Batey Boricua at Wadsworth Atheneum

 

Hartford has the largest Puerto Rican population of any city in the continental United States.  This month the Wadsworth Atheneum is showing works by local Puerto Rican artists in Avery Court as part of the museum's America 250 celebrations.

Sol LeWitt at Wadsworth Athenum

Sol LeWitt was a Connecticut-born artist known for "conceptual art."  He believed that it is the idea that is important, not the execution.  In many cases he developed a plan and had assistants do the painting.

In 2004 the Wadsworth commissioned LeWitt for a wall drawing for the entrance to Great Hall.  The colorful Whirls and Twirls is the result.  LeWitt imagined patterns of circles and squares created in the rainbow’s colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

Whirls and Twirls is a striking contrast to the pale classical forms in Morgan Hall where it is painted.  At the base of the monumental staircase leading to second story display areas, Hartford-born financier J. P. Morgan commissioned an inscription with brass letters announcing the dedication of the memorial to his father and his family’s ties to Hartford.

The museum's entrance has an earlier wall drawing by LeWitt.  This view is from a floor above the front doors, looking through the entrance hall toward the Wadsworth 1 gallery.  It also shows a sign for "Rebel, Revolt, Resist," an America 250 theme reflected in many galleries.

Amazing Art at Wadsworth Atheneum

 The quality of the art at Wadsworth Atheneum dazzles.  Everywhere I turned there was a work by a master.  As an example, I walked through a narrow passageway where two life-size portraits hung.  Checking the labels, they were by John Singer Sargent.  In an out-of-the-way passageway!

A docent talked about Saint Francis in Ecstasy, a painting by Caravaggio.

On a nearby easel, the chief curator's copy of the Caravaggio was on an easel.  When it is finished it will be offered for sale in a fundraiser for the museum.

Wadsworth Atheneum

 

I visited Wadsworth Atheneum with my family last Sunday.  Opened in 1844, it is the oldest continuously operating public art museum in the United States.  The collection is terrific.  Some of the art will be here in the coming days.

Nathan Hale

 On September 22, 1776 -- 250 years ago today --  the British hanged Nathan Hale for spying on behalf of the Patriots.  He is reputed to have said “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”  

Hale was born and raised in Coventry, Connecticut.  He was educated at Yale, where he graduated with honors before starting a career as a teacher.  His room at Yale is in Connecticut Hall, this brick building in Yale's Old Campus.  The statue by Bela Lyon Pratt was placed here in 1914.

Nathan Hale's strong Connecticut ties and the brave last words attributed to him have given rise to several Connecticut statues in Hale's honor.  This 1889 statue by Enoch Smith Woods is in front of 

the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford.

And, Hale has a position of honor in the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford.  This 1886 statue by Karl Gerhart is in the east entrance of the Capitol lobby.  On October 1, 1985, by an act of the General Assembly and the efforts of the Nathan Hale Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, Nathan Hale officially became Connecticut's State Hero. 

A Hartford Mural

 

Hartford muralist Corey Pane painted this mural two years ago on a blank wall behind Hartford's main sports venue, now called the Peoples Bank Arena.

When I lived in West Hartford I shared tickets to the Hartford Whalers games.  The Whalers left Hartford and moved to Carolina after the 1997 season.  Even though they have been gone nearly three decades, their jerseys are still very popular.

Linked to Monday Murals.

Grace Episcopal Church

A beautiful church in White Plains, New York.

 

Bathers

 

Some people celebrate Halloween in September.

Lenny

 I met Lenny on Main Street in Danbury a few days ago.  Her mother lived in a nearby senior housing complex.  Lenny moved to New York City but then changed her mind and moved back to Danbury.  She now works in that housing complex.

A Curious Display

 Someone on Umpawaug Road in West Redding had a good time adding things near the driveway.  

There are several cairns, a face carved into a tree trunk and an old American flag.

