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Una Stubbs, veteran actress known for 'Sherlock,' dies at 84
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Una Stubbs, the veteran British actress best known to American audiences for her role as Mrs. Hudson, the landlady to Benedict Cumberbatchs Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series Sherlock, died Thursday at her home in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was 84. Her death was confirmed by her agent, Rebecca Blond. Stubbs was a recognizable face in Britain, where she had appeared in comedic and dramatic roles onstage, on screen and on television for more than half a century, including in the long-running soap opera EastEnders and the sitcom Till Death Us Do Part. American television viewers knew her best as Mrs. Hudson, the motherly landlady to Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock. ... More

Leon Litwack, 91, dies; Changed how scholars portray Black history
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Leon Litwack, a leather-jacket-wearing, blues-loving historian whose pioneering books on slavery and its aftermath demonstrated how Black people thought about and shaped their own liberation, even as they were constrained by racism in American society, died Aug. 5 at his home in Berkeley, California. He was 91. His wife, Rhoda Litwack, said the cause was bladder cancer. Litwack, a son of left-wing immigrants from Russia, brought an ethos of patriotic dissent to both his teaching and his scholarship at the University of California, Berkeley, insisting that the historians job is to give voice to the marginalized and to make the well-off uncomfortable. He sought to teach students, he said in a 2001 interview, to feel the past in ways that may be genuinely disturbing. Beginning in the early 1960s, a time when many ... More

When dance shut down, these directors banded together
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Last summer, Jonathan Stafford, artistic director of New York City Ballet, was feeling isolated and anxious. It was a few months into the pandemic, and the strangeness of lockdown and the turmoil and urgency of the Black Lives Matter protests were on his mind. City Ballets performances, programs and plans had come to an abrupt halt as they had for performing arts organizations across the country. No one knew when or how theaters would open again. Many dancers had fled to family or friends outside the city; most didnt have adequate space to keep up the intense physical training needed to keep in shape for performance. A dance companys artistic director nurtures dancers, conceives and plans seasons and tours, and keeps in close touch with every department from fundraising and marketing to costume making. ... More

Finding a new theater audience, far from France's cities
MAURENS (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- The village of Maurens, 300 miles south of Paris, has a population of around 1,000. It has a church; a single bakery; and, since 2013, a summer theater festival, the ThÃ©Ã¢tre du Roi de Coeur. One recent evening, the scale of the events ambition was obvious. On an open-air wooden stage, a cast of 12 put impressive energy into Fanny, Me and the Others, a four-hour adaptation of a Marcel Pagnol trilogy. Even when a drizzle started, the members of the audience, sitting on chairs and haystacks, opened their umbrellas and stayed put. The Roi de Coeur isnt alone in bringing large-scale theater to rural backyards. It is one of 17 founding members of Frances Federation of Local Festivals and Theaters, which got underway last month at the Avignon Festival. Its members, dotted around the country in areas with few ... More

Sediment, mapping, the Arctic, the deep sea and lockdown drawings in exhibition of work by Mariele Neudecker
TAUNTON.- The Deep Sea, environmental concerns, plastics and lockdown have all inspired works by Mariele Neudecker for her new solo exhibition Sediment at Hestercombe Gallery, Somerset. Sediment brings together three decades of work by celebrated German artist Mariele Neudecker, who works at the crossover of art and science. Exploring topics such as mapping, perception, the invisible, painting and the history of art, her multimedia practice incorporates sculpture, video, painting, photography and sound. Hestercombe has developed a strong programme of contemporary art and is working towards its vision of a cultural centre which brings together creativity with the local environment of formal gardens and nature. Highlights ... More

Nanci Griffith, singer who mixed folk and country, dies at 68
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Nanci Griffith, the Texas-born singer and songwriter known for thoughtful narrative songs like Love at the Five and Dime and Trouble in the Fields, has died. She was 68. Her death was announced by her management company, Gold Mountain Entertainment. The companys statement provided no further information and said only, It was Nancis wish that no further formal statement or press release happen for a week following her passing. Griffith won the 1994 Grammy Award for best contemporary folk album for Other Voices, Other Rooms. Over a recording career that spanned five decades and about 20 albums, she was praised by critics for straddling the worlds of folk and country and for writing lyrics that were both vivid and literary. She began her career on the thriving Austin, Texas, scene of the mid-1970s. ... More

