“Mary Delany’s stunning works are a remarkable combination of art and science. Often mistaken for watercolours, they are in fact carefully constructed paper collages, or ‘mosaicks’ as she called them.”
To read about her life and view more of her work:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/late-bloomer-exquisite-craft-mary-delany
“Boxing was re-energized in the 1980’s by the emergence of the seemingly unstoppable Tyson, who tore through the heavweight ranks with a fearsome blend of speed and power. Here, he unloads on WBC champion Berbick at the Las Vegas Hilton on Nov. 11, 1986. Tyson would end the bout with a stunning 2nd round TKO to become the youngest heavyweight champion in history.”
Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan board a Lockheed 10-E Electra in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 2, 1937, during their around-the-world flight attempt. They disappeared July 2, 1937. What happened to them remains a mystery.
When Ryan O’Neal passed away earlier this month I was reading about some of his movies that I remembered watching years ago when I came to the part in his obituary that mentioned his long relationship with Farrah Fawcett. That made me think of the poster (above). It was everywhere in the 1970’s, Farrah in her slinky swimsuit, big toothy smile and giant hair streaming down in long curls. Sorry, Ryan, you were a very handsome man, but Farrah gets the final Image of the Month this year.
I had this poster hanging up in my bedroom as a kid, along with Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and several others. (Including The Fonz giving two thumbs up, Ayyyyy!) But there was nothing as cool as Rocky in 1976.
The Climax features Salome kissing the severed head of John the Baptist, and the original drawing was completed by Aubrey Beardsley in 1893, just before it was first published. It was one of many drawings that he contributed to Salome, a British publication of an Oscar Wilde play. The artwork shown here is contemporary in style, with just a few lines creating each form. The most intensive area of the composition is within a series of circles in the top left corner which contrasts with the simpler parts of the illustration elsewhere. Aside from the two figures, nearer the bottom we also find some flourishes of nature. Beardsley regularly used flowers, trees and also peacock feathers as a means to illuminate his drawings, placing elements of them around the central theme. In this case we find Salome floating in mid air, whilst holding the head in both hands. Less detail is given to her clothing than in other Salome drawings, and it is just simple white plains, with black lines which signify the rolls of material.
Source: https://www.thehistoryofart.org/aubrey-beardsley/climax/
Ginger Rogers (1911-1995) in Lady in the Dark (1944).
I don’t know if even the great Rogers could have danced with Astaire in this dress.
This is one of my favorite self-portraits by Vincent van Gogh. Here is a great site showing many other of his self-portraits.
Frederic Leighton (1830-1896) created this fantastic painting, “Flaming June” (1895) at the end of his life. Many think it is his masterpiece, described by scholars as “his most uninhibited hymn to human beauty and life itself.”
Off The Back Porch 