Great American Textiles

(Above) Pieced eagle quilt, late 19th c., 71” x 68”.

(Above) Green and red coverlet, ca. 1840.

(Above) Pieced quilt, early 20th c., 69” x 69”.

(Above) Log cabin patchwork quilt, 19th c., 67” x 82”.

(Above) Pieced patchwork quilt, 19th c., 74 1/2” x 74”.

(Above) Unusual Pennsylvania appliqué quilt with floating calico squares on a pieced linen background, 77” x 77”.


(Above) Blue and white coverlet, ca. 1840, 88” x 76”.


REVEL TODAY in the variety and color of these older American textiles, available here.

Swedish Subway System

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Click on images for larger view.



Click on images for larger view.




ACCIDENTAL MYSTERIES GIVES A BIG “ME-LIKEY” to the Swedish Subway System. With beauty and visual magnificence such as this, who would consider adding graffiti? My thinking is that even graffiti artists would have respect for this.

Via Leenks.

Crazy Paper Thing

HERE’S A YOUTUBE VIDEO on a crazy and fun paper thing to make. Give it a try if you like stuff like this. You might try stiffer paper than regular computer paper. Good luck.

100 Year Old Color Photographs

(Above) Holland, c. 1910. Click image for larger view.

(Above) French blueberry pickers, c. 1910. Click image for larger view.

(Above) Canada, c. 1910. Click image for larger view.

(Above) French furniture movers, c. 1910. Click image for larger view.

(Above) Cowboys in Canada, c. 1910. Click image for larger view.

(Above) A fine lady from France, c. 1910. Click image for larger view.

(Above) The United States, c. 1910. Click image for larger view.

(Above) Switzerland, c. 1910. Click image for larger view.

(Above) Mongolian horseman, c. 1910. Click image for larger view.

(Above) A WWI airplane, photo c. 1918. Click image for larger view.

(Above) Amputees and other wounded in WWI, around 1919. Click image for larger view.

(Above) A little French girl amongst wartime materials, around 1919. Click image for larger view.

(Above) Digging graves during WWI, photo c. 1920. Click image for larger view.

IN THE EARLY PART OF THE 20th CENTURY, French-Jewish capitalist Albert Kahn set about to collect a photographic record of the world, the images were held in an ‘Archive of the Planet’. Before the 1929 stock market crash he was able to amass a collection of more than 72,000 autochrome plates, the first industrial process for true color photography

Autochrome was the first industrial process for true color photography. When the Lumière brothers launched it commercially in June 1907, it was a photographic revolution - black and white came to life in color. Autochromes consist of fine layers of microscopic grains of potato starch – dyed either red-orange, green or violet blue – combined with black carbon particles, spread over a glass plate where it is combined with a black and white photographic emulsion. All colors can be reproduced from three primary colors.

Via Albert Kahn Museum and City Noise.

Forced Perspectives

IF YOU HAVE EVER PLAYED with forced perspective with a camera, it is fun. As a collector of snapshots, I have seen and purchased a number of images where ordinary folks have played with perspective as far back as the 1940s. Now, with the advent of digital, this idea of forced perspective is something more and more people are trying.

Via here.

A Look Back at Art Chicago, 2010

(Above) Booth of Harvey Art & Antiques, Chicago.

(Above) An 1885 Spencerian drawing of a lion, beautifully flourished by I.B. Carolus, owned by The Hill Gallery, Michigan.


(Above) A tramp art wall pocket with mirror, in Clifford A. Wallach’s booth.

(Above) Fabulous 19th century carved head, male.

(Above) Fabulous 19th century carved head, female.

(Above) One of the best Anasazi pots I have seen in years.


(Above) Carved owl by Ohio self-taught artist Ernest Popeye Reed (1919 - 1985).

(Above) Black Forest carvings of deer (and a bird).

(Above) A haunting street shot by Gary Stochl at the Dean Jenson Gallery, Milwaukee.

(Above) A dealer in the booth of Tory Folliard Gallery adjusts a painting by Milwaukee artist Fred Stonehouse.

(Above) Carved vintage bricks by Chris Berti at Tori Folliard Gallery.

(Above) A painting by Fred Stonehouse hangs above a carved sycamore heart by Chris Berti at Tory Folliard Gallery.

(Above) Twig horse (cast in bronze) by the great Deborah Butterfield.

(Above) Artist Phyllis Bramson poses next to her painting at the Phillip Slein Gallery, St. Louis.


BEST INTENTIONS WOULD HAVE BEEN THAT THIS POST would have appeared a month ago, but I lost track of the disc. But here they are, late but fun. As I meandered around the art fair which was April 30th to May 3rd this year, I made shots of some of things that caught my eye. I have decided to show a few images even though I cannot remember the name of gallery. I apologize in advance for this shortcoming and any mix ups or errors.

If Art Chicago 2011 follows the same route of quality as this year, it will be something to (again) mark your calendars for.

Fulvio Bonavia: Delicious Fashion

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EVERY NOW AND THEN I DISCOVER an artist or photographer unknown to me but who is extremely well-known within certain circles. If I were involved in the fashion industry, I would certainly know this incredible Italian photographer Fulvio Bonavia. Fulvio (you can go by your first name only if you are really great!) started his career as a graphic designer but eventually wanted more control over the imagery he (apparently) wasn’t getting from outside photographers. So, he started doing it himself. His body of work is diverse, rich and distinctly his own. From fashion to portraits to landscape, Accidental Mysteries gives a full “me likey” award to this artist!