My favourite books 2006 Vs now

I can remember nearly every novel set by English teachers in high school (1960-65) . But when I recently found a 2006 newspaper article discussing my reading preferences, I couldn't remember the era when my children still lived at home. This newspaper article covered the books I most loved in the decades from 1975-2005.

  

Book column

Australian Jewish News

Melbourne March 2006

 

The Women's Room is the first novel

by American author Marilyn French,

published in 1977.

These days I read big, beautifully written and glossy books that I leave on the family room table to impress family and friends. And because they are too heavy and expensive to carry around. My three best current examples are: Palazzi of Rome, by Cresti and Rendina, published by Konemann, 1998; Patrons and Painters, Art and Society in Baroque Italy by Haskell, published by Yale UP 1980 and The Library, a World History, by Campbell and Pryce, Chicago UP, 2013. 

If any reader is interested in the book I would like for my next birthday, I recommend Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes by Le Corbusier, Mardges Bacon, Prof Barry Bergdoll (Contributors) et al, Museum of Modern Art, 2013 :)

Kroyer's loveliest art in France & Denmark

Kroyer, Hip, Hip, Hurrah! 1888, 
Gothenburg Museum of Art, Sweden

Impressionism was at first a French art movement, starting in the second half of the C19th. Impressionist techniques included visible, thick brush strokes of pure colour, creating a vibrant effect, and capturing the essence of the subject matter rather than focusing on minute details. Impressionists often painted outdoors to capture the effects of sunlight on their subjects, favouring natural poses and domestic scenes, creating a sense of freshness and normalcy. Even after thousands of artists from other nations flooded into France to learn from the Impressionists, these artists took French Impressionist techniques back home with them.

Peder Krøyer (1851-1909) was a Norwegian born lad who moved to Copenhagen for school and then studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Art. In his 20s, Krøyer travelled widely in Europe. While  in Paris, Kroyer was particularly impressed by the Impressionists who were already making a name for themselves - Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas and Sisley. Kroyer spent his formative years travellng in France from 1877-81 but then he had to go back to Denmark in 1882, where his taste for Impressionism stayed with him.

Kroyer, Artists' Luncheon at Skagen, 1883,
Granger Collection, New York

The group of Scandinavian artists formed an art group in Skagen at the tip of Denmark’s Jutland in the 1880s-early 1890s. I wonder what the rather conservative fishermen of this remote fishing village thought about the big city artists, with their alcohol and their women. Anyhow, because of Kroyer’s experience as a well travelled, well trained artist in French taste, he became leader of the Skagen community. His work during the 1880s was fresh, often showing a peaceful life on the beach, often celebrating art with all his artist friends, usually with food and drink at hand. Consider for example The Artists' Luncheon 1883. Here you can see the Skagen artists eating a convivial, boozy lunch at Brøndum's Hotel. His art was also influential.

Denmark does not have a hot climate, so I wondered why so many paintings had summer picnics, summer outdoor lunches and summer walks on the beach. The answer was that Kroyer divided his time between a holiday home in Skagen each shortish summer and his flat in Copenhagen where he worked on his large commissions each longish winter.  So see his famous works depicting local fishermen working along Skagen beach, including Men of Skagen setting out for night fishing (1884) and Fishermen hauling nets North Beach, Skagen (1883), which highlighted the tough Danish conditions and physical labour of coastal life.

Fishermen hauling nets North Beach Skagen, 1883

Wiki

Anna Ancher and Marie Krøyer on Skagen beach, 1890s,

Private collection. Wikimedia

I am very loyal to my favourite artists. And now another Kroyer painting has grabbed my attention and I need to annouce my newest Favourite Painting Of All Times. At least for now! Hip, Hip, Hurrah! 1888 is a large work that is in the Gothenburg Museum of Art in Sweden. The painting shows members of the guild of Skagen Painters, socialising as they were wont to do, in the open gardens. For me, Hip, Hip, Hurrah! is typical of the work produced by the Skagen Painters, focusing as it does on the play of light in the rather limited landscape. Gothenburg Museum asks people to compare Hip, Hip, Hurrah! with Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party, and in both composition and subject matter. And another comparison. Hip, Hip, Hurrah! had many of the same people we saw in Artists' Luncheon at Skagen 1883.

