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Loving - The Movie. A beautiful portrayal of a forgotten civil rights story

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Ruth Negga (2 nd from right) stars as Mildred and Joel Edgerton (right) stars as Richard in Jeff Nichols LOVING, a Focus Features release. Credit : Ben Rothstein / Focus Features   Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving grew up in the rural unincorporated town of Central Point, Virginia. They met in high school, spent time together, and eventually, when Mildred became pregnant, decided to marry. But this was the 1950’s and Mildred was African American and Richard was white. Virginia had anti-miscegenation laws which made their marriage illegal. How did these two young people get beyond Jim Crow and fall in love? Well that had a lot to with Central Point VA. Central Point was and is still a very rural area. At a distance of about 90 miles south east from Washington DC it was community with a history of poor farmers, black and white, ignoring the rules of segregation, living together. According to a 2012 article in the Washington Post , Central Point and Caroline Count...

The DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun. Tucson, Arizona

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The Catalina Foothills, outside of Tucson, are home to a unique art and cultural gallery. The DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun includes a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe and a gallery showcasing the artwork of one man - Ted DeGrazia. The Catalina Foothills Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia (1909-1982) was born in the town of Morencia, Arizona Territory. His father and uncles were copper miners at the Morencia Mines who had emigrated from Italy. He graduated high school at age 23, due to his family having to return to Italy for five years when the mines were temporarily closed. Not wanting to work in the mines, Ted made his way to Tucson and enrolled in the University of Arizona, eventually earning degrees in Fine Arts and Art Education. During his very prolific life, DeGrazia created hundreds of drawings, paintings, sculptures, and ceramic pieces. His work exploresthe mythologies of local native tribes, and the cultural and religious lives of Mexican-Americans. The gallery is divided into r...

Seeing Art from 19th Century France in NYC

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  New York City is full of small museums and galleries. This means that there are always small, interesting exhibits to view. I had the opportunity to see two of them recently. Viollet-le-Duc: Drawing Worlds (through May 24, 2026) Chartres Cathedral West Portal   The Bard Graduate Center offers advanced degrees in the study of the social history of our material world. It also has a four-floor gallery that provides exhibitions exploring the connection between art, design and our physical world. The current show is an exhibit of some of the most intricate and beautiful drawings created by Eugéne-Emanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879). Viollet-le-Duc was an architect and a designer who specialized in updating and recreating the gothic world for 19th century France. He is best known for the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in 1857.   Assorted Gargoyles North Façade of Notre Dame Windows and Niches of the Chior South Transept Gable Spire of Notre Dame By the time Eugéne was in...

Two Museums Outside of Tucson Arizone

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Looking out at the Sonoran Desert   If you are visiting Tucson, Arizona, and you are looking for something to do outside of town, I have two suggestions. These museums are especially interesting if you children in your traveling group. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Photo via www.desertmuseum.org   About 2.3 miles east of the Red Hills Visitors Center in the Saguaro National Park is the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum . Built in 1952, this museum explores the natural history of the Sonoran Desert and its adjacent ecosystems. Its founder, William H. Carr (1902-1985), had previously founded and designed the Bear Mountain Trailside Museum in New York State. Both have similar designs, using trails lined with native plants to take visitors on a tour of displays of local animals. Prairie Dog Ocelot Mountain Goat Okay, not at the zoo, but in front of a nearby trading post  The Desert Museum has two miles of walking trails along a hillside the overlooks the a desert valley. It is part...