When I was about five years old, (in the late-fifties) we went to Santa Fe to visit my grandfather, the artist Pierre Ménager. As well as being a wonderful painter and sculptor, he was also a fabulous cook…well he was French. But he cooked a mixture of Southwest and Creole — especially as a portion […]
Pierre, Rosalea, and The Pink Adobe Read More »
Taos Indians, Madrid New Mexico, July 4, 1930 The mining town Madrid, New Mexico became quite famous in the late twenties and into the forties for its most amazing Christmas Light Shows — its extraordinary themed dioramas and its “Toyland” — a Christmas wonderland built by the miners for their children. I have posted earlier
A Glimpse into Madrid, New Mexico, 1929 to 1945 Read More »
Part of the pleasure of doing research for a new novel is discovering little gems of social history, such as this terrific work of the mid 19th century, "Gestural Expression of the Ancients in the light of Neapolitan Gesturing" by Andrea de Jorio. De Jorio, a cleric and a Canon of the Cathedral of Naples, was
The Horn and The Fig, Neapolitian Gestures Read More »
On Sundays my daughter spends the day making Mexican mole — the deep brown chocolate and chile sauce that fills the house with its rich aroma and the stinging scent of roasting chiles that makes our eyes weep. The ingredients fill every inch of counter space around the stove — dried ancho and guajillo chiles
I almost forgot about this little drawing which my grandfather drew in one of his letters…makes me want to forget email, forget text-messages, and return to the art of illustrated letters. His spelling in English was whimsical, but I loved his handwriting with its bold flourishes and the margins (sometimes even the middle of
Pierre’s Desert Easter Drawings Read More »
Ok..so here are two more photos of my father Emile with his cousins on leave after the liberation of Paris (a follow up to the post below). I am almost certain the man is his cousin Yves Jouffa and the woman Yves sister Roselyne– but I am waiting for the family in France to confirm this.
Emile On Leave: Two More Read More »
I never cease to be amazed at the ability of the internet to suddenly draw connections between people. Yesterday I posted examples of my grandfather's marginal drawings from a letter dated 1962. And that night I received an email with a photograph of a painting made by Pierre Ménager in 1962. It was commissioned by
Pierre Manager Zuni Shalako Ceremony Read More »
