New York City

Deirdre Gartner Takes on Her Beloved New York City in New Book

Barbara Noe Kennedy

Special features highlight various aspects of New York, including coffeeshops, independent bookstores, and East Village shops. There are also fun facts sprinkled throughout—did you know you’ll find a handwritten poem by Emily Dickenson and George Washington’s recipe for beer at the New York Public Library?

On Your Radar: Portraiture at the Met, Marjorie Strider, and Meret Oppenheim at MoMA

Sandra Bertrand

Visiting the world of Meret Oppenheim is a little like confronting Object, her famed fur teacup—the viewer is tempted to imagine what’s underneath. It’s just an ordinary teacup, isn’t it—but is it?  Such layers and layers of surprises await. The current retrospective at MOMA has unearthed through nearly 200 paintings, sculptures, assemblages, reliefs, jewelry designs, works on paper, and collages to reflect a marvelously fluid mind.

Mega-Cities Face Peril as Climate Change Intensifies

Christina Conklin and Marina Psaros

In his major post-storm speech, Mayor Michael Bloomberg noted that in 2050, one-quarter of the city’s land and 800,000 residents would be within the one-hundred-year flood zone. But instead of talking about the devastation as an opportunity to reshape the city’s shoreline to better reflect future sea levels and more frequent storm surges, he doubled down. “As New Yorkers, we cannot and will not abandon our waterfront. It’s one of our greatest assets. We must protect it, not retreat from it,” he said.

New York’s Central Park Pays Homage to the Suffrage Movement

Sandra Bertrand

The original design focused on Anthony and Stanton, with a scroll containing quotations from more than 20 other suffragists.  The Design Commission eliminated the scroll, leaving only the two white women.  What was missing and what became crucial to its ultimate equal rights message in the wake of growing criticism was Sojourner Truth, the African-American abolitionist and suffragist. By Truth taking her place at the table, the monument was complete.  For Bergmann, with less than a year to her deadline, there was no time to waste.

How Johnny Hodges Shaped Boston’s Jazz Legacy

Con Chapman

Eventually, Hodges left for the money and the opportunities in New York.  In the City That Never Sleeps, bars could serve liquor until 4 in the morning, while last call in Boston was a puritanical 11 p.m.  With so many more hours in the day to play, it is no wonder that New York pulled jazz musicians away from Boston like an outgoing riptide. After stints with Bechet, Chick Webb, Willie “The Lion” Smith and others, at the age of 20, Hodges was hired by Duke Ellington, with whom he would be associated for the rest of his life. 

Women Artists and Postwar Abstraction at MOMA

Sandra Bertrand

It's an old story, one that should have been relegated to the dustbins of history long ago, but the environment in which artists like Berthe Morisot, Georgia O’Keefe, Frida Kahlo and Lee Krasner to name but a few grew up was rigidly defined.  Women were hardly solitary stars but marked by the liaisons, constellations if you will—familial, marital and otherwise—that allowed for their creative endeavors to flourish.  

Farewell to Carnegie Deli, a New York Icon

Beth Kaiserman

Even if you’ve never been to New York, you’ve probably heard of the Carnegie Deli. Despite issues in recent years, including a 10-month shutdown in 2015, it’s survived as a supreme New York City icon. The announcement that it will close its doors Dec. 31 came as a shock. The New York institution has been open since 1937 and always has lines out the door, due to its fame and proximity to Times Square, Carnegie Hall and Central Park.

‘Photography and Foul Play’ at the Met

Sandra Bertrand

Unquestionably, this is one exhibition that gives the viewer plenty to look at.  As a walk along history’s treadmill, it divvies up a rich array of humanity—replete with all its smiles and snarls.  Samuel G. Szabo (1854-61) was an early bird who snagged shoplifters, wife beaters, pickpockets, burglars and highwaymen in his lens, then meticulously placed them in an album with oval cutout frames and descriptions in the finest calligraphy.  

Meet the Staff at Highbrow Magazine: Chief Art Critic Sandra Bertrand

Sandra Bertrand

For the last several decades, I have been actively pursuing my interests in the fine arts.  My writing has encompassed plays, articles and reviews on many aspects of the fine arts, i.e., paintings, film, theatre, books and the popular culture at large. My travels have recently taken me to Crete, Greece, Peru, Belize, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Spain, and wherever the muse calls.  My own paintings are often the result of these wanderings and I am an active member of the National Association of Women Artists, (NAWA). As Chief Art Critic for Highbrow Magazine, and a long time resident of New York City, I love covering the art scene in museums, galleries and venues, reading the pulse in one of the most fascinating places on the planet.

Meet the Staff at Highbrow Magazine: Chief Features Writer Angelo Franco

Angelo Franco

I once wrote a letter to Junot Diaz and asked him if he could adopt me. He didn’t reply plus, it turns out, I am legally someone’s son already so that plan was meant to fail from the start. If I’m crying while riding the subway, it’s likely because I lost my MetroCard or I am rereading a Gabriel García Márquez novel. I often tell people they should learn Spanish just so they could read his works in his native tongue. 

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