Author: Seraphina Calder

From the handcrafted wrought-iron railing of Oheka’s grand staircase, which was inspired by the exterior staircase at Fontainebleau Castle in France, to the eight reflecting pools that dot its grounds, there are endless unique features throughout the estate. The rolling terrain has received the same extensive renovation as the building in recent decades using the original design created by the Olmstead brothers, sons of legendary landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. In addition to the reflecting pools, three elegant fountains have been installed. Across the vast grounds, you’ll find 44 London plane trees in the formal gardens and 2,505 boxwoods around…

A day after issuing a temporary injunction, a federal judge ruled that workers could continue to take down a Confederate monument at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC. The monument is expected to be removed at the end of the week, and will remain in storage until its destination is decided.The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has determined that the monument will come down on January 1, 2024, as part of an ongoing effort to remove Confederate symbols from all places associated with the military: The United States Army maintains the National Cemetery of Arlington. But a group called…

Although Jamie and his siblings were never on set during production, friends who help look after the property witnessed the build-up and described it as if the filmmakers had “picked up the house, turned it upside down and shaken it”. But at the end of the shoot, everything fell back into place.Rattan furniture was Felicia’s favorite, so production designer Kevin Thompson made sure to source rattan pieces for the sets. A wicker table is seen here at the entrance. Courtesy of NetflixProduction designer Kevin Thompson was part of that careful resurgence, as he searched for the best way to represent…

Tschabalala Self is known for her bold and expressive works that often challenge traditional representations of black women. Now it’s her turn to create the digital cover of Nicki Minaj’s December 2023 issue of Vogue. In the issue, Minaj discusses her upcoming fifth studio album, “Pink Friday 2,” which was released on December 8. The painting was based on the photo shoot for the magazine, done by Norman Jean Roy. Born in 1990, Self quickly emerged as a notable figure in the contemporary art world, with solo exhibitions at the ICA Boston and the Hammer Museum. His unique style, characterized…

For more than a few of us, visiting local coffee shops is an essential part of daily life. Whether we’re grabbing a cuppa on the way to the office or setting up shop with a laptop and a cappuccino, coffee shops have become a home away from home. That said, frequenting the same thing for too long can make you appreciate its nuances less with each visit. So no matter where you are, a big city like Singapore or a seasonal spot like Aspen, be sure to check out the local coffee shops that offer more than just a caffeinated…

As the curtain falls on 2023, Art Basel Miami Beach 2023 was a grand finale to a packed calendar of art fairs. The largest art fair in North America, which attracted an astonishing 79,000 visitors, captured this year’s trends and transformations. Throughout the fair, exhibitors reported rekindled enthusiasm among attendees, with several galleries noting the robust return of collectors and the palpable energy that defined this year’s edition. “Our exhibitors came out with works of extraordinary quality and ambition, met with strong attendance from local and international collectors,” Vincenzo de Bellis, director of fairs and exhibition platforms at Art Basel,…

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has removed a rare portrait of the first president of the United States, George Washington, to be sold at auction to raise money for the museum’s acquisition fund. The painting, by famed American portraitist Gilbert Stuart, is estimated to sell for between $1.5 million and $2.5 million at an auction in New York next month.According to Christie’s, the portrait is one of the earliest of Stuart in Washington after the president sat for him in the fall of 1795. Those portraits are known today as the Vaughan series, named after the recipient…

Kanye West seems eager to get rid of his Malibu mansion, a house that is now the most minimal of all minimalist properties. According to the Wall Street Journal, the rapper, producer and designer has put the beachfront home, designed by contemporary minimalist architect Tadao Ando, ​​on the market. In an off-market deal in 2021, Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband paid Richard Sachs (Ashley Olsen’s ex) $57 million for the 4,000-square-foot mansion, but is offering it for just $53 million, clearly accepting that the investment is a loss for him. West gutted the entire place, but never completed renovations to the house,…

For those keeping an eye on the art market, 2023 was characterized by one word: correction. After a string of successful sales and record spending in 2022, many believed that 2023, with its lingering economic uncertainty, would be the year of relative contraction. And given market volatility since the pandemic, many wondered if this year would represent a “new normal” for the art industry.As the year comes to a close, it’s still difficult to speak definitively about the state of the art market in 2023. What we can do, however, is look at some of the key facts that sum…

Dick Wolf, a television producer best known as the creator of the ubiquitous legal and police drama Law and Order, gifted the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York with more than 200 works and a sum that would be said to be in the tens of millions of dollars to endow two galleries that will now bear his name. The donation, announced on December 20, consists mainly of Renaissance and Baroque works spanning from the 15th to the 18th century, but also includes more recent pieces, such as an early landscape painting by Vincent van Gogh, as well as…