Theodore Grunewald

@tedgrunewald

🍉 • art • architecture • historic preservation • urbanism • ecology • advocacy • NYC Landmarks whisperer • wit wry and champagne dry Distractedly commencing a dilatory relocation from that other place.

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Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· 26d

In my grandfather's day, the super-rich were largely content breeding thoroughbred horses.

American equestrian Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt (1880- 1925) and his fiancee ( ), riding an open-top carriage at the Newport Horse Show in Newport, Rhode Island, circa 1905. (Photo by Archive Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· 26d

Yes, indeed —and the Sears catalog playhouse my brother and I shared looks positively staid by comparison!

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· 26d

😉

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· 26d

❤️ Astonishingly, he's 92 years old! His 10 perfectly-sited pieces in the permanent collection at Storm King Art Center are well-worth a trip to the Hudson Valley to experience them. Stunners all: collections.stormking.org/Browse/allwo...

Mark di Suvero installing "Jeanne" (2014-2015) in the South Fields, Storm King Art Center, July 2015.
Photo by Jerry L. Thompson

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· 26d

Historically chic stripes worn on the Venice Lido.

Gerald and Sara Murphy on the Lido, Venice (1923)

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· 28d

The casting is ham-fisted with visible seams, holes & casting flaws disguised. The structure & assembly of the pedestal is strictly amateur-hour. —A complete, total pastiche! All of their imagery reeks of AI deepfake. I don't trust it. The last thing I was expecting was an artisanal Patriot Front!

"Liberty" statue installation on Freedom Plaza in Washington DC from Atelier Missor Xitter feed.

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· 28d

Putting aside James Edward Kelly's 1923 equestrian statue of Caesar Rodney, I've found no authoritative sources crediting the sculptor(s) of the "Prison Ship Martyrs" or the “12 Soldiers of the Revolution”. Atelier Missor seems to be claiming only the "Liberty" in a video on their Xitter feed.

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jul 14

"Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking."

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jul 12

Thanks for the clarification, Brian. It's my understanding that *all* of the artworks in the Kennedy Center's African Room have been removed, and that the public still does *not* know what has happened to those artworks, nor where they are today. www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

I was told that we, the Kennedy Center, wanted new art to replace the outgoing art for the reopening. And so what I was tasked with was contacting donors, and, in some cases, that's foreign nations that made donations to the American people by way of the Kennedy Center, and asked them to remove their work or in some cases paid to remove it if it was a statue that was installed outside that had to be dug up.

Without my knowledge, the African Room, which is again one of these lounges, that was something like 30, 32 African nations came together at the time the Kennedy Center opened to gift this lounge. And inside that room were beautiful handmade tapestries from different tribes throughout the continent of Africa.

There was a sculpture from Ghana that represented the collective Africans' grief at the assassination of President Kennedy. And there were ornate hand-carved wooden doors carved from 700-year-old wood that contained scenes of Yoruban village life. That room is now completely gutted and emptied. I was not told where those items went.

Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/ex-kennedy-center-staffer-alleges-chaos-and-cronyism-under-trump-leadership

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jul 11

Or, MoMA's. 😉

Like Goodwin and Stone's MoMA of 1939, its visual power is derived through high contrast with its surrounding context. This meaningful and memorable urbanism was unfortunately lost when the streetscape was diluted by MoMA's own successive expansions which eventually replaced all these buildings—as comparison with today's streetview of 11 W. 53rd St. will show.

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jul 11

I think you'll enjoy reading "Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer" By Steven Millhauser (1996)

From: chapter 28, "The Grand Cosmo" of "Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer" By Steven Millhauser (1996)

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jul 11

It's a tourelle. ☺️ NYC's Woolworth building has four.

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jul 11

I suppose Trump's new "Freedom Plaza" statuary is bronze, but this uniformly-consistent, assembly-line, mass patinating makes the whole statuary group look like a Colonial-themed Franklin Mint chess set. www.reddit.com/r/washington... Another addition to the "Everything Trump touches" file...

