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thecommonviewer.bsky.social
TheCommonViewer
@thecommonviewer.bsky.social
73 followers 240 following 18 posts
Independent researcher.
British Art Groups 1830s-1930s.
Early 20th century Art & Visual Culture: London, Paris, Moscow & beyond.
Work in (slow) progress: "Nancy Cunard - An Uncommon Viewer".
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annagirling.bsky.social
Pearl Binder (artist, writer, & East End chronicler): ‘the future of European Culture is being decided on Spanish soil. All sincere writers must support the legal Spanish Government in its heroic struggle for learning and liberty against the dark forces of General Franco. Ralph Fox was one of us.’
Pearl Binder TO-DAY THE FUTURE of European Culture is being decided on Spanish soil. All sincere writers must support the legal Spanish Government in its heroic struggle for learning and liberty against the dark forces of General Franco. Ralph Fox was one of us.
February 9, 2026 at 5:38 PM
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bhgross144.bsky.social
Fun fact: Cunard composed a poem while sitting for McCown's 1923 portrait. Her unpublished typescript can also be found in @ransomcenter.bsky.social's collections.

For further details, check out Tracy Bonfitto's blog post from last March: sites.utexas.edu/ransomcenter...

#speccolls #humanities 🗃️📜📚
In the Studio Is it March, spring, winter, autumn, twilight, noon Told in this distant sound of cuckoo clocks? Sunday it is—five lilies in swoon Decay against your wall, aggressive flocks Of alley-starlings aggravate a mood. The rain drops pensively. ‘If one could paint, Combine the abstract with a certain rude Individual form, knot passion with restraint… If one could use the murk that fills a brain, Undo old symbols and beget again Fresh meaning on dead emblem…’ so one lies Here timeless, while the lilies’ withering skin Attests the hours, and rain sweeps from the skies, The bird sits on the chimney, looking in. Nancy Cunard (British, 1896–1965), “In the Studio,” 1923, unpublished poem. Unpublished scrapbook 1921–1927, Nancy Cunard Collection, 26.3, Harry Ransom Center.
May 28, 2025 at 5:58 PM
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bhgross144.bsky.social
It's lovely, though I've also enjoyed the portrait of Nancy Cunard which has been on display in the lobby while Frida was on tour.

youtu.be/QbwVJt32wB0?...

(I've only seen a few of the Diego & Frida drawings, which are similarly impressive...)
A Closer Look: Eugene McCown's 1923 Portrait of Nancy Cunard
YouTube video by Harry Ransom Center
youtu.be
August 8, 2025 at 3:37 PM