blog no. 17: Best of Enemies, Hockney, Chast, BLM


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Many of us have probably seen the press release above, issued on May 25, 2020, by the Minneapolis Police Department to explain the "incident" around George Floyd's death. At the risk of sounding like a preacher, I wanted to explicitly show it again here to stress the all important and key point: one person, one teenager no less, by the name of Darnella Frazier, had the courage to go out on a limb and got involved when she saw something she considered an injustice. By filming Derek Chauvin with his knee on George Floyd's neck for 9+ minutes, she might well have changed (we hope) the trajectory of policing in America for years to come. Other bystanders played their important parts too. Since I was a kid, I had this drummed into me, my mother being a victim of Nazi Germany: standing by is not an option for any of us if we want to see a just and better world. That lesson over and over again: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ― Edmund Burke.
This is how we change the world.

three things we love

I can't believe I missed this movie The Best of Enemies when it came out in 2019. I am usually up on these kinds of things, especially when it involves a movie with a subject like civil rights. But a mention by MSNBC's announcer Ali Velshi last Sunday morning thankfully led me to it now and I am super excited about its potential as a solution to so many of our problems in the United States today. Suffice it to say that it involves a man named Bill Riddick who had a vision of getting opposing sides together in an intensive way (called a charrette), meeting every day all day for a period of two weeks to solve a problem together. In the case of the movie, Durham, North Carolina was a very divided and volatile town that had to come up with a solution of what to do with black students when their school burnt down. Sometimes the best solutions are the most obvious ones that we have overlooked. If anyone knows someone with deep pockets like Bloomberg or Bill Gates who could fund an initiative like this, or any police chiefs or any government officials, I think this charrette thing, done on a massive scale, is both doable and potentially life changing for us Americans. Please watch the movie and tell me what you think.

The real Community Activist Ann Atwater and former Ku Klux Klan member C.P. Ellis

The real Community Activist Ann Atwater and former Ku Klux Klan member C.P. Ellis

Bill Riddick

Bill Riddick

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I always liked David Hockney but preferred his earlier work, paintings that were a little more raw in feel. (He got a little too prissy for me at times later on). But he defintely has wowed me with his digital drawings made on an ipad (using an app called Brushes) which are deceptively simple. I remember seeing a video of him creating a New Yorker cover many years ago, soon after the ipad just came out. I have seen this video countless times but never get tired of it. So cool to see the process of the layers piling up on each other, transforming into a beautiful, rich still life. Here too is a another process video of him sitting in a cafe at the Louisiana Museum outside of Copenhagen drawing a Calder sculpture (I recognized this wonderful favorite place of mine right away--aside from great art and a great building, they have a wonderful buffet lunch there too!). I also saw a show of his Yosemite Series at the Pace Gallery in Palo Alto a bunch of years ago and these ipad drawings were blown up to a height of eight feet--very impressive!

David Hockney Yosemite Series ipad drawing

David Hockney Yosemite Series ipad drawing

David Hockney Still Life Ipad drawing

David Hockney Still Life Ipad drawing

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Roz Chast and Steve Martin (top) and cartoon by Roz Chast

Roz Chast and Steve Martin (top) and cartoon by Roz Chast

Because this is kind of a serious blog this week, I decided that it would be good to try and provide some comic relief also, as laughter is one of the best things I know. I am bringing back one of my old time favorite funny people: cartoonist Roz Chast. Here she is being interviewed by another really funny guy, Steve Martin, at the New Yorker Festival back in 2014. What I like most about this conversation is that Chast really gets a kick out of herself and it is so fun and contagious to watch her laugh at her own jokes and cartoons.
It is possible that this type of humor might not be your cup of tea, as humor can be very personal, so if that is the case, go out and find something else to laugh about like I Love Lucy or these harmless kids mishap videos or an old, stupid family favorite: National Lampoon's European Vacation. Because laughter is the best medicine! If you won't take it from me, then trust Audrey Hepburn:

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painting of the week


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This series above, which I call my Childhood's End Series, is originally inspired by old vintage school charts and the drawings my parents saved of mine when I was a kid. Bits of these drawings are incorporated into the collage elements of the painting. What appeals to me is the order--I always liked lining things up so neatly. I am really getting into these light blues, lavenders, and soft greens these days. And yes, finally, more nature in my daily life!

