Long before I went to graduate school to get my master’s in nonfiction writing, I got a degree in interior design from a school in Boston’s Back Bay. I loved working in the design field — creating residential and commercial spaces, and models for developers to show off their condos or senior housing. I even created a fun disco space where an antique MG graced the middle island of the bar. My love of writing eventually grew louder, and that’s when I went back to school to hone my writing skills. So now I write about beautiful spaces, art museums and fascinating artists. My love and appreciation for furniture with beautiful details and design — be they Danish modern or traditional Queen Anne or whatever — stays with me to this day. And yes, my home is decorated eclectically. I have a mahogany Queen Anne-Chippendale dining room set, abstract art, an Eames Chair and a minimalist sectional … [Read more...] about NEW HAMPSHIRE FURNITURE MASTERS: WELL-DESIGNED, CAREFULLY EXECUTED & ULTIMATELY CLASSIC

In 1890, the painter Thomas Eakins was walking a tightrope. His pictures, gaining relative notice after two decades of dismissal, had become overshadowed by his contentious teaching career. Forced to resign from his central position at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1886 due to scandal and a smear campaign — driven by members of his own family — the 46-year- old was now head instructor to the Art Students’ League of Philadelphia, a rag-tag band of his most loyal students. Added to this tumult was the arrival of his 17-year-old niece, Ella Crowell, to live and study. In the lengthy cast of characters that peopled Eakins’ life, Ella is one of the most enigmatic. And her status as an enigma is why Fitchburg Art Museum (FAM) has put up “Portrayed by Eakins: Ella Crowell as Model and Student,” running through June 2. A small but beautiful exhibition of 21 photographs and three … [Read more...] about QUESTIONS REMAIN: EAKINS’ FITCHBURG SURVEY LEAVES US WANTING MORE

“Morning.” “Homeschool and Housework.” “Dinnertime.” “Bedtime for the Boys.” “The Studio.” Five monochromatic woodblock prints that depict genre scenes from LaToya Hobbs’ life in 2021. “Carving Out Time,” the name of the series on display in “LaToya M. Hobbs: It’s Time” at Harvard Art Museums, began with a list of all the things she does in a day, then a photoshoot with her family in various parts of the house where her partner aids in directing the composition of those photographs, then Hobbs creates these composite drawings that take two to three weeks to complete. Afterwards, she carves them into, or one may say ‘out of’ since woodblock printing is a subtractive method. The three panels of paper are put into a manual press and joined together to form large-scale immersive works. The striations on the skin, elegant mixing of cross-hatched patterns and the rhythm of the work, reminds … [Read more...] about SONG OF THE DIURNAL AT HARVARD: LATOYA M. HOBB’S PORTRAIT OF A REGULAR DAY