Laura

Laura works at Three Ladies Antiques on Park Road in West Hartford.  They sell a variety of antiques like paintings, books, furniture, jewelry and rugs.

When I wear my glasses up there like Laura, things look blurry.  Kind of like the background.  Which I intended to be blurred.  Really.

The Richardson Building

Marriott has built a Residence Inn into the shell of the old Richardson Building on Main Street in Hartford.

It was designed by the noted architect H. H. Richardson and opened in 1875 as the R. and F. Cheney Building.   The Cheneys operated a silk manufacturing business, which occupied space on the upper stories.  The first level housed several smaller stores.  Later, for many years it was the home of the Brown Thompson department store.  Today, in addition to the hotel, the building has a couple of restaurants and bars.

A Woodland Stream, 1897

Let's look at John J. Enneking's 1897 oil painting, A Woodland Stream, exhibited at the New Britain Museum of American Art.  Enneking was one of the early American impressionists.  He was born in Ohio, trained in Paris, and then settled in Boston where he resided and painted for several decades.

We will start by noticing the painting over the shoulder of a comely woman, Artemis, who was sculpted by Bela Lyon Pratt.  Pratt was on the faculty of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts art school, so he and Enneking shared a Boston connection.

Enneking was called the sunset painter because he liked to paint the late afternoon glow of the setting sun.

Frames are often taken for granted, but this one is worth a look, isn't it?

Photography Exhibition

The New Britain Museum of American Art's photography exhibition ended in December, but I didn't find the time to show it.  Better late than never, right?

This is a detail from Lalla Essaydi's work Converging Territories #12 (on the left).  The Morocco-born photographer has lived in Saudi Arabia, France and New York, and her portrayals of women are influenced by her experiences in different cultures.

The young woman is studying two photographs by Sarah Austin and one by Dawoud Bey.  All three works deconstruct and reconstruct the images.

Finally, here is a series of abstract images created through photographic techniques that I could not begin to explain.  The artist-photographer is Ellen Carey.

Capewell Manufacturing

Capewell Manufacturing was an important Hartford factory a century ago.  It made nails for horseshoes.  The Hartford factory sure looks like it has been abandoned.  I have read that the company still makes horsenails in Bloomfield, Connecticut.

Art Cinema

Art Cinema shows movies that are . . . how do I say this? . . . not art.

At least that is what I hear.

The Other End of the Counter

She's at the other end of the counter.  Waiting silently.  I don't pay any attention to her and she doesn't pay any attention to me.

The waitress passes a bag with the food she ordered across the counter and takes the money.  She turns and walks out.  Do you ever wonder what is going on in the lives of the hundreds or thousands of strangers who fleetingly pass across your line of sight in a day or even an hour?

Like photos with reflections?  Click here to visit James' site, Weekend Reflections.