Mother's Day is around the corner. Below are links to Smilow + Mathiesen ArtSHOP products. Please consider us when in need of a special gift.


Self Portrait going grey in the time of Covid…

Self Portrait going grey in the time of Covid…


About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow created the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her, check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.

blog no. 16: Covid-19, Missing Art, Homelessness, Democracy


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On Wednesday, April 14th, a two page ad was placed in the New York Times with a big heading entitled: WE STAND FOR DEMOCRACY: A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE.... It was signed by over 700 individuals, corporations, law firms and non profits, all in support of voting rights, stating clearly that "Voting is the lifeblood of our democracy and we call upon all Americans to join us in taking a nonpartisan stand for this most basic and fundamental right of all Americans." I call attention to it here because I believe in the power of the purse and because I think we all should be aware of where our spending dollars go and what companies we choose to support (or not). The list is too long to quote here but signatories include such companies as SalesForce, Starbucks, Nordstrom, American Express, Cisco, Apple, American Airlines, General Motors, Harry's, United Airlines, and Target to name a few. Walmart, McDonalds, Home Depot, and Pepsico were notably absent from the list. Here is the full ad and some additional information that might be helpful in making our choices: courtesy the New York Times, courtesy Deal Book Newsletter from the New York Times and courtesy Fortune.

three things we love

Do you know these people?

Do you know these people?

Do you recognize these people? Odds are you don't but I can tell you they are in your life right now and you actually owe them a lot! These free thinkers are four of the most instrumental scientists behind the mRNA Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. Starting with Kati Kariko (top left), immigrant to the United States from Hungary, Kariko has painstakingly been working her whole career on the technology of messenger RNA, never making more than $60,000 in a single year. She had a lot of trouble getting funded--her research was considered too farfetched--and therefore had to work in the labs of others instead of her own. But she believed in herself and the potential for mRNA and did not give up. Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are based in her research and we are all profiting big time from her hard work and determination. Next is Dr. Ugur Sahin (top right) and Dr. Özlem Türec (bottom left), a husband/wife team working in Germany, both immigrants from Turkey. First and foremost doctors, they met in medical school and went on to eventually form the company called BioNTech, where they initially focused on drugs to treat cancer. They then moved on to other technologies including mRNA, realizing that that might be important in vaccine development. Already collaborating with Pfizer on a flu vaccine, both companies pivoted upon hearing of a new virus in Wuhan, China and together with Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer (bottom right), it became all hands on deck. The fruitful partnership between Pfizer and BioNTech is now history.

Being a researcher is not exactly a glamorous life. These scientists have been plodding along for years, working extremely hard and are more than dedicated and passionate about their field. What they have in common is that they are modest immigrants who share a love of science over business. There is little fanfare for these scientific hardworking souls--upon hearing of the success of their mRNA vaccines against Covid-19, Kati Kariko went home to celebrate by eating a box of goobers (chocolate covered peanut candy for those non-Americans). Dr. Sahin and Dr. Turec went home and drank a cup of Turkish tea to applaud themselves. That same couple went straight back to the lab on their wedding day--no honeymoon for them!

Missing panel of the Jacob Lawrence series The American Struggle that hung unsuspectedly in the home of an Upper West Side nurse in New York City..

Missing panel of the Jacob Lawrence series The American Struggle that hung unsuspectedly in the home of an Upper West Side nurse in New York City..

Jeff Neal, one of the brothers pictured in Alice Neel’s portrait above.

Jeff Neal, one of the brothers pictured in Alice Neel’s portrait above.

