Category: Art in Books

Wolfgang Behnken and Leonard Prinz wrote a perfectly nice book about famous people on yachts, their own ones, or other people’s. They collected humorous stories about those “Stars on Board” and added an ounce of criticism, as most of the featured celebrities milked the background of a yacht to its limits. The book is easily… Continue reading The yacht as a symbol of wealth

During the last years some books were published that allow the interested reader to follow track of Russia’s Imperial jewellery. Before that, one could read something here and there about beautiful jewels that had disappeared, but it was impossible to follow through and get the full picture. To many pieces, too few pictures, too little… Continue reading Russia’s Imperial jewellery

To leave the most beautiful collection of jewellery worldwide on display in the Smithsonian Museum for Natural History in Washington, instead of making a huge fuss about it in a newly erected architectural showpiece, is a rather un-American understatement. The collection resides in one wing on the second floor of the Museum on Washington’s central… Continue reading Unearthed – The Smithsonian National Gem Collection

Slim Aarons sold his photo archive in 1990s to Getty Images, and we can be most happy he did. Mark Getty himself looked through the archives in Slim Aarons cellar and they agreed a deal on the spot. The new owners of the archives decided to use the pictures and pay homage to the photographer… Continue reading The easy going photographer– Slim Aarons

Patricia Corbett wrote a wonderful book about Sicilian nobleman Fulco Santostefano della Cerda, Duke di Verdura. He, in turn, brought the light and colours of his home island to his jewellery and with that to the whole world of people who could afford it or, at least, had the chance to look at pictures and… Continue reading Sicily in his blood – Fulco di Verdura’s life and jewellery

The social media age made cats the most loved YouTube stars, just think of “Grumpy Cat” and the likes. In the many centuries before, the cat in art was second to horses and dogs, as Caroline Bugler explains in her fascinating book “The Cat, 3500 Years of the Cat in Art”. Some of the facts… Continue reading The centuries before cat videos – “The Cat” by Caroline Bugler

When I bought Temple St. Clair’s first book “Alchemy”, read her name and saw the kind of jewellery she creates, I was convinced she is a descendant of one of the families in a Dan Brown novel. You know what I mean, those with ancestors in Scotland and France who have a direct bloodline to… Continue reading When a name creates an image – Temple St. Clair

I had never heard of Luisa Spagnoli before I stepped into the clothes store of the same name in Palermo’s Via Ruggiero Settimo a few years ago. I had not been hunting for clothes, just wanted a quick look around because the windows were so beautifully made up and all the clothes were so luxurious.… Continue reading How did she do it? – Luisa Spagnoli in book and film

Reading in Prince Dimitris book, it is difficult not to become jealous. I decided instead to admire him for his pose and for making the best out of being born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Some people stay idle when they already have a lot, Prince Dimitri grew his heritage further. Born into… Continue reading A charmed life – Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia

Aiming at an art review, I wanted to write first only about the beautifully illustrated book “The Windsor Style” by Suzy Menkes. When flipping through the book, the well researched and mostly friendly biography of Wallis Simpson “The Duchess of Windsor” by Greg King came back to my mind. This biography shaped my views about… Continue reading Give and Take – The Duke and the Duchess of Windsor