gloucester was mentioned and also described “Cape Ann”. Dennison built her career as a museum Curator and Director prior to Sotheby’s. (Inside ball art aside: Adam Weinberg, the Dir. of the Whitney, announced he’s stepping down after some 20 years. Dennison had vied for that position and was courted by several national museums. She helmed the Guggenheim prior to Sotheby’s. Hopper’s New York and the Hopper deaccession were among Weinberg’s last involvements at the Whitney.) The sale is controversial for several reasons despite the good intentions of proceeds promised for new acquisitions at the Whitney. Although this deaccession pales in comparison to the Berkshire Museum’s gutting–especially Norman Rockwell’s Shuffleton’s Barbershop–it’s still charged. Additionally, the accurate description of the full Hopper bequest falls short at the Whitney on several issues. I’ll write more about that in another post.
Magritte Souvenir de voyage was withdrawn from the sale. The Klimt “celebrating the idyllic shores of Austria” which sold for 46 million was described as “an exquisite painting. Not going to be another one like this coming up for a while.” The two lots following the Klimt, the Georgia O’Keefe and Renoir, failed to sell, or “passed”; the Renoir was removed from the Musee d’Orsay and would have been restitution for the Ambroise Vollard heirs. The Vilhelm Hammershoi interior, Lot 106, rustled up the most active bidding and prompted the only big clap from the audience until Isamu Noguchi Lot 128 The Family reached a 10.4 million hammer price. The Giacometti Lot 129 sold for 24.5 million slightly beneath the presale estimate (25-35 million). “For the very first time ever included in a modern auction. From 1620. In all its glory…” the drumroll opening bid for the Peter Paul Rubens started at 16 million and climbed to 22.5 million (presale estimate 20-30 million), a smattering of applause from the audience. Not an exuberant night for the Magrittes on the block this night or the sale overall. Several lots were announced “pulled” during the later sale.
The Whitney is hoping to sell 3 more works by Hopper along with a Prendergast and a Marin via Sotheby’s sales this week. There is a 4th Hopper drawing to be auctioned from 1899 that isn’t mentioned with the news about the four to be deaccessioned by the Whitney though it should be. Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Auction continues Thursday.
Images below: Sotheby’s set design and Oliver Barker’s auctioneer style is quite different than Christies, though both use deep leans to emphasize the bidding from opposite sides of the room or seats on the floor. Most of the action was by phone tonight. Barker calls the phone pens that look like a telethon the “telephone aisles” and “there it is” is a favorite catch phrase. Christies did without the “turnstile” and art handlers showcasing the lot front and center as the sale progresses and which I thought I’d miss from the virtual feed. Maybe not: the vibe here was a bit Price is Right meets the spinning dressing table from the 1960s Batgirl tv show. It does help with scale.
I love the sunny days. Spring cleaning. White sheets drying on the line…whoops! Indoors, any flat surfaces coated yellow are as slippery underfoot–on tile and wood floors–as spilled baby powder or flour. The next rain may bring puddles outlined in yellow. In the meantime, what’s your dusting hack for pollen?
Hang in there to all who have allergies!
May 2023, Gloucester, MA.
News from Jane Deering Gallery- save the date!
A tribute to lives long lived.
Jane Deering Gallery is pleased to present Juni Van Dyke | These Beautiful Hands running May 19 – June 4, 2023 with an Opening Reception with the artist on Saturday, May 20th from 3-6pm. Van Dyke speaks about These Beautiful Hands
Juni Van Dyke
“During Gloucester’s 400th anniversary, I wanted to honor many of the city’s elders with a project involving their hands — hands which have been worn smooth as gems from years of loving, caring, toiling, living. Hands wrinkled and calloused, arthritic, spotted, veined. Beautiful hands of time. My tribute unfolds in four parts—Sculpture, Drawing, Painting and Video.”
Jane Deering gallery is located at 19 Pleasant Street, Gloucester MA. Gallery hours: Friday & Saturday 1-5pm; Sunday 1-4pm and by appointment at 978-526-7248 or junivandyke@yahoo.com.
Read more about the solo show and from the Artist Statement:
54 lots for Christie’s 20th Century Evening Sale LIVE 11 May 2023, New York – underway (will update)
EDWARD HOPPER
Coast Guard Cove, 1929
Watercolor first sold thru Rehn Gallery; MoMa in 1933
signed ‘Edward Hopper Two Lights Me’
Lot 40A (“A” for Paul Allen Estate)
Presale estimate 600,000-800,000. Hammer price 1.6 mil. Price realised USD 1,986,000
In 2014, Allen acquired the drawing from the Paul Mellon Estate sale at Sotheby’s.