There are a lot of mysteries in the artworld because it is a field that is anything but transparent on so many levels. And there are many, many stories about lost paintings, stolen paintings, missing paintings, forged paintings. It seems to be a captivating subject for many of us and is currently the subject of a new netflix documentary entitled This is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist about the billion dollar heist at the Gardner Museum in Boston. Everyone loves a good detective/crime story. I am far into the series and it is defintely holding my attention and well worth watching.

Another interesting missing art story involves the work of African American artist Jacob Lawrence and an unsuspecting nurse who discovered that the painting she had hanging in her hallway for years, one that she had purchased at a local school auction years before for next to nothing, was actually worth a lot more than she could have imagined. In fact, it was a long sought out missing panel from Jacob Lawrence's The American Struggle series that many in the art world had been searching for over the period of quite a few years. To read how she came about acquiring the panel and her full story, click here.

And finally, here is another fun tale involving the portrait artist Alice Neel whose work is currently on view at the Metropolitcan Museum of Art (through August 1, 2021). Fifty some odd years ago she painted a portrait of two brothers from Harlem, Jeff and Toby Neal (no relation, different spelling). The boys sat for several sessions but never got to see the finished product. Years and years went by and they always wondered what had become of the painting. Fast forward fifty years, both Alice Neel and one of the brothers no longer on this earth, and the remaining brother gets word that the painting he has been trying to find has surfaced....Click here to get the New York Times article that details the whole story.

Piedmont and Oakland California are right next to each other but couldn’t be more of a Tale of Two Cities…

Piedmont and Oakland California are right next to each other but couldn’t be more of a Tale of Two Cities…

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With the enormous homeless problem in our country, I thought I would include this video about a wealthy Piedmont, California businessman living in the extremely wealthy, lily white suburb of San Franciso, whose heart goes out to a homeless couple who have been living on the street for ten years in Oakland, California. He decides to invite them to come live in his big sprawling home. Although this is just one story of three people whose lives happen to intersect, it reveals some of the complexities of the homeless problem and the difficulties of finding simple solutions. It is also a love story.


painting of the week


Pam Smilow, New Harbor Series, mixed media on canvas, 54” x 80”  $8500.

Pam Smilow, New Harbor Series, mixed media on canvas, 54” x 80” $8500.

So many of the elements in this painting are in my wheelhouse already, even before arriving in Maine and observing the local scenery here this time around. I have been coming to this area for most of my life and my vocabulary has always included ladders, windows, houses, houses and ramshackle shacks, moons and birds.

Beautiful land and seascapes and a change of scene are always a good idea for any artist. This ain't New York City! I am getting a lot of work done up here...

Mother's Day is around the corner. Below are links to Smilow + Mathiesen ArtSHOP products. Please consider us when in need of a special gift.


Self Portrait going grey in the time of Covid…

Self Portrait going grey in the time of Covid…


About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow created the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her, check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.

blog no. 15: Jose Andres, Amanda Gorman, Paper Clips


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I have watched almost every minute of the so far 10 day trial of police officer Derek Chauvin, taking place right now in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Some people might call me a masochist, but I somehow feel a duty to bear witness and understand the case inside out. Dr. Martin Tobin, a well respected pulmonologist and critical care physician was a truly expert witness and knocked it out of the park on Thursday for the prosecution in my opinion. He disputed definitively, in a very systematic and clear manner, every single argument the defense is making. In the process, he also set a new benchmark for witness testimony, questioned many aspects of the use of lethal force, and raised important questions regarding certain crime laboratory practices that he considers misleading. On the latter point, he cited one lab in San Diego that seems to be the go to place for many police departments across the country when they are trying to make a case for justification of their use of lethal force. Not sure this particular California lab has anything to do with this case (to be determined this coming week), but I hope an investigative journalist will look further into these practices more deeply.

three things we love

Chef Jose Andres started off making paellas with is dad in his native Spain.

Chef Jose Andres started off making paellas with is dad in his native Spain.

Who said one person can't change the world? Listen to the story of Spanish American chef Jose Andres, who started his illustrious career as a teenager in Barcelona, Spain when he enrolled in culinary school at the age of fifteen. He went on to work for three years at what was known as one of the most celebrated innovative restaurants in the world, El Bulli in Roses, Spain before ending up in the Big Apple New York City, at the age of 21. From cook, to chef, to head chef to restauranteur himself, Andres is now the head of Think Big Group, owner of multiple notable restaurants across the country and whose mission is, in their own words, to "change the world through the power of food." But Andres has a major philanthropic side, inspired at first by DC Central Kitchen (whose mission is to train ex-cons in the culinary arts at the same time recycling food in the DC area and providing it to service organizations where it is most needed). Spurred into action after the Haitian earthquake of 2010, Andres then founded his own organization to combat hunger throughout the world: World Central Kitchen. Through this nonprofit, he and his team have provided sustenance to hungry people in the wake of disasters all over the globe, serving countless meals to needy citizens in such countries as Peru, Nicaragua, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Uganda, Zambia, Cambodia, and the United States to name a few. If you are interested in learning more about this fantastic humanitarian and how he sees the role and future of restaurants, here is a recent interview with him and Trevor Noah. And as a little aside, all the more power to Jose Andres for standing up to one of my least favorite people: right wing Ann Coulter who recently conducted a diatribe against him quoted by Joseph Choi in the Hill of Dec.17,2020.

Art by Brenda Barrios @bbbarrios—check out her instagram to see more of her amazing artwork.

Art by Brenda Barrios @bbbarrios—check out her instagram to see more of her amazing artwork.

Do you know the song by Alicia Keyes, "This Girl is on Fire? I think these words were written to describe Amanda Gorman, the young woman who has literally taken the world by a storm after reading her poem The Hill We Climb at Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony on January 20, 2021. (It was Jill Biden who suggested her)....She started off as a bookworm with a speech impediment, daughter of a single mom with an equally talented twin sister. If you have any doubt that I am overstating her power, intelligence and determination, listen to Amanda on Moth Radio in 2017 speak her truth, recounting her story of trying out for the Broadway's Lion King in New York City. Gorman has racked up so many accolades by now that I won't even venture to list them but suffice it to say that because of her, we now have a U.S. Youth Poet Laureate and she is it. She has her own organization as founder and executive director of One Pen, One Page, which promotes literacy through creative writing programming for underserved youth, is a published author and has a children's book coming out in September 2021 which is already ahead of time on the bestseller list (not sure how that works). I don't think this 15 minutes of fame rule will apply to her--she is going places and I'm willing to bet that she will not stop at anything short of the White House...

Is there anything this woman can’t do?—Look for Amanda Gorman  and illustrator Loren Long ‘s new children’s book, Change Sings, to be released in September of  2021.

Is there anything this woman can’t do?—Look for Amanda Gorman and illustrator Loren Long ‘s new children’s book, Change Sings, to be released in September of 2021.

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In honor of Holocasut Remembrance Day, I decided to look for a documentary that so moved me a number of years ago entitled Paper Clips. In order to teach the Holocaust and what happens when prejudice goes unchecked, three teachers in one school in an unlikely town in rural Tennessee got together and decided on a novel and creative approach. They realized that the kids could not imagine what 6 million looked like--when it gets to such big numbers, it is very hard to picture. So to signify the death of six million Jews during the Holocaust, the teachers and students of Whitwell Middle School decided to write letters and appeal to anyone and everyone to help them gather 6 million paper clips, inspired by the Norwegians who wore paper clips to defy Nazi occupation during World War II. They ended up getting much much more than actual paper clips--their letters led to incredible experiences that changed the kids and transformed the town. Don't want to spoil the story but I guarantee you it is a good one...which ended up in a Children's Holocaust Memorial Museum on school property that stands to this day. The woman behind the whole story is a woman named Linda Hooper, interviewed here by Rabbi Mark A. Golub for Jewish Broadcasting Service. And if you want to hear a wild and quirky story that touches on the Paper Clip Memorial story, check out this documentary about a bunch of British bikers touring the south of the United States: Jews on Bikes-Visiting The Paper Clips Project


painting of the week


Vegetable Garden, mixed media on canvas, 50” x 80”   Painting I donated to the Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, California—the school that hosts Alice Water’s pioneer program The Edible Schoolyard.