Black Barn

 

An appealing black barn on Umpawaug Road in Redding, Connecticut.

Just Love Everybody

 A fun building on Umpawaug Road in West Redding, Connecticut.

Marilyn Monroe

Ben Keller painted a great mural of Marilyn Monroe at Elicit Brewing Company, a new brewery, beer hall, cocktail bar, lounge, arcade and restaurant in Danbury.  

Linked to Monday Murals.

September 11 Memorial

Danbury has an impressive glass memorial to those who lost their lives in the World Trade Center destruction on September 11, 2001. 

The memorial is in Elmwood Park on Main Street in Danbury.

Lake Naraneka

 Lake Naraneka in Ridgefield is often called Lake Pierrepont.  It was created in the 1930s by Seth Low Pierrepont, a wealthy politician and diplomat, who had a swamp cleared and filled by building a dam.  Pierrepont named the lake after Naraneka, one of the chiefs who signed the deed to the town of Ridgefield.

The south side of Lake Naraneka is now Pierrepont State Park, a 305 acre public recreation area donated to the State of Connecticut in Mr. Pierrepont's will.  I photographed the lake from the edge of the park.  The sky and the lake are rich blue.

September 11

 

The assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy.  Oklahoma City Bombings.  I have lived through some terrible events in America.  The horrific events 25 years ago on September 11, 2001, are right up near the top.  Never forget.

Ballard Park

 

Ballard Park in Ridgefield continues to show off its plantings in September's second week.

Italianate

 

A handsome Italianate home with lovely hanging plants on the porch is hidden behind extensive foliage at the end of a quiet street in Redding.

Red Barn

 

I drive past this barn occasionally.  It stands out when the sun shines on it.

Finding Home

Los Angeles-based artist Lauren YoungSmith painted this mural in 2021 on the side of the Asian American Cultural Center in New Haven, Connecticut.  

The artist asserts that the mural is meant to convey something of the center’s legacy as well as its present and future as a “home” for Asian students on the Yale campus.

Linked to Monday Murals.

Saint Michael Church

The Church of Saint Michael on Wooster Square is the first Italian-American parish in Connecticut.  The congregation formed in response to the influx of Italian immigrants to New Haven.  For decades it was administered by an order of Scalabrinians.  

Today it is home to more than 500 families.  It hosts the societies that make up the Southern Italian Religious Societies.

Pointing the Way to the Future

“Indicando la via al futuro” is a sculpture by Marc-Anthony Massaro in New Haven's Wooster Park.  The sculpture was commissioned by the Wooster Square Monument Project in 2021 to celebrate the legacy of Italian immigrants who had left their homeland to make a new life in the United States.

The Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven is home to a vibrant community of Italian Americans,  It is also home to several nationally known pizza restaurants like Frank Pepe's Pizzeria Napoletana, Sally's Apizza and Modern Apizza.  

The statue honoring immigrants is a good one, and immigrants have made great contributions to America, which are not recognized under the country's current Administration.  But I am a bit miffed that this statue replaces a previous statue of Christopher Columbus, removed a few years ago in what I consider a burst of self-righteous stupidity after a public clamor by people measuring past deeds by standards they invented in the current day.

Hotel Marcel

  This is Hotel Marcel, a completely renovated hotel in the "brutalist" style of architecture.  Brutalism is usually scorned these days, but Hotel Marcel is an attractive building that stands out.  It shares a parking lot with IKEA in New Haven, Connecticut.

The hotel was designed by prominent architect Marcel Breuer.  It was formerly the headquarters of tire manufacturer Pirelli.  In its recent renovations, it was extensively retrofitted with solar panels hidden away on the roof.  Hotel Marcel is now "net zero," with the solar panels providing all of the hotel's electricity.

Baldanza at the Schoolhouse

 

A former one-room schoolhouse near the Cannondale railroad station in Wilton is now the site of a very fine restaurant.  I went there last night for dinner.  Every table was filled.  As soon as one group of diners departed, the table was cleaned and reset and another group was seated.  I'll be back.

