Treasure Trove of Nazi-Looted Art

A trove of Nazi-looted art discovered in a German apartment contains previously unknown works by painters including Henri Matisse. More than 1,400 paintings, drawings and prints were found – dirty, but undamaged – in what experts say is one of the largest and most significant discoveries of masterpieces plundered by the Nazis, and which could be worth more than $1 billion.

After the first reports detailing the catalog of Nazi-looted art that was being stored among trash by Cornelius Gurlitt, new information has surfaced that indicates Gurlitt may have more artwork stored in Austria. In addition to learning more about the reclusive Gurlitt, German officials are calling for the list of artwork, 1,400 pieces that include works by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse, to be revealed.  [more...]

"Windows of My Soul" Hits the Net!

Available Now on Amazon.com!

25 Years of Original Poetry, Song Lyrics & Art

Lyrics from Sandy's record, "Resurrection"

...and songs from "Painting Music"

Digitizing the Creative Heritage of Tolstoy

90 Volumes of Tolstoy in a Single Click: The work of digitizing the creative heritage of Leo Tolstoy united volunteers from the U.S., Germany, Brazil, and Argentina.    

On Sept. 9, on Leo Tolstoy’s 185^th birthday, the web portal www.tolstoy.ru was launched, offering details about the life and works of the great Russian writer. This was done concurrently with the opening of the Tolstoy State Museum and the Yasnaya Polyana Museum-Estate.

For the first time, the web portal will present an electronic version of the 90-volume collection of Tolstoy’s writings.

The work to digitize the author’s writings was organized by the crowdsourcing project entitled “All Tolstoy in a Single Click.” This project was launched in June 2013, in cooperation with the Russian company ABBYY. [more...]

Long Lost Van Gogh Found

The Van Gogh Museum says it has identified a long-lost Vincent Van Gogh painting that spent years in a Norwegian attic because it was thought not to be authentic. It is the first full-size canvas by the Dutch master discovered since 1928.

"Sunset at Montmajour" depicts a dry landscape of oak trees, bushes and sky, painted with Van Gogh's familiar thick brush strokes. It can be dated to the exact day it was painted because Vincent described it in a letter to his brother, Theo, and said he painted it the previous day — July 4, 1888. [more...]

Rodriguez - Real Live Soul Minstrel

"Searching for Sugarman" is a documentary about a Detroit-based folk singer who faded into obscurity in the early '70s.  You might think at first glance he's a combination of Jose Feliciano and Bob Dylan, but this man is more a combination of Gandhi and John Lennon.  Humble, rich in soul and truly his own man, Rodriguez is one in a million. Listen here.
His official site
The documentary

Bob Gruen - Chronicler of NYC Rock 'n' Roll

I always wondered who took that great photo of John Lennon wearing the New York City T-shirt.  Bob Gruen is the photographer extraordinaire behind many of the most iconic photographs that literally wrote the history of rock 'n' roll in New York and beyond. 

Bob Gruen has been in the business of photographing the New York City rock scene for decades. Rock 'n' Roll Exposed tells his story and is a great documentary that will inspire musicians, photographers and artists for generations to come. [more...]

The Frick Collection: The Impressionist Line from Degas to Toulouse-Lautrec

I was lucky to be able to catch this exhibition at the Frick Mansion in NYC yesterday.  It took my breath away.  From the Toulouse-Lautrec lithographs, to the Gauguins to the incredible Degas drawings, I was in awe.

This exhibition presents a selection of nineteenth-century French drawings and prints from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Sheets by Millet, Courbet, Degas, Manet, Pissarro, Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec, and other masters are on view. Ranging widely in subject matter and technique and spanning the entire second half of the nineteenth century, these works represent the diverse interests of Realist, Impressionist, and Post-Impressionist artists in a rapidly changing world. Graphite and charcoal drawings of classically idealized nudes exhibit the virtuoso finish and illusionism long championed by academic tradition while rapidly executed sketches present more candid and provocative renderings of the body. Luminous pastels and watercolors capture impressions of city and country, and lively etchings and vivid color lithographs convey the spectacle and atmosphere of modern life. Populating these images are peasants, performers, racehorses, and mythological goddesses. Settings vary from the French countryside and far-flung islands to Parisian cafés and dancehalls, shifting back and forth between labor and leisure, highlife and low. [more...]

Carol Burnett: Great American Humorist

Carol Burnett, who became famous for playing a variety of characters in sketch comedy routines on her namesake television show, was named the winner of the nation's top humor prize on Tuesday.

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said Burnett will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Oct. 20 in Washington. A gala performance featuring top names in comedy will be taped and broadcast nationally Oct. 30 on PBS.

The 80-year-old Burnett said she can't believe she is receiving the prize from the Kennedy Center. "It's almost impossible to be funnier than the people in Washington," she said in a statement. [more...]

Bourdain Continues to do Important Work in the World... His Own Way

They originally labeled him the 'bad boy chef,' but Anthony Bourdain, throughout his extraordinary exploration of the world and all its many cultures - not to mention his metamorphosis from chef to writer to world traveler, back to the realization that he himself made that he is truly a WRITER - has matured into a true ambassador of the Earth.  Many of his fans - me included - were suspicious of his new contract with CNN; however, we secretly understood that it was a natural evolution for him to continue his work in this world.  We didn't think he could be 'himself' bound by the limitations of prime time television.  We were wrong.

Tony is a fearless universal being - evidenced as he himself promised us all in his very first shows - from A Cook's Tour to No Reservations and The Layover - when he told us there was nothing he wouldn't try, that he'd go to the ends of the earth and that he had nothing to lose... from bungee jumping to skiing, swimming with sharks, almost dying of snail poisoning... visiting the ruins of Katrina and Haiti... his shows taught me more in one year - like a crash course in (to say the least) 'expanding one's horizons' while parked in front of a TV - than any class, book or college course I could ever have taken.  

His latest show, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown for CNN is Bourdain Deluxe - fatty, succulent, delicious, with a full side of fries, perfect Chinese pickles, dumplings, and a pho included!  It's panoramic, splendificous, tasty... "GOOD," as Tony, himself, admitted was the only thing left to say about the most delicious food he could find on the planet to eat and enjoy and describe as he devoured life at its fullest, to be filled beyond repair.

In my opinion his programs should be taught in every college classroom in the world! And it all started with a little memoir he wrote called Kitchen Confidential.


[Go here for the latest program on CNN...]

RIP Roger!

Roger Ebert, the most famous and most popular film reviewer of his time who became the first journalist to win a Pulitzer Prize for movie criticism and, on his long-running TV program, wielded the nation's most influential thumb, died Thursday. He was 70. [more...]

Ready My article from 2011 on Siskel & Ebert: 
http://sandyfrazier.blogspot.com/2011/03/phantom-ebert.html