A View of Paris from the Louvre by Louise-Josephine Belmont

Circa 1835:

Nydia, blind girl of Pompeii, one more time

I just love this statue -- so naturally I couldn't resist a repeat with a few additional images. Sculpted by Randolph Rogers (1825-1892), the statue depicts the slave girl Nydia, a character in the 1834 best-selling novel The Last Days of Pompeii by Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton. During the eruption of Vesusvius, using only her hearing because visibility is virtually non-existent, she leads a group of survivors out from under the cloud of smoke and ash

Lunch time at the RISD Museum

I often drop by to say hello to two of my favorite people in the museum, Impressionist artist Berthe Morisot, painted by her brother-in-law Edouard Manet, who is resting next to her. No matter where I sit, though, they keep avoiding me, looking at something off in the distance over my left shoulder.

Berthe Morisot, in Le Repos by Edouard Manet

Edouard Manet by Carolus-Duran

And there is Rodin's interpretation of Balzac's intensity and immensity (well, he wasn't that big), matched in the next room by. . .

Balzac by Rodin

Frith's incredible collection of human interest stories told with color and perspective:

Detail from William Frith's Sal d'Or (in the grand gallery)

The French Tarte gets ready!

Susie helps raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

This past Saturday Susie (AKA the French Tarte) joined a dozen or so other artists in a charity event to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. At the end of three hours, they had brought in more than $3000! It was a gorgeous day on the east side of Providence and a good time was had by all -- although there were no more caramel nut tarts left for me to indulge my own peculiar pastry obsession (well, OK, one of several pastry obsessions with which I'm afflicted, I admit).

The auction was held in this home just off of Wayland Square

Susie was set up in the bar

the silent auction table

two of Susie's three tarts as part of the silent auction

Juliette Recamier by Joseph Chinard

Sometime after 1801 - Juliette is buried in Montmartre Cemetery, Paris:

The Colisseum by Giovanni Pannini

Circa 1750:

Refund from Locaboat

As is typical in today's world of electronic money transfer when it comes to taking your money it happens almost instantaneously -- but when it comes to getting it back, say in the way of a refund it can take many days if not several weeks.

That's not the case with Locaboat. Once I asked our agent Roger Van Dyken to initiate a refund, it was just a few days before our credit card was, well, credited.

A good lesson though: no matter how far ahead of your booking date you cancel your Locaboat reservation, you will pay a hefty "administrative" fee, no matter what (€`150). Unless you take out trip/travel insurance, the premium for which might be larger than the fee.  In all fairness to Roger strongly warned us about the importance of taking out trip cancellation insurance but we've never done it before and so. . . . Say goodbye. . . for now:

Self Portrait by Paul Bril

Netherlandish:

Nydia the blind girl of Pompeii 1855-56, by Randolph Rogers

Sculpted by Randolph Rogers (1825-1892), the statue depicts the slave girl Nydia, a character in the 1834 best-selling novel The Last Days of Pompeii by Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

From RISD Museum

Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler by John Singer Sargent

It's the eyes that pulled me in. . .