Arts Archives - Page 9 of 9 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

Pittsburgh has always left vivid impressions on the mind of the outsider. For some reason, however, visiting writers have been less kind to Pittsburgh than visiting artists. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”21″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] Over 20 years ago, flying to this city for the first time, I was reading a 1927 essay by H.L. Mencken, describing his …

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Arts

Andy’s Not the Only One

by Graham Shearing

Sometimes when trying to assess the importance of any one artist, I am reduced to playing the auction trick. What’s it worth? People who have pooh-poohed Andy Warhol think twice when they hear one of his paintings sells for $14 million. It may be the wrong road to art appreciation, but in our glib, new …

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Arts

Art Collector G. David Thompson

by Graham Shearing

What might be described as the great collections built up by Pittsburghers — those of, say, Henry Clay Frick, Gertrude and Leo Stein, Duncan Phillips, Andrew and Paul Mellon respectively, and Walter Arensberg — are perhaps best understood as being financed by Pittsburgh. The actual collections were built up elsewhere. That is not true of …

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Arts

There is Life Underground

by Corilyn Shropshire

On a recent Friday evening, the balcony in the South Side’s Rex Theater was at a near fever pitch. Amid a buzzing crowd, models were sipping cocktails and slipping into their custom-made outfits while a new rock band, Magdalene, jammed on the stage below. The evening was conceived as a debut concert for Magdalene, but …

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