The pioneers of photography discovered one thing almost immediately: Statues make ideal models. Because they never twitched, much less moved, during long shutter exposures, a bust of Patroclus or a Roman portrait hung in the British Museum allowed early masters of the medium, like William Henry Fox Talbot in 1846 and Roger Fenton Read More
“Who is Tony Judt?” a woman wanted to know. We were at a cocktail party at the offices of a left-wing publisher in Dumbo in March, and the name of the controversial British-born European historian and public intellectual was in the air.
A friend of hers who was hovering nearby, a man Read More
Ellis Wood, the daughter of two Martha Graham company members, has been dancing “since the dawn of man,” she said. But for Ellis Wood Dance Company, which has supported from five to nine full-time dancers year-round for the past 10 or so years, these are exceptionally difficult times.
Ms. Wood’s seven-year funding Read More
I knew Andy Warhol for a short but lively stint in 1984 and ’85, while my then-fiancée was one of his best friends. We were out every night, all night. One night, my parents had their big summer party in Greenwich; I thought Andy would like it since I had invited a few Read More
Sometimes, fashion can be revolutionary.
Eunice W. Johnson, a publisher and business pioneer, brought high fashion to African-American women right around the time they were fighting for their civil rights. Johnson, who died in January at 93, helped her husband build the Johnson Publishing Company, parent company to Ebony and Jet magazines Read More
Liberal commentary resembles that band of escaped convicts in Woody Allen’s Take the Money and Run, who break out of prison shackled to each other at the ankle and have to do everything as a group, like walking along the street and eating in a restaurant. Barack Obama is elected president, and the Read More
Hello, Jet Blue passengers! I will never be serving you a fucking soft drink or a bag of stale, chemical-coated peanuts again. You know what, you want to leave that seat otherwise than in the upright position, go right ahead, bozo. When the guy behind you is lying in a hospital bed with Read More
Moments after Wyclef Jean took a seat at table one for an early lunch at Michael’s in midtown, a bodyguard of sturdy carriage advised moving to a different Breur Cesca chair facing away from the lunch crowd. “It’s for security,” Mr. Jean good-naturedly told the Transom from his new perch. Potential threats seemed Read More
At the age of 85, Ed Koch has a passion for politics and civic life that’s as vibrant as it was during his three memorable terms as mayor. Mr. Koch told this newspaper last week that he plans to keep working until he dies. We’re happy to hold him to that promise.
Mr. Read More
Decisions involving the allocation of public-school resources are seldom easy, even in the best of times. Resources are always finite, as parents know all too well. Schools Chancellor Joel Klein recently used emergency powers to overrule a state decision that would have stopped the expansion of a successful all-girls charter school on the Lower Read More