Vegetable Garden, mixed media on canvas, 50” x 80” Painting I donated to the Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, California—the school that hosts Alice Water’s pioneer program The Edible Schoolyard.

I originally painted this canvas in the dead of winter in New York City, figuring the closest I would get to spring at that time would be to paint it myself. In 2010, enamored with the incredible Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame, I decided to donate it to the school that hosts her community garden project The Edible Schoolyard. To date, this progam has changed the life and eating habits of so many middle school students at the Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, California and her philosophy has grown into a nationwide movement of teaching healthy eating, vegetable gardening and community spirit in many of our children's schools across the country. To learn more about its creator, Alice Waters, and how she got into cooking in the first place, PBS American Masters series has a wonderful documentary about this amazing woman and the simplicity of her cooking-- where fresh and local food and the farmers are the stars. If you ever get a chance to eat at her restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, what a treat you will have.

Below are links to our ArtSHOP, Smilow + Mathiesen paintings and two favorite CHARITIES


Self Portrait going grey in the time of Covid…

Self Portrait going grey in the time of Covid…


About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow created the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her, check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.

blog no. 14: Heather Cox Richardson, Stanley Kunitz, Ragnar Kjartansson, Black Lives Matter


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A lot going on in my week and I have to confess I have been glued to Courttv.com much of it, watching the George Floyd trial. It has been heart wrenching to see and a lot of the time I had to shut my eyes and ears but somehow I think it is important to witness our justice system up close and personal and how it does (or doesn't) work.

If I weren't an artist, I think I would have chosen to be a journalist or lawyer. I always admired my dad for using his art to express a political opinion. My art though, I thought, was more abstract and all about just adding some more beauty to the world. Until the pandemic that is...I was isolated and had a dream about my late sister, Judy Smilow (1958-2018) who I missed terribly. I painted a 7-foot portrait of her and it was as if she was still with me somehow. It gave me comfort and that began a whole series of 20+ larger than life portraits of living and deceased friends and family to hang out with. Then came the Black Lives Matter movement and instead of attending the protest marches (I was too scared of Covid-19), I decided to make portraits of some of the victims of police brutality. Together with an old dear friend from Chicago who happened to be a graphic designer (Barbara Cotterall Murphy of Murphy Design), we made the images into posters and for those brave enough to go out and march, we would donate the high res images for people to print on their own. If you know anyone who might like to receive these free high res images of any of these posters, please let them know where they can get them.

Some political art by my father, Mel Smilow, made during the 1960's civil rights movement:

three things we love

Boston College History Professor  and Historian  Heather Cox Richardson (photo courtesy The New York Times)

Boston College History Professor and Historian Heather Cox Richardson (photo courtesy The New York Times)

"Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Famous words we have all heard over and over again but do we heed it? We are so fortunate to have history professor Heather Cox Richardson in our lives during this particular time in history to educate us. I have written about her before but feel compelled to include her again in my blog. This very recent 49 minute interview I feature here from Maine Public Radio is a must listen for anyone interested in where we find ourselves today in the U.S. of A. I cannot say enough about her, her storytelling abilities, her ability to make American history come alive and to put so many issues of the day in context. I also wake up to her daily email every morning. Subscribe here to her Letters from an American" if you want to also. And don't take my word for it--I am not the only one who finds her so crucial to our zeitgeist right now. Here is an article about her in the New York Times .

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Two time U.S. Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006)

Two time U.S. Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006)

This blog gives me an opportunity to delve deeper into things I have loved but not necessarily known that much about and in this case, the featured poem below hung on my wall over my desk for many years but I really knew very little about its writer. April is National Poetry Month (who is the one who designates these things?) and I am no poetry expert but The Long Boat by Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006) struck a deep cord with me that continues to this day.

