On the 14th of February 1890, Welsh artist, writer and bohemian party girl Nina Hamnett was born in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Her emerging artistic skill helped her escape an unhappy childhood. She moved to London where she studied at Pelham Art School, then the London School of Art and in 1914 she went to Montparnasse, […]
Category Archives: Lifestyle
December
30
Guru Ramana Maharshi on Meditation
posted by ArtLark
We all want to be that little bit better in the new year, both on the inside and on the outside . Love yourself, love the world around you, better yourself through meditation! Heed the advice of Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950), born on the 30th of December 1879 in Tamil Nadu, South India; here are some snippets from interviews with […]
December
25
The Story Of the First Christmas Ads
posted by ArtLark
The following excerpt about the age-old material significance of Christmas comes from Pulitzer nominated Prof. Stephen Nissenbaum’s The Battle for Christmas, (Random House, 1997): “If the domestic reform of Christmas began as an enterprise of patricians, fearful for their authority, it was soon being reinforced by merchants, who needed the streets to be cleared of […]
December
16
Denny Fouts – From Escort and Literary Muse to Gay Idol
posted by ArtLark
On the 16th of December 1948, Louis Denham Fouts died in Rome of a heart attack at the young age of 35 after years of excess – drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and a wild and promiscuous lifestyle. In the 1930s and ‘40s, he became notorious as America’s luxury gigolo, socialite and muse to literary greats such […]
December
01
Christine Jorgensen: The First Transsexual Celebrity
posted by ArtLark
On the 1st of December 1952, the headlines on the front page of the New York Daily read: “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty: Operations Transform Bronx Youth”. They were announcing the ‘sex change’ of Christine Jorgensen (born George William Jorgensen, Jr.), the first ever person in the United States to have undergone sex reassignment surgery. The […]
November
30
Folies Bergère: Populist Cosmopolitan Hub
posted by ArtLark
On the 30th of November 1886, The Folies Bergère staged its first revue in Paris. Located at 32 rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, and called Folies Trévise back then, it was finished as an opera house by the architect Plumeret in 1869. The venue was at the height of its popularity from the 1890’s […]
October
23
Christian Dior – Architect or Fashion Designer?
posted by ArtLark
On the 23rd of October 1957, Christian Dior died in Montecatini, Italy. His death was as sudden as his entry into the world of haute couture ten years earlier. At the beginning of 1947, Dior’s first collection changed the entire fashion world. After years of war asceticism, scarcity and rationing this collection brought hope for […]
September
24
Gay Georgian London: Horace Walpole Amongst the ‘Finger-Twirlers’
posted by ArtLark
On the 24th of September 1717, Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician, was born in London. Although the son of the first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, he is largely remembered in our times for Strawberry Hill, the home he built in Twickenham, south-west London, where he […]
September
18
Franco Moschino: Anti-Elitist Haute Couture?
posted by ArtLark
On the 18th of September 1994, Italian fashion designer Franco Moschino died in Annone di Brianza, Italy. He is still seen as “the irreverent enfant terrible of the fashion industry who poked fun at the excesses of the 1980s with his “tongue in chic” designs, most memorably creating suits festooned with cutlery, jackets with faucet handles […]
June
13
Lucile, Lady Duff-Gordon: Inventor of the Modern Fashion Show
posted by ArtLark
On the 13th of June 1863, Lucy Christiana, Lady Duff-Gordon (née Sutherland), best known as ‘Lucile’, was born in London, England. She gained recognition as a leading fashion designer in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century. After being abandoned by her first husband, James Stuart Wallace, who left her practically penniless, she set […]
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