Prior to the Hopper lot, “one of the 5 greatest Gas Station” Ed. Ruscha’s Burning Gas Station sold for 19 million (which was below the presale estimate 20 -30 mil; bidding started at 17 million). Among the works that soared past their presale estimates were a Matisse drawing, an Agnes Pelton from 1926, Degas’s Danseus a la barre from the Danforth estate, Renoir’s Square de la Trinité, and a “wonderful” Goya drawing.
O’Keefe’s Black Iris 5–also from the Paul Allen collection–surged past its presale estimate (5-7 million to 18 million); and there was spirited bidding for more than one Hockney. So far the audience broke into applause for two: a Toulouse Lautrec circus elephant drawing and “one of the masterpieces of the week”, a large Rosseau, reached an auction record. “I don’t think you’ll see another,” quipped the auctioneer holding the gavel at 37.5 million. Paul Guston Pull, Picasso Femme Assise, and a Cezanne figure group passed.
Results here
–will update–
Coming this Sunday May 14! Cape Ann Symphony news from Heidi Dallin:
The Cape Ann Symphony presents The Colors of Music featuring the world renown pianist Michael Lewin and dynamic music from Mozart, Hayden and Brahms on Sunday, May 14 at 2 pm at the CAS performance venue, Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. For tickets or information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org
The orchestra opens the concert with the Mozart’s joyous Overture to the Marriage of Figaro from his famed comic opera followed by Hayden’s charming Symphony No. 101 Clock Symphony. Cape Ann Symphony welcomes back pianist Michael Lewin to close the concert with Brahms’ powerful Piano Concerto No. 1.
“Michael Lewin is an incredible musician. The musicians of the orchestra and I are thrilled to be able to have a chance to perform the fiery Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 with him. The Brahms is full of passion and great beauty, and Michael plays it like no one else. We can’t wait to share it with our wonderful audience!”
CAS Music Director and Conductor Yoichi Udagawa
Michael Lewin is one of America’s foremost concert pianists, winning over audiences in 30 countries. His career was launched with top prizes in the Franz Liszt International Competition, the American Pianists Association Award and the William Kapell (University of Maryland) International Piano Competition. His recordings have won a Grammy Award and a Roundglass Music Award.
Mr. Lewin has appeared as orchestral soloist with the Netherlands Philharmonic, Cairo Symphony, China National Radio Orchestra, Bucharest Philharmonic, Youth Orchestra of the Americas, State Symphony of Greece, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and the Phoenix, Indianapolis, Miami, North Carolina, West Virginia, Nevada, New Orleans, Colorado, Guadalajara, and Puerto Rico Symphonies. Solo appearances include New York’s Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Taiwan’s National Concert Hall, Hong Kong’s City Hall Theatre, Holland’s Muziekcentrum, Moscow’s Great Hall, the Athens Megaron, the National Gallery of Art, the Newport, Ravinia and Spoleto Festivals and PBS Television. His extensive repertoire includes over 40 piano concertos, with particular interest in the music of Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Debussy and a host of American and Latin American composers.
An award-winning recording artist, Mr. Lewin’s discography on Sono Luminus, Naxos and Centaur includes a pair of acclaimed Debussy recordings entitled Beau Soir and Starry Night, the complete piano music of Charles T. Griffes and Scarlatti Sonatas for Naxos, Michael Lewin plays Liszt, A Russian Piano Recital, “Bamboula!” piano music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk, “Piano Phantoms,” “If I Were a Bird” and the 4 Violin Sonatas by William Bolcom with Irina Muresanu.
An educator as well. Michael Lewin is Professor and Head of Piano at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Classical Music Director for Ethos Music in China. He gives master classes worldwide, directs the Boston Conservatory Piano Masters Series and has taught many prize-winning and successful pianists. He is a Juilliard School graduate and a Steinway Artist. His teachers included Leon Fleisher, Yvonne Lefebure, Adele Marcus and Irwin Freundlich.
