Earliest Known Picture Letter from Beatrix Potter 1892

via

These picture letters were written from her seaside vacation to Beatrix Potter's 4 year old nephew with pictures and words he could easily understand. Click on the link called "via" below each picture to see it full size and read further in The Morgan Library & Museum's description. It's so interesting to see the actual penmanship written with a dip pen and see the places where the ink was running low.

via

via

Enjoy this delightful glimpse into the life of our favorite author and illustrator.

Isn't this green book Christmas Tree the best?

Found on Tumblr.

Unknown Albrecht Dürer Drawing Discovered at House Sale for $30

The Virgin and Child with a Flower on a Grassy Bank 

(around 1503) Agnews, London

This is an absolutely fascinating story. This signed Old Master drawing, in an antique frame, was sold by the daughters of a deceased architect/antique collector/dealer. They thought it was a 20th century reproduction but it has been authenticated as a circa 1503 original and the auction estimate is in excess of $50 million. The whole story can be read in the link I will leave below this post. If you want to see the Dürer in person, this drawing will be on exhibit in NYC in January 2022. Keep going to estate sales and maybe you can make a discovery too. Let me know and I will post it. xo

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/11/19/unknown-durer-drawingbought-for-just-dollar30-at-a-house-clearancecould-sell-for-dollar50m

Owl with Heart Designs on His Feathers

Spot-bellied Eagle Owl with heart-shaped spots on his feathers. Photographed in Corbett National Park, India. 🖤 Photo found here.

The owlets are adorable. Found on Pinterest.

This one looks like a live stuffed toy. The rare Spot Bellied Eagle Owl has feathers with heart markings. This owl is also noted for its strange, human-sounding call. It is found primarily in the lower Himalayas from Kumaon east to Burma.

THE GOLDFINCH

Carel Pietersz Fabritius, the most promising student of Rembrandt, famous for his painting “The Goldfinch,” died young at just 32 in 1654. He was killed in an explosion. (Not what you were expecting, right?) The city of Delft’s gunpowder magazine unexpectedly exploded, destroying about one-fourth of the city and killing Fabritius. Dying young does not mean the end of a painter’s career – just look at Van Gogh. But unfortunately for Fabritius, most of his paintings were also destroyed in the explosion. Only about a dozen of his paintings survive today. (Source: Wikipedia) photo source

RARE Antique Figural Drinking Game Glass

A 17th-Century Drinking Game

This glass was designed to drench the drinker in alcohol, and put on an entertaining display for onlookers. What is better than that?

“Joke glasses” challenged drinkers to figure out how to get the alcohol out with minimal spillage. If they spilled? The glass then refilled. This one is the world’s only intact example resembling a man.

The Head

In the collection of The Getty Museum

It is really hard to grasp the rarity of this intricately beautiful example, especially since it is in three pieces --the body, the funnel, and the head. How in the world did it survive since the 1600s??????

I found this when I was searching more of those hilarious photos of people who are enacting art in their homes while in quarantine. It was started by the Getty Museum on Twitter. You can see more if you go to Twitter and search #betweenartandquarantine -- I can't get enough and really enjoy seeing what people are doing at home while in isolation. Be well and be safe. xo