Q. The freedom of your own wheels – for a day, for a weekend, for real. How have artists over the decades captured car life? . A. Do any of these renowned paintings remind you of your own car experiences, in youth and beyond? . . Ramon Casas. Ramon Casas

Q. In Luke 1:26 we find the moment when ‘the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth’ to tell Mary that she has found favour with God … ‘And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call

Q. Flash nostalgia is a curious thing. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the mind is abuzz: “remember when we used to…” Today’s random nostalgic nudge: the world of ‘Dial A.’  How many of us remember sneaking to the phone as kids to test out the much advertised Dial A services? Dial

Q. If band class battles are any indication, we should all have triangles and glockenspiels in our music nooks. Which instruments are young people most excited to take home and play? . A. In 2022, London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra surveyed 1,000 students from the ages of 6 to 18. Did

Q. Happy National Dog Day! This one’s for you, Chloe. Ever the Queen. 🐶👑 Many of us try our hands at drawing our beloved pups in pencil, pastel, paint. Some of us have little to no success. Which lucky dogs have been captured by artists of renown? . A. Bring

Q. We’re lost in new worlds, we’re learning, we’re finally hearing from long-distance loves, we’re plotting the next stage of our lives. How have artists captured the wonder of reading over the centuries? . A.   Anonymous. A Man Reading. 1660 . Johannes Vermeer. Woman Reading a Letter. 1663 .

Q. Creative partnerships are notoriously combustible. Yet, somehow, composer Richard Rodgers (1902-79) and dramatist/lyricist Oscar Hammerstein (1895-1960) managed to collaborate for nearly two decades, producing beloved musicals from The Sound of Music (💐) to Oklahoma, Carousal, South Pacific, The King and I. The pair also created the Cinderella musical for

Q. The glorious rose has inspired all manner of artists. Take this excerpt from ‘To All Gentleness’, a poem from William Carlos William (1883-1963): ‘Like a cylindrical tank fresh silvered upended on the sidewalk to advertise some plumber’s shop, a profusion of pink roses bending ragged in the rain –

Q. We know the art of music-making is (🧐 can be) a beautiful thing. How have renowned painters captured musicians on canvas? . A. So many gorgeous painting options. Here’s a first set… Rosso Fiorentino. Musical Angel.  1522 . Caravaggio. The Lute Player. 1595 . Caravaggio. The Musicians. 1597 .

Q. It’s a tragically beautiful scene in a strikingly beautiful movie. In Milos Foreman’s 1984 masterpiece Amadeus, we see Mozart in bed, dying, while feverishly voicing his beautiful Requiem. Confutatis. Maledictis. It’s a haunting look into his genius and the toll it has taken on him. As each note takes