Founded in Gloucester in 1951, the Cape Ann Symphony is a professional orchestra of over 70 players from throughout the New England area. They perform a subscription season of four concerts per year plus several Pops and youth concerts. The Symphony Board of Directors named Yoichi Udagawa the Music Director and Conductor of the Cape Ann Symphony in the summer of 2000 after a yearlong search. In addition to his leadership of Cape Ann Symphony, he is Music Director and Conductor of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, and the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and a cover conductor at the Boston Pops Orchestra. Maestro. Udagawa is on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory where he teaches conducting. Frequently invited to guest conduct, Maestro Udagawa has worked with many different orchestras including the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Nobeoka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Indian Hill Symphony, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Brown University Orchestra, the Syracuse Society for New Music, the Boston Conservatory Orchestra, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Newton Symphony, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Mid-Texas Symphony. Maestro Udagawa is at home in popular and contemporary music as well as the standard symphonic repertoire. He is known for his relaxed manner and ability to speak from the podium which has helped new audiences as well as enthusiasts gain a greater appreciation for symphonic music. His programs often include premieres of new works – some specially commissioned for the orchestra — as well as great orchestral works across the symphonic repertoire and lively Pops programs. He is also an integral part of the Cape Ann Symphony Youth Initiative.
Yoichi Udagawa, the son of a nuclear physicist father and singer/artist mother, was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. His family immigrated to the United States soon thereafter. He began playing the violin at age four and made his conducting debut at age fifteen. After receiving a music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, he continued advanced studies in conducting with Gunther Schuller, Seiji Ozawa, Morihiro Okabe, and Henry Charles Smith. A fan of many different styles of music, Mr. Udagawa also enjoys performing gospel music in addition to his conducting activities. He is also an accomplished violinist and an avid fan of exercise and yoga.
The Cape Ann Symphony’s May concert The Colors of Music is Sunday, May 14, 2023 at 2:00 pm at the Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium is handicapped accessible. Ticket prices are $45 for adults, $40 for senior citizens, $5 for Youth (12 years old and under). For information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org
So long green. Good Harbor Beach ticket booth retired.
Just days away! Manchester Essex Regional Middle School presents the Sound of Music on May 5, 6, and 7. Below is a press release, cast list and rehearsal photos.
Photos: Courtesy photos
The YMCA of the North Shore and Manchester Essex Regional Middle School (MERMS) are proud to present one of the most famous musicals of all time: The Sound of MusicYouth Edition on Friday, May 5 at 7:00pm; Saturday, May 6 at 7:00pm; and Sunday, May 7 at 2:00pm at the Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. All tickets are $15.00. For ticketsgo to:https://our.show/mermssound-of-music
Directed by YMCA of the North Shore Theatre Specialist Heidi Dallin, the production features students from the Manchester Essex Regional Middle School playing some of the most beloved characters in theatre history. The Sound of Music was the final collaboration between Rodgers & Hammerstein and features many cherished songs, including “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” and the title number, The Sound of Music. The book of the musical was written by the Pulitzer Prize winning writing duo of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. A Broadway legend, Crouse spent his summers living in the Annisquam neighborhood of Gloucester. The Sound of Musicwon the hearts of audiences worldwide, earning five Tony Awards and five Oscars. Set in 1938 Austria, before the Nazi occupation, this inspirational story based on the memoir of Maria Augusta von Trapp, follows Maria Reiner, an ebullient postulate who serves as governess to the seven children of the imperious Captain von Trapp, bringing music and joy to the household.
MERMS 8th Grader Cate Vendt playing Maria Reiner and MERMS 7th Grader Jack Rousmaniere playing Captain von Trapp lead the cast of over 30 middle school actors. Director Heidi Dallin’s YMCA Theatre Production Team includes Music Director: Rin Wolter; Set, Prop and Costume Designer: Sarah Vandewalle; Stage Manager: Manchester native Jenny Hersey; Choreographer: Ts Burnham; Sound Designer: Francis Bordeleau; Set Tech: True Sayess and Lighting Designer: MERHS Sophomore Nicholas Haley.
