Elinor Nauen

I love the Cloisters more every time I go. Today I loved a 12th-century fresco of a camel with a modern & insouciant air; the glass (stained, painted); & a "Netherlandish" triptych of the Annunciation that I couldn't find the last time I was there. It is painted with exquisite clarity, & each panel has an inside & a window to the outside (clouds, towns). There's a mosquito-size angel flying in on a sunbeam & fabulous Dutch faces.

Also, I went with Bessie, the best traveling companion!  Read More 

Why don't I go up there all the time, other than that it's a rather long train ride? It's so wonderful to get lost in the medieval art & stones, with that view of the Hudson & the gardens of Fort Tryon Park along the way.

We stopped into the Mother Cabrini shrine just south of the Park. Her actual remains are there in a glass case. She died in 1917. She had a very nice face & is the patron saint of immigrants. I wish all those wall-builders would stop in & talk to the lovely nuns (sisters? is that the same thing?).  Read More