Summer evening at Skagen - painter and wife,1899

Artvee

Because the 1888 work took some years to paint, Swedish art collector Pontus Fürstenberg bought the painting before it was completed. Fürstenberg later donated his treasure to the Gothenburg Museum of Art, where it remains today.

The film PS Krøyer - What A Life! was made in Denmark in 2008. I have not seen the documentary so my summary comes from MUBI. Krøyer was the undisputed centre of the Skagen painters. He was famous; lionised and married to the most beautiful woman in Copenhagen. The film was a tribute to an artistic prodigy whose excellence brought Danish art to an international level. Krøyer brought a whole new way of life to Skagen; as the artists’ colony was created, so the party could begin. Everybody wanted to go there. Hip Hip Hurrah! became the symbol of the two decades of happiness and unity in the 1880s-90s.

Only when his mother’s insanity started to manifest itself did Krøyer's beautiful life start to unravel. His wife left him and with her, the foundation of his idyllic existence disappeared. But he had to live on. Fortunately he had steady, loving support until the very end. Kroyer died in 1909.

**

I went on a history cruise in the past and loved it. Avalon Cruises’ special interest trips have lectures and cultural activities on board that relate to the towns that art buffs love. In deference to Kroyer I would most like to spend time on the “Seine River Cruise” that leaves Paris, sailing to Vernon, for a guided visits to Claude Monet’s gardens at Giverny. On to Joan of Arc’s historic Rouen, where the excursion is to the Normandy land­ing beaches. There is an optional excursion to the Impres­sion­ists’ coastal town of Honfleur. In the medieval town of Conflans, visit  Vincent van Gogh’s gateway to Auvers-sur-Oise. In Paris see Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Opéra, Madeleine, Champs Elysées and the Eiffel Tower.  Enjoy a cabaret show at Toulouse Lautrec’s Moulin Rouge. The 8-day cruise leaves Paris regularly throughout April-August.

Old Harbour, Honfleur

Honfleur was where Monet, Courbet, Dubourg, Boudin, Bazille, Corot, Sisley and others painted. It was also the home of Musée Eugène Boudin.

Map of France and Denmark

note Honfleur to Skagen to Copenhagen 

Old Parliament House Canberra & museum

Duke and Duchess of York 

opened Parliament House May 1927.    

                                   

The need for a national capital city arose when the colonies united to form the Comm­onwealth of Australia in 1901. The constitution provided that a new national capital should be built half way between Melbourne and Sydney, to avoid jealousy and conflict. The new Australian capital city of Can­berra was fixed in 1908 and the area was formally ceded to the Federal Government in 1911. However the Parliament couldn’t relocate from its interim location, Melbourne, to Can­berra until the new building was ready.

Parliament House was designed by Scottish John Smith Murdoch (1862–1945), the first Common­wealth Government archit­ect in Australia, and a team of assist­ants from the Dept of Works & Railways. The building wasn't int­ended to be permanent or elaborate; rather a provisional building to serve Parliament for 50 years max. It would be a classical building like the Parthenon, but with­out all the ornate details. And it was to look out over Lake Burley Griffin.

Murdoch’s provisional parliament building was to be modest & funct­ional. It was designed on a basic square, which provided the building with regular pro­p­or­t­ions. It was a 3 storey brick building with the principal floor on the middle level. The funct­ional aspect was reflected in all the des­ign, extending to the interior fit­t­ings & furnishings. The faç­ade originally included a grid of recessed openings and balcon­ies, with four bays having arched bronze windows and stepped parapets. The building’s front façade had strong horizontal lines, display­ing only 2 storeys, with higher massed elements behind the faç­ade, indicating the loc­ation of the debating chambers. The lower mass in the centre was where King’s Hall was. As a result, with its now enclosed verandas and colonnades, and strong horiz­ontal lines, the building was not as some people expected a proper Par­liament House to be.

Old Parliament House, front entrance

It didn't include cl­assical arch­itectural elements like columns or pedim­ents, but did have the necessary sym­metry. In the end, he had designed what is now considered a significant, nation­ally-listed heritage building with fine classical simplicity, order & proportion. And the design ex­tended from the building to include its gard­ens, dé­cor and furn­ishings.