The Long Boat

When his boat snapped loose
from its mooring, under
the screaking of the gulls,
he tried at first to wave
to his dear ones on shore,
but in the rolling fog
they had already lost their faces.
Too tired even to choose
between jumping and calling,
somehow he felt absolved and free
of his burdens, those mottoes
stamped on his name-tag:
conscience, ambition, and all
that caring.
He was content to lie down
with the family ghosts
in the slop of his cradle,
buffeted by the storm,
endlessly drifting.
Peace! Peace!
To be rocked by the Infinite!
As if it didn't matter
which way was home;
as if he didn't know
he loved the earth so much
he wanted to stay forever.

The poem speaks for itself but if you would like to know more about this man, twice U.S. Poet Laureate, avid gardener , winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry and many other prestigious accolades, I include his New York Times obituary here, a shorter National Public Radio piece on him and also a longer in depth interview he gave with the poet Gregory Orr.

Ragnar Kjartansson is not a household name but in The Visitors, an immersive, nine-screen video art installation, he has created a remarkable art piece that is truly one of the best museum shows I have ever seen. I bring it to your attention in case you can still get a chance to see it. It has been around for quite a few years but it seems to still be making the rounds and as we open up from the pandemic. It is currently on view in Boston at the Museum of Contemporary Art through August 15, 2021, at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia through May 9, 2021; and at the Reykjavik Art Museum in Iceland through September 19, 2021. I first stumbled upon it in San Francisco at SFMOMA in 2017 quite by accident since I rarely had any use for video and usually just walked by (my bad). The Guardian literally puts it at number one “best art of the 21st century.” It is almost impossible to describe but by way of preview, here is Kjartansson himself describing the piece, the ideas behind it, his experience making it and also a "doesn't do it justice" version you can experience on your cell phone with headphones.


painting of the week


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For more information on these free Black Lives Matter posters, please contact me.


Self Portrait going grey in the time of Covid…

Self Portrait going grey in the time of Covid…


About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow created the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her, check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.

blog no. 13: Gert Mathiesen


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Gert Mathiesen used to time his annual visits to Denmark to correspond with the blooming of the anemones.

Gert Mathiesen used to time his annual visits to Denmark to correspond with the blooming of the anemones.

Gert, Hanne and Palle Mathiesen (Gert was the youngest), Esbjerg, Denmark, cerca 1954

Gert, Hanne and Palle Mathiesen (Gert was the youngest), Esbjerg, Denmark, cerca 1954

One of the good things about dying is that your aging gets stopped dead in its tracks (no pun intended). Hard to believe that my late husband, Gert Mathiesen, would have been 70 years old today! In the words of Bob Dylan, he will always remain forever a young 62 in my mind...

People handle grief in different ways. My way of coping with his loss (and it has already been eight years) is to celebrate him and his art and by keeping him present in all of our hearts and minds. I dedicate this issue of my blog to him.

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A suntanned Gert Mathiesen in front of a series of his linocuts.

A suntanned Gert Mathiesen in front of a series of his linocuts.

Click here to read a wonderful essay about
Gert Mathiesen and his art.

It is hot off the press, written by Frank Matheis as part of his new Hammond Museum essay series entitled In Other Words. Upon reading the essay, our daughter Morgan stated excitedly, "This is by far the best piece of writing I have seen on Gert--he really "got" him!"

In addition to his other excellent writings on artists and their art, Matheis' first love is music. An expert on the blues. Matheis has published over 600 music articles, produced an award winning radio blues documentary (that aired on three continents) and spent nearly a decade on the radio in New York/Connecticut hosting wild blues and roots shows. He has a new book out about the blues tradition in our nation's capital entitled Sweet Bitter Blues – Washington DC’s Homemade Blues, which he wrote in collaboration with the harmonica player Phil Wiggins.

