Upcoming Book Review: The Courtiers by Lucy Worsley

I've been devouring my advance copy of this delicious book The Courtiers, Splendor and Intrigue in the Georgian Court at Kensington Palace by Lucy Worsley. Set to be released on August 17th in the USA, it is a rare gem among history books. The author, who is chief curator of Royal Historic Palaces,  tells tales of the Georgian court during the period 1714-1760 by bringing to life a cast of characters found in the paintings by William Kent that still line the walls of the king's staircase of Kensington Palace.

This passage from page 51 is a sample of the author's engaging and entertaining style of writing:
"Last among Princess Caroline's wing women came the unruly Maids of Honour. These well-born, unmarried young ladies, earning 200 pounds a year, were unlikely to remain single for long. Among the current crop, Mary Meadows was the steadiest, and Sophy Howe the flightiest. Then there was the elegant Molly Lepell, of course, and the broad-minded Mary Bellenden.
The Maids of Honour were all well known to the bawdy balladeers and gossip columnists of London. When the king had ordered them all to leave St. James's Palace, the characteristic reactions of the individual maids were trumpeted abroad:
     Up leapt Lepell and firsk'd away
     As though she ran on wheels;
     Miss Meadows made a woeful face,
     Miss Howe be-pissed her heels."

On Monday, August 9th, I'll post my review and later in the week I hope to post my interview with the author Lucy Worsley.

A Performance by The School of Atelier Ballet

 Image provided by the Opera Atelier

This Friday, August 6th, the Opera Atelier presents a lunch hour performance by the students of the School of Atelier Ballet.  Excerpts from  The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, and The Marriage of Figaro will be performed in the beautiful third floor of the historic St. Lawrence Hall. No tickets are required and the event is free.

The School of Atelier Ballet operates under the umbrella of Opera Atelier and is directed by co-artistic directors Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg. This performance is the culmination of the school’s summer program.


If you've never been inside The St. Lawrence Hall, it is one of Toronto's hidden gems.  I will be there to photograph the performance and I think it will be a treat to see the ballroom come to life with the talented young dancers of the School of Atelier Ballet.

What's on the Calendar in August?

I can hardly believe that it is already August. Where did the summer go? Here is a list of my summer must-see exhibitions:

Yves Saint Laurent at the Petit Palais, Musee de Beaux Arts in Paris until August 29, 2010

This retrospective of Yves Saint Laurent's work covers the period from 1962-2002 and includes over 250 garments from this master of haute couture and ready-to-wear. The exhibition also includes recreations of Saint Laurent's studio, private "dreaming" room, and a wardrobe designed for Catherine Deneuve.

While I won't actually get to see this exhibition in person, I saw a similar exhibition in Montreal in 2008, which opened just before the death of this great designer. To read more about the retrospective, please click here. I also wrote extensively about Yves Saint Laurent after his death, including a post called Lessons from Saint Laurent, which can be read here. (It seems like an interesting coincidence to write this post today as Yves Saint Laurent was born on August 1, 1936.)

Person, Place and Thing at the Textile Museum of Canada on until September 6, 2010

In this exhibition of portrait-based works by artists David R. Harper, Lia Cook and Stephen Schofield, textiles and sculpture intersect in an unexpected fashion. All three artists make large scale work that is tactile which draws the viewer into a sensory encounter with "embroidered, sewn and women narratives of nature, identity and history."  This exhibition affirms my belief that embroidery and sculpture are powerful forms of expression. (I will be taking a workshop called Rogue Embroidery with David Harper later this month and hope it will inspire me to take my textile-based artwork to a new level of development.)

American Women, Fashioning a National Identity at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on until August 15, 2010.

Eighty faceless mannequins present the history of American style from 1890 to 1940 as defined into distinct archetypes including The Hieress, The Gibson Girl, The Bohemian, The Patriot and the Suffragette, The Flapper, and The Screen Siren. Animated throughout by music, lighting and video projections, the exhibition culminates in a video montage of images reflecting the modern American woman including Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Serena Williams, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe.

While on the surface this may simply seem like another costume exhibit, at the core of it is an exploration of the  evolution of women's social, political and sexual emancipation as reflected in their clothing.  (And this is something that is a touchstone in my artwork). If you are unable to make it to the Met before the exhibition closes on August 15th, you can see a YouTube video of the exhibition here.