Murdoch designed both the exterior of the building AND the int­er­iors. He had to integrate all the spaces required of a parliament including: chambers, King’s Hall, party rooms, library, offices, members’ dining rooms and kit­chens. And he designed a distinctive set of furniture that shared the architecture’s design language.

Everything was pre-planned. Old Parliament House was designed in the Strip­ped Classical Style, commonly used for most Aust­ralian government build­ings built in Can­b­erra in the 1920s-30s. It was also recognisable in Murd­och’s other Can­ber­ra buildings eg Hyatt Hotel Canberra and Hotel Kurrajong.

Parliament House and Old Parliament House are the most significant features in the area covered by the National Triangle. Other build­ings key to the design and symmetry of the Triangle are the High Court and the National Gallery near Lake Burley Griffin, and the National Libr­ary.

Note that some of the integrity of Canberran architecture came after John Murdoch persuaded archit­ect Walter Burley Griffin to come to Australia from the USA. He was very busy.

Old Parliament House was the seat of the Parliament of Australia from 1927-88. In the 63 years that the building served, there were changes in the size and nature of the Federal Parliam­ent. During those years, the House of Representatives grew from 76 to 148 members and the Senate from 36 to 76 members. In 1927, only the Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, Prime Minister, Lead­er of the Government in the Senate and ministers had their own offices. But in the next 60 years, great changes took place in Australian social and political life, and democracy matured.

In 1927 the bush landscape in Canberra stood in stark contrast to the estab­lish­ed lush gardens of Parliament House in Melbourne. So throughout the 1930s, gardens were established to the east and west of Old Parliament House, patterned rose and annuals display beds, set in lawns and trees. Located on either side of Old Parliament House today are the rebuilt House of Representatives Garden and the Senate Garden so that when Parliament moved, the old gardens could be opened to the public.

By the 1980s, the building had exceeded its capacity with 3,000 people crowded into a building intended for a few hun­dred. Members and senators had tiny, overcrowded offices. In June 1988, mem­bers sat for the last time after 61 years in the old building, as Parl­iament trans­ferred to the completed New Par­l­iament House on Capital Hill.

Senate chamber

House of Reps chamber

Was King's Hall,

now Museum of Australian Democracy

So the sig­nif­icance of Old Parliament House today lies in its hist­or­ical value. In May 2008 King’s Hall became the Mus­eum of Austral­ian Democracy. It tells the herit­age of the build­ing and the story of Australia’s democracy. During its life as a work­ing parliament, the building was the setting for many of Aus­tral­ia’s major polit­ical events. Debates that influenced the future of the nation took place here, key decisions were taken, pol­itical careers were made and ended.

The Museum of Australian Democracy displays Aust­ralia’s pol­itical heritage. Old Parl­iament House is open daily, for either a guided tour or a self-tour where we can visit nearly all areas of the Old Parliament. See, for example, Kings Hall, House of Representatives Chamber, Prime Ministers Office, Cabinet Room and Senate Chamber.

In 1998 Old Parliament House became home to The National Port­rait Gallery which holds a range of changing exhibitions. And it serves as a venue for lectures and con­certs.

Image credits: Mildenhall images of Old Parliament House

St Louis' epic Union Station Missouri 1894->

Built in 1892-4, this Romanesque Revival project was designed by arch­itect Theodore Link for the Terminal Railroad Associat­ion of St Louis Mo. It was to serve as a Union Station for the multiple railroads that off­ered passenger services back then. The first train pul­led into Union St­ation in Sept 1894, ushering in a new and exciting time for the city, known as The Gateway To The West. Sud­denly it bec­ame a gateway to all of U.S. Over the next few years, Union Station bec­ame one of the largest, busiest passenger rail terminals in the world

                                    

Grand Hall, 1909, 

Wiki

The station saw its highest traffic during the World’s Fairs of 1902-04 and into WW2. At its peak in WW2, the station was a central hub for the country; 2+ million soldiers travelled through the st­ation mon­th­ly. Each day saw 100,000+ people at the station; people like Pres Harry Truman, Joe Di-Maggio, Joan Crawford and St Louis baseballers all came there.         

