“Atlantic Fishing Boat” by Richard Marion (c) 2013 See more artwork at www.richardmarion.net This one is for everyone going to the coast for August vacation. Salisbury, Plum Island, Hampton Beach, Seabrook, Rye, Ogunquit, Rockport, Kennebunkport, York, Portsmouth, Kittery, Wells, Newburyport, Gloucester. . .
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“Page’s Clock” by Richard Marion (c) 2013 When Richard Marion operated Galley 21 at 21 Hurd Street in Lowell (mid-1960s to mid-1980s), this pen-and-ink drawing was a favorite of gallery customers and clients. There are several versions of this image in circulation, including the black-and-white print, colored prints, and…
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“164 Orleans Street” by Richard Marion (c) 2013 [drawing, c. 1980] See more artwork at www.richardmarion.net
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The prestigious Library of America series now includes two volumes of the short stories of John Updike. Born in Pennsylvania, but a long time resident of our region of Massachusetts, John Updike was awarded an honorary degree by UMass Lowell (University of Lowell) in the 1980s. He also gave a…
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One more bit of commentary about the notion of distinctive cities or particular heritage sites as works of art in themselves. Cultural critic Lucy Lippard mentions Lowell’s national park in her book about the power of special places, The Lure of the Local. The following passage is from my manuscript…
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” “Yellow Arches” by Richard Marion (c) 2013 [drawing, 2008] See more artwork at www.richardmarion.net
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Dick’s post about public art in cities prompts me to add this thought from my book-in-progress about the origin and impact of the national park in Lowell. In the early planning phase, advocates used the term urban cultural park for what they were envisioning for Lowell. That terminology changed when…
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Two more bulletins from Martha’s Vineyard by our far-flung correspondent Ray LaPorte. So, the handy Wikipedia tells us that English seaman Bartholomew Gosnold ventured near the Atlantic coast in 1602 and named a smaller island near today’s M.V. for his young daughter who had died—and historians say the name migrated…
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From one end of the continent to the other, here is a poem by Tom Sexton, written on the road last last spring as he and his wife, Sharyn, made their way from Maine back to Alaska for another season. We do have our far-flung correspondents. Tom Sexton is…
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