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Mathiesen in Berkeley, California 2012

Mathiesen in Berkeley, California 2012

Gert working on our Mexican bark paper animal pieces in his studio on East 64th Street

Gert working on our Mexican bark paper animal pieces in his studio on East 64th Street

Gert had a band called The Black Witches.

Gert had a band called The Black Witches.

Playing the drum set in a client’s home in the middle of an appointment to show art.

Playing the drum set in a client’s home in the middle of an appointment to show art.

Sit back and enjoy this compilation of Gert's FAVORITE MUSIC by clicking all the links below. He always told me he wanted an American girlfriend so he could learn all the words to the songs he loved. Starting off as a young boy listening to Radio Luxembourg with the radio under his pillow, Gert acquired an eclectic taste in all types of music. Here are some of his favorites: Hotel California, which propelled him to drive across the country soon after arriving in New York to visit his brother and was probably his theme song in the early days. Bob Dylan was no doubt top of his list and it would really be hard to choose a particular album or song but if I had to, it might be the Time Out of Mind album and the song It's Not Dark Yet. John Prine defintely spoke to him and he got a kick out of the song In Spite of Ourselves. among many others. Of course, as a European of a certain age, he grew up with Leonard Cohen and absolutely loved him although he really liked Jennifer Warnes renditions of Cohen's songs on the album Famous Blue Raincoat best. He loved Johnny Cash, especially Ring of Fire and he loved Johnny's daughter Rosanne too, playing Tennessee Flat Top Box and other songs from the album King's Record Shop. He went crazy over The Travelling Wilburys when their record came out and he definitely had a special place in his heart for Tom Waits, especially Hope I Don't Fall In Love With You and Jersey Girl. He loved so many songs of Otis Redding and shifting gears, if you want to spend a leisurely morning listening to his favorite classical piece, here's Mozart's Jupiter Symphony. P.S. His mom always thought he would have made a great rock star...

Gert made al lot of music posters  and close to forty theatre posters over the years.

Gert made al lot of music posters and close to forty theatre posters over the years.

Smørrebrød

Smørrebrød

Gratin Dauphinois

Gratin Dauphinois

This column would not be complete without writing about the third most important thing in Gert's life after art and music (and his family)--he loved to eat. He ate a slim breakfast, if at all a croissant and a cup of tea. But it was up from there. Many of his favorite foods were comfort foods he grew up on in Esbjerg, Denmark and I include some of those recipes here: smørrebrød--black bread with his favorite toppings like leverpostej, gratin dauphinois, and his favorite midnight snack biksemad (the Danish version of leftovers, topped with an egg). He also liked more gourmet foods and loved to eat out although he never liked a restaurant with a stuffy atmosphere, preferring to sit at the bar. His favorite restaurants in New York were his beloved neighborhood Bistro 61 (now defunct) and probably top of the list for special lunches, Il Buco in downtown Manhattan. He also loved Picco Restaurant in Marin County, California.

And now finally, a few more random things he loved, always passionately: loafers, the ocean, swimming, rosé wine before it became fashionable, fishing, flowers, harbors, potatoes (we were married on the beach between two potato fields), Puerto Rico, old episodes of Ozzy Osbourne, history, Tuesdays (which was the day he dedicated solely to reading), the films Shawshank Redemption and Forrest Gump, and of course ceramics, printmaking and painting.

We were married in Bridgehampton, New York in 1992

We were married in Bridgehampton, New York in 1992

Gert’s pride and joy—his children and grandchildren: Toran, Jonathan, Rocsi and Morgan Mathiesen

Gert’s pride and joy—his children and grandchildren: Toran, Jonathan, Rocsi and Morgan Mathiesen


painting of the week

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Below are links to our ArtSHOP, Smilow + Mathiesen BOOKS and a favorite CHARITY


Self Portrait going grey in the time of Covid…

Self Portrait going grey in the time of Covid…


About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow created the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her, check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.