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August Will, View of City Hall from Clifton Place & Hudson Avenue (1899).

August Will: A Lost Glimpse of Jersey City

In several recent posts, I’ve respectively mused upon the urban pastoral and Jersey City’s relationship with nature. During the nineteenth century, especially the decades following the American Civil War, Jersey City industrialized, rapidly shedding its village-like character and more bucolic features.

BK Painting

The Urban Pastoral

After recently enjoying the David Bowie Is exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, I wandered through the building’s American wing. Whenever I visit this particular museum, I seek out my favorite work in its collection, Winter Scene in Brooklyn by Francis Guy.

The courtyard of Manufactures Village, East Orange, New Jersey.

Manufactures Village: Art & Work

Manufactures Village, the original home of Seabury & Johnson (later Johnson & Johnson) sits in East Orange, New Jersey. Built in the late 1880s, the complex overflows with fascinating detail and industrial character. Currently, Manufactures Village houses an array of small businesses, light industry, and art studios. Perfume Professor and I were invited to partake…

Charles Chamot Gallery

Back in Jersey City: JCAST 2017

On Sunday, October 15, 2017, I was honored to participate in 111 1st Street: A Community of Artists, an exhibit featuring the artists of the former 111 1st Street–the subject of Left Bank of the Hudson. Elaine Hansen, a 111 alumnus herself, organized the show as part of the 2017 Jersey City Art & Studio…

A Percent for the Arts: Needed in Jersey City

On the evening of June 14, 2017, Jersey City arts advocates crowded the city council chambers and dominated the public comments segment of the council meeting. Speaker after speaker approached the microphone and articulated the integral role of the arts in the life of the city. Arts contribute to the local economy. Arts improve the…

Slouching Toward Bethlehem: American Barbarism

“The arts are essen­tial to any com­plete national life. The State owes it to itself to sus­tain and encour­age them … Ill fares the race which fails to salute the arts with the rev­er­ence and delight which are their due.” Thus spoke Sir Winston Churchill about the special, vital place of arts and culture in…

John Quidor

While leafing through Dutch New York: the Roots of Hudson Valley Culture, I discovered the artist John Quidor (See a previous blog post on the book itself). Many historic and literary types likely have seen reproductions of Quidor’s paintings inspired by Washington Irving’s two more popular short stories, Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of…