Niki de Saint Phalle (1930 - 2002)

Niki as "the shooting artist" 1960s.

"Life .. is never the way one imagines it. It surprises you, it amazes you, and it makes you laugh or cry when you don't expect it. - Niki de Saint Phalle


I took this picture at the Zurich Haupt Bahnhof last week... so I added a few more photos of an interesting artist.

She was famous for her shooting pictures in the early 1960s. She was at this time in her life living and working in Paris, France. The Shooting Paintings – that were to stimulate and shock the public, but it also established her as an international artist. She toured for some time as the shooting artist using a 22 cal to shoot paint containers attached to her work.

Shooting picture......

Nanas, Leibnizufer, Hannover

The Gun Room - "There is a passion for hunting something deeply implanted in the human breast." --- Charles Dickens

Italian - aproximately 1780 made and signed by Guiseppe Merli

Club Baur Au Lac & Hotel Baur Au Lac - Zurich, Switzerland

Clubland Part I

This is the perfect hotel - 124-room Hotel Baur Au Lac, unofficial club for Zurich's private bankers, has been owned by the same family since opening in 1844.

Austria's Empress Elizabeth use to spend her summers here, the world premiere of Richard Wagners "Die Walküre", was performed here with Franz Listz on the piano. Baroness Bertha von Suttner and Swedish Alfred Nobel discussed to start an international peace prize,the Russian Tsarina, the German Emperor Wilhelm II, Marc Chagall, Joan Miró and Henry Moore - the list can be made long and the romantic aura i still in place today as in an era long gone..

Talstrasse 1, 8022 Zurich, Switzerland

Here is where I relax after a hectic day in the city......Club Baur Au Lac

is á Private Gentleman's Club with a flair of the English Club life. The Club is located adjacent to Hotel Baur Au Lac and is situated by the Schanzengaben River and Lake Zurich. You get a warm welcome from Elspeth Kretz when you walk through the doors of the Club and the Restaurant Manager Gian Luca Gizzi will make you feel at home in the clubs classical bar setting as well as in the 19th century styled restaurant .The setting is discreet. The Club is housed in the classical patrician Villa Rosau and considered one of the most beautiful patrician houses in Zurich. The Parisian interior architect Henri Samuel was responsible for the Club interior.You can enjoy concerts in the evening as the Zurich concert hall is just a few minutes walk from the club.

Tapas in Zurich, Switzerland

Found this great "little" tapas bistro. Actually, just 5 minutes walk from the Zurich Hauptbahnhof.

Chili, Garlic..............

A picture of a flamenco dancer........................


The roster.................

Moser - Lady Hamilton - Understated, Simple and Elegant

Founded in 1857, by Ludwig Moser, Mosers dedication to be superior artistic as well as to technical standards has been proven since the 1800s.

Moser - Lady Hamilton - This pattern is another example of the “papal” cut so called because it is a derivative of the Pope pattern which was commissioned by Pope Pius XI in 1923. Lady Hamilton itself was first produced in 1934 and went on to become one of the most popular Moser suites.

Alberto Giacometti (1901 - 1966)

This is one of my favorite sculptures which has been with me for the last 17 years not an Alberto Giacometti. Very likely the artist was inspired by his work - made in bronze in 1980 by M.Alexanderson.

Not The Eagle Club in Gstaad or The Corviglia Club in St. Moritz - Ski Week - Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany - Zugspitze

The Ski Instructor.........

A Room with a view.......well, could be better but we shall not complain - 8 days in Garmisch...

The Mountain Guide.............

The slopes are being groomed at the Zugspitze...-16 Celsius and sunny and just perfect weather.

The Zugspitze is the highest mountain in Germany at 2962 meters or 9718 feet. It is located at the Austrian border of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria. You can take the train - the Zugspitzbahn from the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the peak.

Spectacular view........................

The Lodge....for a break

The Lodge Boar........................

More views of a perfect day skiing the slopes at the Zugspitze.
2300 meters to 2600 meters

The Sitwells - One of the most aristocratic and eccentric British families

Renishaw Hall - The Home of the Sitwell Family

The Sitwells with their three children.

Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet,1892 - 1969. His elder sister was Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell and his younger brother Sir Sacheverell Sitwell. They devoted their lives to the arts and literature. Facinating family - I use to read Sir Osbert Sitwells - Left Hand Right Hand, Great Morning, Tales my father taught me, and Noble Essences etc. Dame Edith wrote an excellent piece on English Eccentrics - these books are still part of my travel literature around the globe.

http://www.sitwell.co.uk/

Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell (1887 – 1964)

Edith Sitwell by Percy Wyndham Lewis, 1943

Danish Architect Kaare Klint (1888–1954)

Kaare Klint

Kaare Klint was one of the 20th century’s most significant people in Danish architecture. I always liked his safari chairs some were stained elm and leather, collapsible, and designed in the 1930's. A reminder of the old Roorkhee Campaign Chair so popular with the British Empire in India and British East Africa.

Roorkhee Safari Chair