The truth hurts. The ugly truth. Your truth. My truth. Truth is messy. The whole truth and nothing but the truth. Yours truly. A grain of truth. True enough. Truth will out. The obvious truth. Tried and true. Gospel truth. Naked truth. True blue. Unvarnished truth. Ain’t it the truth? Or, in the immortal words … Continue reading Decoding Truth: History, Perception, and Reality
Month: July 2025
Keeping It Real: The Bad Boys
In 1886, Thomas Eakins (1844-1916) was forced to resign his position as an instructor at the Philadelphia Academy of Art. At the time, it was unthinkable for a fully nude male to pose for female students in a life drawing class. While their male counterparts would be in a room with a naked guy, the … Continue reading Keeping It Real: The Bad Boys
London Views
Three years ago today, I was sitting in a pleasant apartment on Goodramgate in York, England, just down the street from the Old White Swan. Old White Swan, photo by RGilbert My plan had been to go watch the thoroughbreds run that afternoon at York Racecourse. But I awoke in the morning with severe back … Continue reading London Views
Love and Devotion: The Queen and Mr. Brown
Balmoral Castle, a residence of the British Royal family in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, belonged to the Farquharson family in 1848, when Prince Albert (1819-1861) first leased it for the use of himself and his wife, Queen Victoria (1819-1901). They enjoyed themselves so much at this beautiful Highlands estate, that they purchased it in 1853. Balmoral Castle … Continue reading Love and Devotion: The Queen and Mr. Brown
Seeing and Telling
Even before the last brush strokes had been applied to the canvas, President Theodore Roosevelt was dissatisfied with his official White House portrait. Just the previous year, French artist Théobald Chartran (1849-1907) had painted a dignified yet casually posed portrait of First Lady Edith Roosevelt. Edith Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States; 1902 by … Continue reading Seeing and Telling
The Naked Truth
Have you ever wondered about the origin of the phrase the naked truth? Ever since I began writing historical fiction, I have had this almost obsessive desire to know the etymology of words, slang expressions, and clichés. In my novel A Moon Garden, when I put words in the mouth of an 18th-century gentleman living … Continue reading The Naked Truth
The Brothers in the Tower
In August of 1792, Louis XVI of France was arrested. A month later, the monarchy was abolished. Stripped of his Royal inheritance, the deposed king was now known as Citizen Louis Capet. He was tried and convicted of treason and executed in January in 1793. Louis XVI bids farewell to his family the day before … Continue reading The Brothers in the Tower
Sex, Scandals, and Caricatures
An embarrassment of riches was bequeathed to us from the paintbrushes of Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), a founder and the first president of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Sir Joshua Reynolds, Self-portrait c 1780© Royal Academy of Arts / Photographer: John Hammond His portraits depict every luminary who lived, loved, fought, performed, wrote, … Continue reading Sex, Scandals, and Caricatures
Decorum, Degeneracy, Democracy: A Meandering Trail
American artist George Peter Alexander Healy (1813-1894) left behind a vast body of work that is a historian’s dream. George Peter Alexander Healy, Self-portrait 1851 He painted portraits of innumerable people of note, including William Tecumseh Sherman, Pope Pius IX, Daniel Webster, John Audubon, and Louis Philippe I, the Citizen King. The Corcoran Gallery in … Continue reading Decorum, Degeneracy, Democracy: A Meandering Trail
A Portal to the Past: Edward Matthew Ward
One of the elements that makes classical art so compelling is that it serves as a portal to the past. You can evaluate a painting from a purely aesthetic perspective, or you can scratch beneath the surface and discover an untold story. Edward Matthew Ward (1816-1879) was an artist who consciously put his masterful skills … Continue reading A Portal to the Past: Edward Matthew Ward
Art*Connections 