Landscape: Olga Wisinger-Florian

Olga Wisinger-Florian, "Falling Leaves" (1899). Belvedere Museum in Vienna.  

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Landscape: Wyeth

 Andrew Wyeth, "The Oak" (1944). 

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Landscape: N. C. Wyeth

N.C. Wyeth, Pyle's Barn, c. 1917-1921. Collections.brandywine.org

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60th Anniversary of "Hogan's Heroes"

"Hogan's Heroes" premiered sixty years ago, September 17, 1965. It ran for six seasons, until April 1971. It was set in the fictional Luft Stalag 13, where the group of five prisoners in Barracks 2 conduct an impressive intelligence and sabotage effort via their tunnel system and communications, under the noses of the incompetent Luftwaffe commandant and bumbling sergeant. Seemingly the guards in the towers are all nearsighted, since the prisoners often pull some nonsense right out in the yard. The four major German roles and also Cpl. LeBeau were played by Jewish actors, who thus made fun of Nazis; Werner Klemperer, for instance, stipulated that his character Col. Klink must always be the fool. Every episode contained a reference to Klink's perfect record of no escapes, and also a reference to the Eastern Front. We love to end our day with reruns of the show on MeTV. The show received praise from the NAACP for having an African-American as second-in-command of the team. A lot of popular actors of the time guest starred in different roles over the six years. Some are still alive, like the entertaining Nita Talbot, but the regular cast have all passed away. 

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Landscape: Hopper

 Edward Hopper, "Trees and Beach" (1916-1919). https://whitney.org/collection/works/6109

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50 Years, "Wish You Were Here"

Pink Floyd's ninth studio album, "Wish You Were Here", was released 50 years ago today. The album contained the nine-part piece "Shine On, You Crazy Diamond" and the title song, both tributes to group co-founder Syd Barrett, who had been let go because of his drug use and mental state. The other two songs were bitter laments about the music industry, "Welcome to the Machine" and "Have a Cigar." Sadly, Barrett showed up unannounced and confused to the recording sessions. He had put on extra weight and had shaved his head and eyebrows, and the band members didn't recognize him at first. The album was difficult for the group in that it was the follow-up to the huge "Dark Side of the Moon". The cover was by Hipgnosis, which did other Floyd albums. The stuntman who was (actually) set on fire for the shoot was Ronnie Rondell Jr., who died just last month, aged 88. 

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Landscape: Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, "Paysage à Cagnes" (1898).  From: https://blog.dorotheum.com/en/pierre-auguste-renoir-ideal-landscape/

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Anniversary of "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

 Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was released on September 10, 1991. Grunge entered the mainstream in a big way! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg

Phantom of the Opera 100th Anniversary

"The Phantom of the Opera" was released in New York on September 6, 1925! Among dramatizations of the novel over the years, Lon Chaney's makeup is closest to the novel's description of Erik's face. How effective that the audience sees Erik's face before Christine does. It is said that actress Mary Philbin didn't know what he'd look like until he turned around, making her reaction genuine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NHL6j9DMh4 

Landscape: Piet Mondrian

Piet Mondrian, "Row of Eleven Poplars in Red, Yellow, Blue and Green" (1908). 

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