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jul 11

The more I study your photographs of Trump's statues—the more I am convinced that they were 3-D printed. This may explain the missing sculptor(s). It's not inconceivable that the 3-D printed sculptures were then cast in bronze—but I have my doubts—how can one confirm that they are, in fact, bronze?

3-D printed tabletop sculpture of George Washington.
Source: https://www.etsy.com/listing/4521024561/george-washington-statue-founding-father?ls=s&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=washington+3d+print&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&sr_prefetch=1&pf_from=market&frs=1&sts=1&content_source=646e8831-e42b-4cdf-93a7-4e6c19ed9dad%253ALT44cdb4e5dcf6368031bd294caf575239eba73eb9&organic_search_click=1&logging_key=646e8831-e42b-4cdf-93a7-4e6c19ed9dad%3ALT44cdb4e5dcf6368031bd294caf575239eba73eb9

3-D printed tabletop sculpture of Revolutionary War patriot.
Source: https://www.etsy.com/listing/4523507341/revolutionary-war-patriot-statue?ls=s&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=3d+printed+patriots&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&sr_prefetch=1&pf_from=market&frs=1&sts=1&content_source=23842b43-4c9f-4135-af28-b33e8e4446d2%253ALTa07edfe7f0d9f95618d86ba36ad78e0e6fce6ae2&organic_search_click=1&logging_key=23842b43-4c9f-4135-af28-b33e8e4446d2%3ALTa07edfe7f0d9f95618d86ba36ad78e0e6fce6ae2

Life-size (or larger than life-sized) human hand sculpture in the process of being 3-D printed using the gel-based 3-D printing technique.
Source: https://www.massivit3d.com/blog/why-gel-based-3d-printing-is-the-way-forward/

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jul 10

Sherlock Holmes on his seven-per-cent solution.

"The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D." is a 1974 novel by American writer Nicholas Meyer. It is written as a pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, and was made into a film of the same name in 1976. Published as a "lost manuscript" of the late Dr. John H. Watson, the book recounts Holmes' recovery from cocaine addiction (with the help of Sigmund Freud) and his subsequent prevention of a European war through the unraveling of a sinister kidnapping plot. Holmes's addiction to cocaine is developed out of the opening scene of Conan Doyle's The Sign of Four. In that scene, Holmes describes the cocaine with which he is injecting himself as "a seven-per-cent solution". Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven-Per-Cent_Solution

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jul 8

Location of July 7, 2026 structural column collapse on north (43rd St. side) of former Pfizer building at 425 East 42nd St. showing new 16 floor addition listing above weakened 21st floor. Photo credit: Dave Sanders for @nytimes.com.web.brid.gy Graphic by @tedgrunewald.bsky.social

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jul 8

This video makes the context of the former Pfizer building's structural failure clear. bsky.app/profile/aunt... Drone photos via FDNY —seriously bad.

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jul 7

A since-deleted statement from the @nytimes.com live updates page: “The north side of that building is crumbling. I-beams are bending like cigarettes in there.” —Cliff Johnsen, business agent for the Steamfitters Local 638 Union Note that these buckling I-beams are columns—not structurally beams.

Stills from video taken Tuesday morning by workers inside the former Pfizer headquarters building at 425 East 42nd St. Manhattan, which officials said was in danger of collapsing showing bent steel support columns.
Source: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15959605/midtown-manhattan-building-collapse-evacuation.html?ITO=applenews-us

Claes Oldenburg (1929-2022)
"Fagend Studies"
1976
Charcoal and chalk on paper
101.7 × 76.2 cm (40 1/16 × 30 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago @artinstitutechi.bsky.social
Source: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/94150/fagend-studies
© Claes Oldenburg

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jul 4

Trump backer and advisor Stephen A. Schwarzman —why am I not surprised?