The YMCA of the North Shore and Manchester Essex Regional Middle School’s production of The Sound of Music Youth Edition will be presented at the Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA on Friday May 5, and Saturday May 6, at 7:00 p.m and Sunday, May 7 at 2:00 pm. All tickets are $15 and can be purchased at https://our.show/mermssound-of-music
Sound of Music Youth Edition CAST LIST
| Character | Cast |
| Maria Rainer | Cate Vendt |
| Opening Number ensemble (mountains, trees, birds, a brook, etc) | Grace Burgess, Kit Carpenter, Thomas Chrzanowski, Damian Etna, Kate Graeter, Annabelle Kerivan, Calvin Lee, Scarlet Lee, James Lamb, River Martin, Mady N, Jack Rousmaniere, Oscar Storella, Julian Zaremba |
| Sister Berthe, Mistress of Novices | Simone Argento |
| Sister Marge | Harper Hemme |
| Sister Anne | Natalia Woodman |
| Sister Etta | Maddie Delaney |
| The Mother Abbess, in charge of the Abbey | Scarlet Lee |
| Sister Sophia | Rosie Renehan |
| Nuns of the Abbey | Katelin Aloi, Sofia Colarusso, Elizabeth Coughlin, Emily Fedorowich, Maya Khan, Paisley Koeplin, Estelle Lovett, Chloe Marletta, Hannah Meara, Anne Stevens, Antonia Vivanco |
| Captain Georg von Trapp | Jack Rousmaniere |
| Franz, the butler | Elizabeth Coughlin |
| Hellen, the Chef | Hannah Meara |
| Clara, the Maid | Katelin Aloi |
| Annika, a servant | Estelle Lovett |
| Emilia, a servant | Maya Khan |
| Frau Schmidt, the housekeeper | Anne Stevens |
| Liesl (16) | Kit Carpenter |
| Friedrich (14) | Oscar Storella |
| Louisa (13) | Kate Graeter |
| Kurt (10) | Thomas Chrzanowski |
| Brigitta (9) | River Martin |
| Marta (7) | Grace Burgess |
| Gretl (youngest) | Annabelle Kerivan |
| Rolf Gruber | Damian Etna |
| Max Detweiler, friend of Captain | Calvin Lee |
| Goat | Antonia Vivanco |
| Girl in the Pale Pink Coat | Chloe Marletta |
| Folks In the Town | Sofia Colarusso, Maya Khan, Paisley Koeplin, Madelyn Nazzaro, Natalia Woodman, Rosie, Simone, Katelin, Maddie D, Harper, James, Damian, Scarlet, Estelle, Julian |
| Mama | Emily Fedorowich |
| Herr Zeller, a German supporterFrau Zeller | James Lamb |
| Fraulein Zeller, Herr Zeller‘s Sister | Madelyn Nazzaro |
| Baron Elberfeld, party guest against Nazis | Julian Zaremba |
| A New Postulant | Paisley Koeplin |
| Admiral von Schreiber, admiral In German Navy | Chloe Marletta |
| German Officials | Damian Etna, Maya Khan, James Lamb, Antonia Vivanco, |
| Salzburg Accordion Dancers | Elizabeth Coughlin, Paisley Koeplin, Hannah Meara |
| Festival Judges | Estelle Lovett, Anne Stevens, Julian Zaremba |
| The Trio of The Saengerbung of Herwegen | Sofia Colarusso, Emily Fedorowich, Madelyn Nazzaro |
| Fraulein Schweiger | Katelin Aloi |
The best bridge players of the day on Cape Ann convene at least twice a week for competitive games–and on Mondays for a bonus master class and play–at the Rose Baker Senior Center in Gloucester and Rockport Community Center, two ideal local venues. (A few manage additional games outside of that schedule. Two head to cribbage right after!)
A game of practice and quick perception that takes a serious chunk of time, the “individuals and the individuality” of bridge appear to be irresistible when you see these dedicated (some might say obsessed) folks meet up! Here are a few scenes from past games in Gloucester and Rockport from 2019 and 2023. Current avid players include:
Kathy Bacsik, Bernice Blitz, Mary Jane Boughn, Bill Breslin, Louise Cook, Charlotte Chase, Ellen Clark, Mike Colomo, Joe Curley, Paul Evans, Susan Everitt, Dixie Lee George, Mary Hayes, Cheryl Hunt, Mike Johnson, Nikki Karkatti, Minnetta King, Phil Lambert, Kim MacLeod, Claire Norton, Steve Parsons, Jack Smallcomb, Vivian & Jim, Molly, Bonnie, and Lester Stockman.
Occupations among the members present and past are broad: Several engineers, educators (school teachers, professors and academics), pilots, fishermen, medical doctors, psychiatrist, investors, and at least one expert horsewoman. My mother in law is a superb player. She loves the game for its mingled skill and chance, the social visits, and mentions how it builds intellectual strength — to encourage others to the tables for much of her life.