Veritas Editions presents A Trilogy of Masters: Kenro Izu, Paul Caponigro, George Tice
NEW YORK, NY.- Veritas Editions, the premier publishing house specializing in fine press and limited edition books, portfolios and prints, announced the publication this autumn of monographs by three master photographers, Kenro Izu (born 1949, Osaka, Japan), George Tice (born 1938, Newark, NJ), and Paul Caponigro (born 1932, Boston, MA). For Izu, Veritas Editions will produce 3 books: a Photobook, a Limited Edition Photobook, and a Fine Press Edition. For Tice, Veritas Editions will produce 2 books: a Photobook, and a Limited Edition Photobook. For Caponigro, 2 books will be produced: a Fine Press Edition, and a Photobook-style Facsimile of the Fine Press Edition. Formed in 2014 by photographic artist Craig Alan Huber, Veritas Editions describes itself as dedicated to communicating the beauty in truth, and the truth in beauty, via photographic ... More

High-grade comics grab spotlight in first modern age showcase auction
DALLAS, TX.- The next generation of comics, including the largest selection of Signature Series comic books, will be featured in a dedicated auction of their own for the first time in Heritage Auctions Certified Modern Age Comics Showcase Auction Aug. 26. This is a historic event for Modern Age comics, those from 1980 through today, Heritage Auctions Comics Specialist Xavier Chavez said. These will be some of the most important comics to future generations of collectors. This is the first time an event like this is being held at Heritage Auctions, and it has the most Signature Series books certified signed copies witnessed by CGC ever offered. There obviously is lots of value in Golden Age and Silver Age comics, but there is a lot of value to be found in Modern Age, as the next generation gets nostalgic, buying back memories. There are more than 550 ... More

A century's worth of animation art makes history at Heritage Auctions
DALLAS, TX.- Biographer John Canemaker once wrote that Mary Blair's conceptual paintings for such films as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Cinderella were "as delicious as feasting on rainbows." Blair was Walt Disney's favorite artist, and this weekend, she was the favorite, too, of the more than 4,400 bidders who participated in Heritage Auctions' record-setting $4.5-million three-day Animation Art Signature Auction. It was a thrilling three days as hundreds of works throughout the century-spanning event shattered their estimates, with record prices realized from every single major animation studio: Disney, Warner Brothers, Hanna-Barbera, Fleischer Studios, MGM and Melendez Films. The auction had a record turnout and was a near sell-out, with more than 1,700 production cels, conceptual paintings, drawings, sketches and even statues finding ... More

Preston Evans to offer the lifetime collection of Kim Hammergren
MACON, GA.- Just like the news of Mark Twains death, reports of Preston Evanss retirement have been greatly exaggerated. The longtime auctioneer will find himself conducting yet another major two-day auction event, in Macon, on back-to-back days and at a different venue each day, on Labor Day weekend, September 3-4. The sale will liquidate the estate of Kim Hammergren. The past eighteen months have been difficult in so many ways, and my heart goes out to all who have been severely affected by the pandemic, Mr. Evans said from his home in Macon. One loss that was especially difficult for me was the loss of my longtime friend, Kim Hammergren. Im honored to have been asked by his wife Peggy and his children to liquidate his collections. Mr. Evans said a huge overflow of items, especially jukebox parts and accessories, will be sold in Auction ... More

Cape Ann landscape inspires Learning to Swim exhibit at Cape Ann Museum Green
GLOUCESTER, MASS.- Cape Ann has many places to learn to swim -- beaches, harbors, quarries, ponds, and swimming pools. Generations of people on Cape Ann have swum in these waters and generations of artists have depicted them. As summer in New England continues, the iconic pastime is getting an interactive celebration through the lens of painters and photographers. Learning to Swim is an exhibition that pairs an interactive map where locals can share their memories of learning to swim with artwork and archival photographs from the Museums collection that depicts these popular swimming spots. Opening at the Cape Ann Museum Greens Janet & William Ellery James Center on August 14, the exhibit will run through September 12. Paintings by Joy Halsted, Elaine Wing, Norma Cuneo, Jessica Tam, Bernard Chaet, Jeff Weaver, and Dorothy ... More