              

The building con­sists of three sections, those being:
1. The head house is granite-clad with a rough-hewn rusticat­ed base with hipped, gab­l­­ed and conical red terra cotta tile roofs, cylindrical tur­r­ets and a clock tower with an octagonal turret and pyramid-hipped roof. The ar­ch­ed window bays on the 2nd floor and the 3rd floor, Chat­eau­ wall dormers, stone terr­aces with stone railings and metal lampposts along the main entr­ance at the Grand Hall/large waiting room, a large suspend­ed metal canopy at the main ent­rance, and buff brick and brown brick cladding on the rear and side fac­ades. The in­terior originally housed a hotel, lunchroom, tick­et­ing fac­il­ities and offices. 

Grand Hall now, 

Groupon

 

Grand Hall feat­ured a 65’ barrel vaulted ceil­ing with de­cor­ative stencils and plaster work, arches with decorative sc­ulptural reliefs, walls with arched bays, green tile wainscoting, stain­ed gl­ass windows, terazzo floors, marble columns with decorat­ive cap­it­als, and fancy fire­places.The lovely Grand Hall feat­ured an elegant two-ton wrought-iron chand­elier. Inspired by the walled city of Carcassone in Sth France, Link designed an el­egant and modern version of a feudal passageway. The plat­form, surrounded by a much admired steel and glass wall decorated with ornate wrought iron gates, held an ex­citing view of moving trains. The sweeping archway reaches 65’, with fresco and gold leaf detailing, mos­aics and art-glass windows. The Grand Hall recently renovated and rest­ored, the iconic site re-opened with lounge seating and a great bar. And the Grand Hall provides beers, wines, and railroad-themed cocktails.

Just off the Grand Hall was a 75-room hotel serving railroad staff, bus­inessmen and travellers passing through town. Rooms were furn­ished only with a bed, nightstand, water jug and wash-bowl. Guests shared a comm­un­al bathroom on the 1st floor, a quiet relief from the station’s bustle.

2. The large Train Shed, a metal-frame structure with a barrel-vaulted roof, sky lights and roof monitors, orig­inally housed many train plat­forms. Today the train shed houses restaurants and a carou­sel, and central to the entire Union Station project is the str­ik­ing St Louis Aquarium. The 120,000-sq ft attraction exhibits thou­sands of aquatic species from global riv­ers and oceans. It will be cert­ified in the Ass­ociation of Zoos & Aquariums.  

St Louis Aquarium,

opened in Dec 2019

St Louis Post-Dispatch

3. The Midway, between the 2 larger structures, has a metal tr­uss roof with skylights, brick walls, marble floors, foun­tains & bal­conies. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Nat­ional His­t­oric Landmark in 1970.

After a long de­c­line, the last pass­enger train service left in 1978. The building remained empty until 1985, when it was ren­ovated for reuse as a shop­p­ing mall, food court and ho­t­el. To stop the impressive ar­chit­ecture of Union Station being wasted, the building was given a new life.

In Aug 1985, Union Station was reopened, with retail sh­ops, event spaces and rest­aurants where tourists could en­joy St Louis. The stylish, sophisticated Grand Hall features elegant hist­oric touches like the original terrazzo floor, green glazed terrac­otta bricks, st­ain­ed glass windows and wooden carpentry. Among carefully re­stored de­tails, see the hand-crafted design of stained glass window. 3 women are depict­ed in Tiffany glass, representing the expanse of 1890s train travel from New York to St Louis to San Francisco, all linked.

The Train Shed, renovated

Now the hotel has fully re­n­ovated 539 spacious historical and modern suit­es. Many of the rooms acknow­ledge Union Stat­ion’s history with art and décor, depicting rail­road themes. And some suites offer views of the building’s historic side out over Market St. Another major upd­at­e is the restoration of the massive steel train shed. And enjoy a sky view from the neighb­our­ing 200’ St Louis Wheel, the wheel having 42 encl­os­ed gondola­s, each seating 8 adults.

The renewed Union St­ation is surrounded by St Louis’ loveliest att­ractions eg Peabody Opera House, Campbell House Museum, City Museum, Kiener Plaza and Gateway Arch. But the station is a treasure in its own right.

Union Station was the entrance for visitors to St. Louis, from 1894. 

Wiki