Monthly Archives: August 2022

August 31

Helen Levitt’s Snapshots of New York Street Life

posted by

On the 31st of August 1913, American photographer Helen Levitt was born in Brooklyn, New York. Alongside Berenice Abbott and Ruth Orkin, Levitt tried to document the changing life of New York. But whilst Berenice Abbott sought to capture the architecture of New York before the skyscrapers changed the skyline forever, and Ruth Orkin was […]

»»
August 30

The Tragedies of Mary Shelley

posted by

On the 30th of August 1797, English novelist Mary (Wollstonecraft) Shelley was born in London. She was the wife and muse of Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley, daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and of philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. Short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, she was most famous […]

»»
August 29

En Pleine Mer… Zarh Pritchard’s Underwater Paintings

posted by

On the 29th of August 1956, British-American artist and the pioneer of underwater painting Zarh Pritchard died in Austin, Texas. ”Zarh Prichard was the first painter to compose based on observations en pleine mer. …In the 1910s and ‘20s, Pritchard’s works were internationally acclaimed as the first windows on the underwater frontier, and they were […]

»»
August 28

Women’s Suffrage and the American Presidency

posted by

On the 28th of August 1917, ten Suffragists were arrested for picketing in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. This marked one of the most dramatic points in the American suffragist campaigns. Earlier that year, in January, an ever growing number of women started parading in front of the iconic building and expressing their […]

»»
August 27

Early Music Masters: Josquin des Prez

posted by

On the 27th of August 1521, the Renaissance  Netherlandish composer Josquin des Prez died in Condé-sur-l’Escaut, nowadays Northern France. The exact year and place of his birth are still not known, yet this does not prevent scholars and early music lovers from stating that Josquin was one of the most renowned musicians of his time. […]

»»
August 26

Peggy Guggenheim: The Woman Behind the Art

posted by

On the 26th of August 1898, American matron and collector of the arts Peggy Guggenheim was born in New York. “Peggy Guggenheim was one of ten children-the second of three daughters-born to Benjamin Guggenheim and Florette Seligman, both second-generation members of German-Jewish families that had built their wealth in America. Two of her uncles, Solomon […]

»»
August 25

Françoise Dolto: Unconscious Body Image in Child Psychoanalysis

posted by

On the 25th of August 1988, French paediatrician and psychoanalyst Françoise Dolto died in Paris, France. She is mainly known for her pioneering work in the field of child psychoanalysis and her contribution to the development of the ‘unconscious body image’ theory. She was born to a well-to-do Parisian family of engineers. Right from the start, […]

»»
August 24

Sixteenth-Century Feminist: Lavinia Fontana

posted by

 On the 24th of August 1552, Italian painter Lavinia Fontana was born in Bologna. She is considered the first ever woman artist to work within the same sphere as her male counterparts, independently and outside a royal court or convent. “The most significant and prolific female artist of the 16th century, Lavinia Fontana opened up opportunities […]

»»
August 23

The Impermanence of Constructivist Sculpture: Naum Gabo

posted by

On the 23rd of August 1977, Russian Constructivist sculptor, and pioneer of Kinetic Art, Naum Gabo died in Waterbury, Connecticut. Whilst his real name was Naum Neemia Pevsner, he ended up changing it to avoid confusion with his brother and fellow Constructivist artist Antoine Pevsner. While visiting Pevsner in Paris in 1913–14, Gabo met the […]

»»
August 22

Cartier-Bresson’s Street Photography: The Perfect Take

posted by

On the 22nd of August 1908, painter and pioneering photojournalist Henri Cartier-Bresson was born in Chanteloup-en-Brie, France. By self-admission, his first true love of photography was inspired by a 1930 photograph of Hungarian photojournalist Martin Munkacsi showing three naked young African boys, caught in near-silhouette, running into the surf of Lake Tanganyika. The picture captured the very essence […]

»»