Tanglewood

 I am back in Connecticut after an interesting couple of weeks in Alaska.  

On Sunday we went to Lenox, Massachusetts, for an afternoon concert at Tanglewood, headlining revered folk singer, Judy Collins, on her farewell tour.

The opening performer was Amanda Shires.  Rosanne Cash followed with a good set, including Woody Guthrie's "Deportee" and Cash's own "Seven Year Ache."

Mary Chapin Carpenter and her band were crowd favorites.  Her set included a cover of Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changin."  "Passionate Kisses" is one of Carpenter's biggest hits, and the crowd loved it.  She then honored Dolly Parton with "Coat of Many Colors."  Consistent with the day's emphasis on feminism, Carpenter also sang her own anthem, "He Thinks He'll Keep Her."   

There had been long breaks between sets, as it took quite a while to set up each artist's instruments and sound systems.  The show began at 2:30, long before Judy Collins appeared after 5 o'clock when dark clouds threatening rain were in the sky.

Judy Collins announced that she is 87 years old!  She opened with Joni Mitchel's "Both Sides Now," a lively song that was one of Collins' early hits.  She then invited Rosanne Cash to join her for a song Collins had recently written and then Mary Chapin Carpenter for another new Collins song.

By 6 o'clock, after a show that had so far consumed three-and-a-half hours, Judy Collins had not yet sung "Chelsea Morning," "Send in the Clowns" or "Amazing Grace."  Regrettably, with darkening skies, a drive of several hours in front of me, and a Tesla that would need a stop for charging, we had to leave before Judy Collins' set was over.  

Travel

The trip from which I have been showing photographs since August 18 was a Viking Ocean Cruise, Alaska & the Inside Passage, Vancouver, British Columbia to Seward, Alaska.

We began the cruise in Vancouver, where we boarded the Viking Orion at its berth at Canada Place.

Today participants in City Daily Photo will show photos that illustrate the September theme of "Travel." 

 Click here to see other photographers' interpretations of the "Travel" theme.

Seward Murals

 In 2011 two artists painted whales on the side of this building Seward, Alaska, as an experiment.  The mural was very popular, but it did not do well in the hostile Alaskan environment.

In 2019 the building was renovated.  The owner hired J. Leslie to paint whales again.  His mural "Return of the Whales" looks fresh seven years later.

The Ranting Raven Gallery is across the street.  It sells "unique gifts, original art, [and] local wares."  Three raven-related murals from 2014 are on the side of the gallery.

In the beginning, the world was all water.  Raven flew over and fell in love with Salmon Woman.  He asked her to marry him and she agreed, but only if raven creates land.  With the help of other sea creatures, raven obtains sand from the sea bottom and drops it to create land and islands.  Salmon Woman can now come ashore to dry her hair in the wind.

The world was dark because an evil Chief has hidden the sun, moon and stars in a box.  The raven discovers this and, disguised as the Chief's grandson, tricks him into opening the box.  Now the sun is released to light the world and the moon and stars light the night sly.

The Fog Woman story teaches respect for what you have.  Raven is greedy and takes this for granted and loses her, but not before she creates Salmon for the world.  Jennifer Headtke is the lead artist with a long list of contributing artists.

Across an alley from The Ranting Raven Gallery is an older 1999 mural, "Snapshots of the Past."  A photograph of William H. Seward is in the center of the left side.  Seward was the U.S. Secretary of State who bought Alaska in 1867 from Russia for $7.2 million, or about two cents per acre.

Linked to Monday Murals.

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

 This is a place that takes care of orphaned and injured Alaskan wildlife.

An adult female brown bear was recently brought to the center after she was badly injured in a fight with male bears.

I'm not sure I have seen muskoxen before.

A black bear paced restlessly.

I didn't know that reindeer are simply domesticated caribou.