Bela de Tirefort – A Forgotten New York Artist

Bela de Tirefort – A Forgotten New York Artist

Years ago while browsing a second-hand store I became entranced by a moody oil painting of a tugboat with a silhouette of lower Manhattan in the background. The painting was covered in grime and might have decorated a smoky bar that served longshoremen who worked the...
My Art Library:  Sketching Before Urban Sketchers

My Art Library: Sketching Before Urban Sketchers

Before the explosion of the Urban Sketchers movement that began in 2007 there was very little published on this topic. On a recent visit to Los Angeles I stopped by my favorite art bookstore, Hennesy & Ingalls, and discovered some treasures I’d like to...
A Lost Manhattan Landmark

A Lost Manhattan Landmark

I was saddened by the blaze that destroyed Beth Medrash Hagadol, the 167 year old landmarked synagogue on the Lower East Side.  The building was not in use since 2007, and I photographed this structure when it had an active congregation in 1987.  When I heard about...
An Abandoned Psychiatric Hospital in Tuscany

An Abandoned Psychiatric Hospital in Tuscany

Tuscany is an enchanting place filled with scenic beauty, but beneath the surface there is dark history. On a recent painting trip to Italy I had the opportunity to tour an abandoned psychiatric hospital in the town of Volterra. In the late 19th Century when it was...
Jean Martin Charcot: Physician and Urban Sketcher

Jean Martin Charcot: Physician and Urban Sketcher

I have always been interested in physicians who incorporated art into their life and practice, and one of them was Jean Martin Charcot.   A towering figure in the medical world of the 19th Century, Charcot was born in 1825 and finished medical school at age 23.  He...