Solo traveler

 American Girl in Italy, 1951 Ruth Orkin

The reaction to the iconic photo of a young girl making her way through what seems a sea of leering men is visceral; the anxiety is palpable, the contempt for their brutish behavior is instantaneous. Photographer Ruth Orkin's photo American Girl in Italy is her best known image. The model, 23-year old Ninalee Craig, was traveling solo in Italy when she met the 29-year old Orkin. The two adventurous women shared stories with one another about their travels when Orkin suggested they'd create images of what it was really like to travel alone as a young single woman. Orkin shot photos of Craig for several hours, asking for directions, shopping, flirting and sightseeing. "We were literally horsing around," Craig said. "It's not a symbol of harassment. It's a symbol of a woman having an absolutely wonderful time!"

(photos, Ruth Orkin)

sad-sweet

Copyright, 1959

Missing

It's been over a decade since the highest-value art heist in history took place at the Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston. Two men dressed as police officers gained entry into the museum after midnight, tied up the museum guards, and in a brisk pace, gathered a small group of pieces with a combined value of nearly $500 million dollars, and left by car.

So much time has passed without a call for ransom, or any mysterious appearance for private sale or auction.  Has a wealthy collector with exacting tastes built a private viewing room for the stolen treasures? Was the culprit one of the disguised police officers? Were those two hired exclusively for the heist?  If so, have they stopped looking over their shoulders and settled into legitimate trades?

The Concert by Johannes Vermeer 

(one of only thirty-four paintings he completed in his short lifetime)

The paintings were cut from their frames

The Gardner Museum is offering a reward of five million dollars for information leading to the recovery of their artwork. The stolen work; a Vermeer, a Manet, three Rembrandts, five Degas sketches, a Chinese vase and a bronze finial remain missing.

From their website:

The museum continues to issue the call to the holders of the works to conserve them in recommended temperatures and humidity levels.

Staff picks

You work with someone long enough, you get to know their pet peeves.

You work with someone long enough in a children's bookstore, you get to know their pet peeve titles.

S. took issue with Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree

"So I should give and give until I'm a stump?"

L. and J. shared the same disdain for Robert Munsch's Love You Forever

Mommy as a spying stalker

Rocking with old Mommy

SM was genuinely puzzled by the popularity of Taro Gomi's Everyone Poops

27 pages of WE GET IT!

 For me, Marcus Pfister's The Rainbow Fish was the pebble in my shoe. Supposedly promoting sharing and kindness,  the fish has to give his shiny scales to the other fish in order to be accepted and liked

(buy your friends and forget about being unique).

Overhead lighting

I'm loving the lighting at the newly remodeled 

Pump Room at the gorgeous hotel, Public, in Chicago.

Ludwig