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jun 29

Our 20th c. family of 5 + miniature poodle + mutt rode in this 1967 Ford Fairlane 500 Country Squire Sedan Station Wagon. We kids used to fight over who could sit in the back! Best part of sitting back there was how the seats magically unfolded.

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jun 28

via @greg.org greg.org/archive/2025...

Andy Warhol, "Oxidation Painting", 76 x 52 in. (1978)

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jun 28

He's kind of terrifying-looking, and he did name his German Shepard "Hera"—but this man would read to us from Thurber's "92 Stories" almost every day—rest his soul. ❤️

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jun 27

Comparison between views of the East Wing bunker/ballroom construction site taken from the Washington Monument in March, May, and on June 24 appear to show above-ground construction—including a new East Wing Colonnade—in violation of judge Richard J. Leon's order halting construction above ground.

June 24, 2026 view of the White House East Wing bunker/ballroom construction site taken from the Washington Monument that appears to show above-ground construction—including, at left, a new East Wing Colonnade wall connecting the ballroom to the main body of the White House. Any above-ground construction is in direct violation of US district judge Richard J. Leon's April 16th order halting construction above ground. Photo credit: Andrew Leyden @penguinsix.bsky.social Source: https://youtu.be/W2ASfoGRZd8?si=vX3auKU40XbRUnjT&t=387

May 2026 view of the White House East Wing bunker/ballroom construction site taken from the Washington Monument showing below-ground construction of the rebuilt & expanded PEOC bunker. Any above-ground construction would be in direct violation of US district judge Richard J. Leon's April 16th order halting construction above ground. Photo credit: Alex Brandon/AP

March 2026 view of the White House East Wing bunker/ballroom construction site taken from the Washington Monument showing site preparation and preliminary below-ground construction of the rebuilt & expanded PEOC bunker. Photo credit: unknown

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jun 27

I eat every meal off a set of Staffordshire ironstone plates in the Vine pattern manufactured c. 1845 by James Edwards' Dale Hall Pottery in Dale Hall (Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent) for the American hotel market. Since I have to hand-wash everything anyway (no dishwasher) decided to use something nice.

Staffordshire ironstone plate in the Vine pattern manufactured c. 1845 by James Edwards' Dale Hall Pottery in Dale Hall (Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent) for the American hotel market.

Stamped and printed hallmarks on the back of Staffordshire ironstone plate in the Vine pattern manufactured c. 1845 by James Edwards' Dale Hall Pottery in Dale Hall (Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent) for the American hotel market.

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jun 27

Gene Davis at work on his painting "Franklin's Footpath", created on Franklin Parkway outside of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (1972). Henry Groskinsky, photographer /Getty Images.

View looking to Philadelphia City Hall with children walking across"Franklin's Footpath", created by Gene Davis on Franklin Parkway outside of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (1972). Photographer unknown. Collection: NARA Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Franklin%27s_Footpath,_by_Gene_Davis.jpg

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jun 27

We've kept our Pierre Péters in the bottom vegetable chiller bin since January 2025 —awaiting the "blessed event." 😉 We drank up the previous bottle when Anita Bryant went to that great pie factory in the sky.

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jun 26

It's an amazing photo that's always reminded me of Andreas Feininger's 1944 Manhattan aerial for "Life Magazine".

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jun 25

Herrenchiemsee perhaps offers better tourist value than Neuschwanstein 😉 because it has a passably good reproduction of Le Vau's long-ago demolished Ambassadors' Staircase.

Georg von Dollmann, Christian Jank, and Franz von Seitz
Herrenchiemsee New Palace (1878-86)
Full-scale reconstruction of Louis Le Vau's Escalier des Ambassadeurs (destroyed 1752) at Versailles.

Escalier des Ambassadeurs
Designed by Louis Le Vau, built by François d’Orbay and Charles Le Brun (1674-80)
Palace of Versailles
destroyed (1752)

Theodore Grunewald@tedgrunewald· Jun 25