Group photo caption: There’s always one! Yes, that’s bunny ears– courtesy of the oldest player there that day 🙂
Guiding these abundant opportunities without a hitch is the most impressive sleight of hand. Lester Stockman a volunteer and accomplished player manages to fill tables of four on any given day year round despite everyone’s busy daily lives and the inevitable planned and unplanned intrusions. For close to a decade Stockman makes the phone calls and connections required when teams have to temporarily shuffle as a result of absences, arrives early and stays late to arrange tables and chairs, keeps score, and offers the master classes on Mondays. Prior to that stretch, he helped Bill Calloway when Bill played with his wife Kate.
“One player will possibly not approve of methods which another equally good player upholds and adopts.”
Bridge Abridged; Or, Practical Bridge. by W. Dalton, 1855 with some timeless and relatable advice
Grand Slams to all!
Bridge in America
Henry Isaac Barbey (1832-1906) is credited with introducing bridge in America. Barbey was a 19th C. business tycoon, the Director of the Buffalo, Rochester, Pittsburgh Railroad (the BR&P), a yachtsman, master card player, and philanthropist (including a seat on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s board). He married a wealthy NYC heiress, Mary Lorillard, and they naturally made the Four Hundred list. Perhaps there were visits on Cape Ann or the North Shore because of that racing. Newport was a destination for sure. I wonder if their children played bridge? One of their daughters, Hélène de Pourtalès, competed and won an Olympic gold medal in sailing in the first year women were allowed to compete. Good read by Christophe Vuilleumier published by the Swiss National Museum Blog here: The first female Olympic champion: New York-born Hélène de Pourtalès (1868-1945) of Geneva won gold at the 1900 Olympic Games. Largely unknown today, this pioneering yachtswoman paved the way for other women to compete at the Olympics.
Do you know a cluster of homes perched like the subjects in this classic Edward Hopper watercolor painted here in Gloucester 100 years ago? Hallmark motifs and themes pair up throughout this bright and sunny scene: outhouse on the left and brush edged to the right (“nature calls”), passage between buildings and boulders, light and sharp shadow, double windows and curtains, roofline and sky, line up of chimneys, and the mystery of cropped views over the hill and off to the sides.
A house like the home on the right with dark trim and the pair of double stacked windows may appear to be a double story home from one side and as a single story from another. (A home at the corner of Webster and Sadler Sts. shows the vernacular charm and multi vantage points.)
The drawing is available for purchase. The Whitney Museum of American Art is deaccessioning four Edward Hopper watercolors inspired by the artist’s travel to four locations: Gloucester, Truro, Vermont/NH, and South Carolina. Sotheby’s Auction House has listed them in their major upcoming New York spring sales: one painting for the Modern Evening auction May 16 and 3 paintings on paper for the Modern Day auction on May 17. A fifth Edward Hopper work on paper is included in the day sale.
Images: Edward Hopper works from the Whitney collection at Sotheby’s auction May 2023, images left to right: Lot 434 Red Barn in Autumn Landscape, 1927; Lot 430 Gloucester Group of Houses 1923 est 500,000 – 700,000; Lot 432 The Battery, Charleston, SC 1929 est 500-700,000; Lot 145 Cobb’s Barn, South Truro, circa 1930-33, presale estimate 8-12 million. This painting was selected for display in the Oval Office* by President Obama. A later Edward Hopper Cape Cod watercolor from 1943, Four Dead Trees, with a presale estimate of 700,000-1,000,000, sold at Christie’s on April 23, 2023 for 1.5 million (price realized includes added fees). Lot 531 an Edward Hopper Sailboat study from 1899 from the Sanborn batch, presale est. $100,000 (w/ art and papers in the Nyack home following Hoppers’ deaths.)
Auction follow up and results posted here.
On right, Hopper’s NY Rooftops 1927 reminds me of the Gloucester forms ( installation view Whitney NY, Jan 2023), like vessels on the Hudson. Photo c ryan
—
*I wrote about art at the White House in 2014 which was published here on GMG in 2015:
“What’s the best art inside the White House? No matter what is your artistic preference, Gloucester and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts could top the charts as the City and state with the best and most art ties featured at the White House. Let’s break down a selection of that Massachusetts list currently on display at the White House room-by-room, shall we?
