Tag: Gilded Gentleman

Categories
The Gilded Gentleman Writers and Artists

Stealing a Smile: The First Theft from the Louvre, Paris 1911

Mona Lisa is returned to the museum, January 1914

The enigmatic smile of the Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, at its longtime home of the Louvre in Paris, has captured the attention of the public for centuries.

Few people realize however that on a warm summer morning in Paris in the year 1911, the painting was stolen — and remained missing for over two years. 

Press hysteria surrounding this unusual robbery made the masterwork of Da Vinci’s quite simply the most famous painting in the world. 

But much is still murky about the circumstances of its theft and recovery.

Join The Gilded Gentleman as he takes a look at this case and and attempts to piece it together. 

The Gilded Gentleman Podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Overcast.

This episode originally ran in February 2023, but recent events demanded its return in a newly re-edited, re-mastered edition. 

Is This Dapper Man Going to Crack the Louvre Heist Case?

Thibault Camus/Associated Press in the New York Times

Categories
The Gilded Gentleman Women's History Writers and Artists

The Surprising Life of a Central Park Sculptor

Emma Stebbins is most noted for her iconic bronze statue The Angel of the Waters which was placed on Central Park’s Bethesda Terrace in 1873. 

You may be aware of parts of the Stebbins’ biography. Her Angel was the first public statue in New York produced by a woman and her life included a domestic partnership with another woman. But there is much more in the story. 

This is the story of a creative artistic woman whose life, which began in early 19th-century New York, expanded and flourished in a community of fellow artists and sculptors in mid-century Rome. 

Image courtesy Central Park

In this episode of The Gilded Gentleman podcast, journalist and biographer Maria Teresa Cometto — author of Emma and the Angel of Central Park — joins host Carl Raymond for a look into the life of this enigmatic woman.

This is a very Italian story in many ways, set against the backdrop of the ruins, museums, and palaces of classical Rome. Emma’s story includes love, betrayal, inspiration, tragedy, and even a bit of mystery. 

LISTEN HERE: The Sculptor and the Angel: The Untold Story of Emma Stebbins

And subscribe to the Gilded Gentleman podcast so you don’t miss an episode.

Author Maria Teresa Cometto

 And after you’ve listened to this episode of The Gilded Gentleman, revisit last year’s Bowery Boys podcast episode on the early years of Central Park. The show also features the history of Bethesda Fountain featuring historian Sara Cedar Miller.

Categories
Black History The Gilded Gentleman

Black Gotham: Origins of Gilded Age New York’s Black Elite

At left Maritcha Remond Lyons; at right the character of Peggy Scott (played by Denèe Benton) on The Gilded Age

NEW from The Gilded Gentleman podcast — some overlooked history of the 19th century, the story of black life and social class in New York City.

Dr. Carla Peterson, author of Black Gotham: Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York City, joins Carl to share her research and perspective on the growth and development of the prosperous black professional class throughout the nineteenth century up to the Gilded Age.

In her 2012 groundbreaking book, Peterson sheds light on how this particular corner of the black community grew as New York became enriched in the late 19th century. She provides insight into leading African-American figures of the day, many missing in contemporary accounts of the period. 

And believe it or not, a few characters from the HBO series “The Gilded Age” were designed with Black Gotham in mind. In particular, the father of Peggy Scott (played by Denée Benton) was based on Peterson’s own ancestral family. 

LISTEN HERE OR ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST PLAYER:

And for other Bowery Boys podcasts on similar subjects, follow up your listening with these shows: