Category Archives: Uncategorized

June 25

George Orwell’s Childhood Recollections

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On the 25th of June 1903, English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic Eric Arthur Blair, known by the pen name George Orwell, was born in Motihari, Bengal Presidency, British India. Regarded as one of the most influential English writers of the twentieth century, he is best known for the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), in which he […]

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June 23

Mark Gertler: Figurative Painting and ‘Women in Love’

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On the 23rd of June 1939, British figurative painter Mark Gertler gassed himself in his London studio. His suicide ended the period of the artist’s prolonged depression caused by growing financial difficulties, unfavourable reviews after the exhibition at the Lefevre Gallery, and the recent break up with his wife. He had also never fully recovered […]

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June 21

Jacqueline Livingston: Male Nudity Against the System

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On the 21st of June 2013, American photographer Jacqueline Louise Livingston (nèe Barrett) died in Ithaca, New York. Born in August 1943, Jacqueline Louise Barrrett, grew up in Chandler, Arizona, where her father worked on the Air Force base as chief of the Fire Dept. He died when she was 12 years old, leaving her […]

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June 15

Enrico Baj: Anarchist at Heart

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On the 15th of June 2003, Italian painter, sculptor, writer and anarchist Enrico Baj died in Vergiate, Italy. In his works he focused mainly on politically engaged themes such as the threat of nuclear war or the political situation in Italy under Berlusconi. Baj was one of the founders of the Nuclear Art Movement that […]

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June 09

Donald Duck and Wartime Propaganda

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On the 9th of June 1934, Donald Duck debuted in Disney’s The Wise Little Hen, which was part of the Silly Symphonies series of theatrical cartoon shorts. The anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet, dressed in a blue sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie, is […]

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June 01

Paco Peña: Flamenco and the Question of National Identity in Spain

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On the 1st of June 1942, the Spanish Flamenco composer and guitarist Paco Peña was born in Córdoba, Spain. Regarded as one of the world’s foremost traditional Flamenco players, Peña began his professional career very early in life. He learnt playing the guitar at the age of six, and by twelve he made his first professional appearances. […]

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May 25

Social Subtext in Gilbert & Sullivan’s ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’

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On the 25th of May 1878, the comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore, or The Lass That Loved a Sailor, by Arthur Sullivan (music) and Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (libretto) had its premiere at the Opera Comique in London. The review that followed soon after the opera’s opening in The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular stated […]

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May 03

‘Raja Harischandra’, the First Indian Feature Film

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On the 3rd of May 1913, the first all-Indian feature film, Raja Harischandra, was first shown to the public at Bombay’s Coronation Cinema, Girgaon. This 40-minute silent film, directed by Dadasaheb Phalke, was so successful that more copies had to be soon produced and sent out to rural areas, where the public could experience for […]

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December 25

The Story Of the First Christmas Ads

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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 […]

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October 18

Phillis Wheatley: Freed by Imagination

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On the 18th of October 1775, African-American poet Phillis Wheatley was freed from slavery. Born in Senegal in 1753, Phillis was kidnapped and brought to Boston at at the age of 8 on a 1761 slave ship. There, she had the fortune of being purchased by John Wheatley as a personal servant to his wife […]

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