“Not one, but two Edward Hopper paintings, lent by the Whitney Museum of American Art, were installed one over the other, Cobb’s Barns, South Truro and Burly Cobb’s House, South Truro. The Childe Hassam’s painting, Avenue in the Rain, and Norman Rockwell’s painting, Statue of Liberty, were displayed nearby.
…How does the White House collection work? It is unusual for the White House to accept art by living artists. There are more than 450 works of art in the permanent collection. New art enters the collection after its vetted and is restricted to works created at least 25 years prior to the date of acquisition. For the public rooms, the Office of the Curator works with the White House advisory committee, the First Lady serves as the Honorary Chair, and the White House Historical Association. The private rooms are the domain of the First Family. Works of art from collectors, museums, and galleries can be requested for temporary loans and are returned at the end of the President’s final term. The Obamas have selected contemporary art, including abstract art, from the permanent collection, and borrowed work for their private quarters. Besides the Hopper paintings and John Alston’s Martin Luther King sculpture, they’ve selected art by *Anni Albers, *Josef Albers, Edgar Degas, Jasper Johns, Louise Nevelson, *Robert Rauschenberg, Edward Ruscha, and *Alma Thomas.” * indicates works that have been donated to the permanent collection.
Catherine Ryan, 2014
There are more than 120 Edward Hopper works inspired by Gloucester, MA. See Edward Hopper all around Gloucester. The Whitney Museum has sold Hoppers before. I’ll write more about that for another post.
On this day in 1911, the Boston Globe reported on a novel auto mechanic course at Gloucester high that would expand the vocational offerings already established in the district. John Hays Hammond who served on the school committee had the idea and seeded the concept. Forty years later, Arthur Smith reflected on how the new program fared when he wrote about the history of Gloucester High School (published by the Gloucester Daily Times in 1951). Hammond’s tenure on the school committee overlapped with renowned teacher and administrator, Albert W. Bacheler, the Gloucester High School Principal. In 1911, the high school was located on Dale Ave. now Central Grammar. Excerpts follow.
Excerpts from the Boston Globe article
“John Hays Hammond, who is a member of the Gloucester school committee, offered to maintain, for a year at least, a class of high school boys in automobile instruction…
“Under the terms of the contract the boys were to be given 40 lessons a the rate of two lessons a week in the machine shop. But Mr. Perkins and Mr. Hodgkins, becoming enthusiastic over the idea, have lengthened this out to 50 lessons at shop work, and for further good measure Mr. Hodgkins has given, gratis, 40 evening lessons at the high school on the theory of construction and management of gas engines. Thus it is believed that the course has been thorough from the theoretical and practical standpoint. The first lesson at the garage consisted in leading the class to an automobile, directing them to dismantle it and reassemble it, care being taken to tell them to acquaint themselves with the function of every piece of metal which was handled. The test in this was to ascertain at the very first if the boys had the mechanical knack and observation so necessary in matters of this kind…
“The Gloucester high school met this in a measure by introducing some 15 years ago the commercial and high school course, which has equipped many for a livelihood as stenographers and bookkeepers, but this class instituted by Mr. Hammond, if it shall become permanent, will go a step further, and turn out young men who, in their special branch of business, are skilled mechanics and not above overalls and hands and arms soiled with oil…
“…the popularity of the new departure is attested by the fact that one-tenth of the whole number in the pubic schools is enrolled in the high school, which must be enlarged to accommodate those who desire to enter…”
Boston Globe April 30, 1911
“At the same time the reputation of the school as one of the best college preparatory institutions in New England has increased, as the large number of its graduates in the colleges and universities attest.”
Boston Globe April 30 1911
When the HS moved to its current location, the gym was dedicated and also known as the Albert W. Bacheler drill hall. Read more about the history of the school buildings here: Gloucester Public Schools Then and Now
The district registered 4196 students in 1892 with just 300+ in the high school. Attendance was an issue. The enrollment number increased under Bacheler’s stewardship.
In 1951, Arthur Smith wrote about the history of the high school at the 100 year mark. The multi part series was published weekly on the front page of the Gloucester Daily Times. Bacheler is featured in several. Smith covered the enrollment and described what had happened with Hammond’s vocational goals for the district:
Bacheler’s
“…30 years in the school saw many changes. He came to a school of 226 students, most of them girls, and five teachers including himself; when he left in 1914, there were 603 students and 19 teachers. When he came, few students from Gloucester had gone on to college; he seems to have waged a campaign for higher education, and probably sent half a dozen to higher institutions for every one who had gone before….
