Artist: Unknown Title: Tchotchke Date: 1970s? Culture: Turkish (?) Provenance: Bought by my grandparents probably on vacation in Turkey in the 1970s My grandfather is an endless source of inspiration for me. Many of the things that fascinate me about American culture relate to him in some way–to the world he would have been a part of. I loved him fiercely, but I have come to realize that love is only half the reason his life so fascinates me. His life spanned a unique period of rapid change, and his experiences were remarkable for their variety. Indeed, his life encapsulates something of the ..read more

It was the end of summer, and the adults overindulged in wine and food and the golden light of the sun setting on the lake. They danced to the quiet music of the water lapping at the shoreline and the gossipy whispering of the tree leaves. We kids stole sweets from the tabletops and sneaked away to hunt for caterpillars in the woods from where we could hear the rhythmic clanging and beeping that came from the basement arcade where the teenagers were playing pinball and Pac-Man. We spied on them for a while, stifling our laughter, and turned to run when they saw us. I tried to keep up with the ..read more

Artist: Life Title: What’s Missing/Absence/Loss/Memory/Time Date: Timeless Culture: Metaphysical, Philosophical Provenance: I wish I knew. I haven’t written in a long time. Largely that’s because I’ve been short on time, but it’s also because I’ve been short on motivation. There’s a theme of absence here. I’ve been absent from my writing self because of a lack of other things. And so my blog itself has been absent. I’ve been especially aware of absence now that it’s Christmas time. Silly as it may sound, I was dreading getting my Christmas stuff out this year because my tree fell over last yea ..read more

The light had already been fading for a while that afternoon as we flung ourselves over snow drifts and up tall mountains of shoveled snow and along the garage rooftops which we could reach because the snow was so high. What had begun as a straightforward afternoon of play in the weak light after school gradually changed in its character as the evening leeched the remaining warmth and brightness out of the sky. As the air became colder and the sky turned an ominous purple-gray, the wind picked up too. One by one, my friends left our group, scurrying into the warmth of the buildings that encir ..read more

Artist: Unknown Title: Violin Date: 1950s? Culture: American Provenance: Handed down to EAH via her mother and grandfather. At the back of my closet, hidden behind a curtain of long-unworn dresses, is a brown-canvas violin case with a worn leather handle. The violin has schlepped with me to each of the thirteen residences I’ve had since college, not finding much use I’m sad to say but settling in among the dust bunnies and only rarely–once in a blue moon–coming out to sing. This is the violin I played on nearly every day for most of my adolescence, and so the seemingly drab brown case is a ..read more

Cynthia W. Iliff, Untitled (Men Playing Cards), 1942, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gift of Jerome and Anne Kaplan, 1992 (https://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/86967.html?mulR=1407603385|12) I wonder how long I waited there, as the clouds slowly moved in and obscured the sky, first dropping scattered raindrops and then eventually pelting the world with hail. I had gotten so used to the briny smell of the sea that I was surprised to notice it that morning. Sloshing and crashing against the dock and rocky shore, the waves turned foamy and fragrant, redolent of fish, mud, and decaying v ..read more

Artist: Unknown Title: Untitled Date: Early 20th Century? Culture: American? Provenance: Ended up with EAH’s Christmas things after the death of her mother. My Christmas tree is a minefield of memories, adorned as it is in ornaments given to me over the years and ornaments I’ve given to my children since their first Christmases and ornaments that used to belong to my parents but have ended up with me. One of the most prized ornaments on my tree is a little embroidered doll that belonged to my mom. It wasn’t designed as a Christmas ornament, but it was so special to her that she repurposed it ..read more

After I woke up from my nap, there was an unusual noise and bustle in the house and the smell of cookies. Marta took me and Anna on a walk and brought the sled so that she could pull us when we got tired. I loved the distinctive squeak-crunch sound the snow made as we walked over the crusty snowdrifts and the way the untouched patches of snow revealed the patterns of snowflakes lying on their surfaces.  The pine trees bobbed and swayed all around us, and Marta’s cheeks turned a beautiful pink. I could see the amber glow from our house in the valley down below and the smoke rising from ou ..read more

Artist: Spencer Tunick Title: Photograph at the Piazza Navona Date: 2001 Culture: American Provenance: Signed copy given to EAH as “payment” for being a subject in the photograph. Currently hanging in her bathroom. In 2001 I spent a glorious semester in Rome. Classes were held in villas and palazzi and museums. I spent my afternoons wandering the city, down narrow cobbled roads, through ancient ruins, visiting Renaissance churches and gardens with an obligatory stop for a cappuccino along the way. It was divine, and I was tremendously spoiled. Toward the end of my time there, I was eating ..read more

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