“…Industrial vocational training did not fare so well in the same period. There was agitation for it, and the committee agreed in 1907 that industrial training was becoming part of the high school course in other cities, where there was a direct demand for employees with certain training, but it did not feel that Gloucester was so well situated in regard to trades. The following year, it was suggested that there might be some sewing and cooking for girls, and carpentry and printing for boys, but no action was taken. By 1913, the committee definitely felt there was a need for a high school of practical arts in the city, either a part of the existing school, or better yet, as a separate school, but nothing was done.
“A private benefactor, John Hays Hammond, primed the pump for the city, but to no permanent avail. In 1911 and 1912, through his generosity, cooking classes were made available to senior girls in the afternoon, but it was not seen fit to make the course available to all girls as part of their regular school course. Although 46 of 49 senior girls gave up their free time to enroll, the class was dropped. Similarly, in 1910 and 1911, the same man made possible instruction on the automobile for senior boys. A six months course was provided, part of it held at Perkins and Corliss garage, and part in the high school classrooms and a dozen seniors gave up their afternoons for instruction in this new field. But the course was ahead of its time in Gloucester, and it was not continued at public expense. This was very possibly the earliest course in automobile instruction in this state.”
Arthur N. Smith, Part 7, Gloucester Daily Times, May 29, 1951
Smith, a GHS teacher, wrote this special chronicle about the history of the High School to commemorate its 100th anniversary. Bacheler is featured in 4 installments which you can read on line through the SFL digitized GDT newspaper microfilm rolls. Part 1 was published on 4/30/1951. All of them were published on the front page above the fold.
The 7th installment also mentions that the first Sawyer medals were awarded in 1912:
“In June of 1912, the first Sawyer medals were awarded to the boy and girl in each class who was outstanding in scholarship and effort. These medals were paid for from the interest of a fund established by the will of Samuel E. Sawyer, to whose generosity Gloucester is indebted for many things, including the public library building.”
Reminder for drivers: runners on the road 9-12 for the beautiful and popular Cape Ann route
Mostly light rain this morning so far with stretches of heavy. Good luck to the racers on this woolly weather day!
Race will be over before the gale weather warning issued 5pm thru tomorrow.
Scenes from Kyrouz Auditorium opening reception.
Open Saturday and Sunday– don’t miss this show!
The YMCA of the North Shore & Manchester-Essex Middle School blooms and grows with “The Sound of Music – youth edition” in May 2023. Heidi Dallin shares the lovely performance flyer for next week’s shows May 5, 6, and 7. Tickets can be purchased here.
The Sound of Music opened on Broadway in 1959–an instant smash hit and perennial cultural favorite ever since. It’s special when there’s any production on Cape Ann: Thanks to Russel Crouse, much of the stage musical was written during stints in their Annisquam neighborhood in Gloucester.
Stage Park before noon 4/22/2023: Dog park clean up was active. Canon status as is. Kids breaking in the street hockey rink.
Link to prior GMG post BEFORE photos through the years of the cannons and site design (incl 1870, 1921, 1930, 1973, and 2019). The cannons were removed for restoration in 2019 from grounds that were restored and completed back in 1973 by the 187th Infantry Brigade– and in time for the city’s 350th celebration. That vision was hoped for over many decades and emulated how the fort looked in the 1700s.
PRESS RELEASE
Jane Deering gallery is pleased to present Amy Solomon’s paintings on paper and mixed media on wood in a solo show titled Magic and Offerings opening April 28th, 2023, with a Reception with the artist on Sunday April 30th from 3-5pm. Solomon speaks about her work on paper as daily meditations in paint
“These works are made with paints, medium and inks applied to the paper with marks, dots and drips. Over the past two years this has become my form of personal daily meditation practice: a way to connect with myself through the materials. What is in this gallery are remnants of the search and process. A shadow from a dance,” and her work in mixed media on wood as frozen disintegrations. “Again, what interests me is the power contained in the materials. Objects, colors and textures come together as a visual poem.”
Amy Solomon
Amy Solomon holds a BFA in Painting from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Her work is in collections in the United States, Greece, and Switzerland.
Jane Deering Gallery
janedeeringgallery.com
@janedeeringgallery.com
Good Morning Gloucester 