Nestled in a private corner of the award-winning village of Great Abington is Abington Lodge: Where over 19 acres of gardens and grounds meet with elegant interiors and wonderful ancillary accommodation.
It’s hard to tell what’s best about Grade II-listed Abington Lodge, in Great Abington —whether the idyllic setting in a little more than 19 acres of parkland and paddocks coursed by the River Granta, the 8,600sq ft interior with magnificent spiral staircase and floor-to-ceiling sash windows or the intriguing history: the house was once a hunting lodge for Richard, Earl of Grosvenor, whose wife scandalised Georgian Britain for her relationship with the Duke of Cumberland.
May 11, 2022 – In this episode of Getty Art + Ideas, Getty photographs curator Paul Martineau discusses Imogen Cunningham’s trajectory, focusing on key artworks made throughout her life.
“When Cunningham passed away, I think in part her reputation was based on her personality, the fact that she had lived so long, the fact that she was full of witty quips, and she wouldn’t let anyone boss her around. But I think in some ways that eclipsed the work.”
Born in Portland, Oregon, in 1883, photographer Imogen Cunningham joined a correspondence course for photography as a high schooler after seeing a magazine ad. Over the course of her 70-year career, Cunningham stirred controversy with a nude portrait of her husband, photographed flowers while minding her young children in her garden, captured striking portraits of famous actors and writers for Vanity Fair, and provided insight into the life of nonagenarians when she herself was in her 90s. Although photography was a male-dominated field, Cunningham made a name for herself while also supporting the work of other women artists. Her long, varied career is the subject of the new exhibition Imogen Cunningham: A Retrospective at the Getty Center.
Times Literary Supplement May 13, 2022 – Raphael: worn out by love, or work? | James Hall [reviews] Antonio Forcellino’s newly translated biography of the “most rounded, efficient and consistently accomplished of Renaissance artists”
Prices for the American dream home have skyrocketed. The U.S. housing market has been an unlikely beneficiary from Covid-19. The pandemic encouraged city dwellers to move to the suburbs as families looked for home offices and bigger yards.
Segments: 00:00 – Why the U.S. is facing a housing shortage (May 2021) 12:37 – How suburban sprawl shapes the U.S. economy (February 2022) 25:49 – How did rent become so unaffordable in the U.S. (December 2021) 34:46 – Is the U.S. in a housing bubble? (September 2021)
“Everybody expected housing to really sort of dry up with the rest of the economy,” said National Association of Home Builders CEO Jerry Howard. “And in fact, the opposite has happened. People who have been sort of scared out of the cities by the pandemic.”
With homeowners unwilling to sell, a record low supply of homes for sale has forced buyers into intense bidding wars. According to the National Association of Realtors, the U.S. has under built its housing needs by at least 5.5 million units over the past 20 years. That’s a stark comparison to the previous housing bubble in 2008 when overbuilding was the issue. Higher costs for land, labor and building materials including lumber have also impacted homebuilders.
However, according to most experts, the market is shaping up to look more like a boom rather than a bubble. “We say bubble because we can’t believe how much prices have gone up,” CNBC real estate correspondent Diana Olick said. “A bubble tends to be something that’s inflated that could burst at any minute and change and that’s not really the case here.” And America’s suburbs are sprawling again.
Over the 20th century, real estate developers built large tracts of single-family homes outside of major cities. The builders were following mortgage underwriting standards first introduced by the Federal Housing Administration in the 1930s. Over the century, those guidelines created housing market conditions that explicitly shut out many minorities. Experts say it is possible to update these old building codes to create equity while fixing some, but not all of the problems of American suburbia.
In 2021, single family housing starts rose to 1.123 million, the highest since 2006, according to the National Association of Home Builders, however, options for prospective homebuyers remain lean. Experts say the problems of America’s housing market relate to past policy decisions. In particular, they say restrictive zoning codes are limiting housing supply.
Shinjuku City encompasses the buzzing clubs and karaoke rooms of neon-lit East Shinjuku and upscale hotel bars and restaurants in the Skyscraper District. Tokyo Metropolitan Building has a popular observation deck, and Mount Hakone rises over tranquil urban parkland. Galleries, theaters, and bookstores attract students from busy campuses. New National Stadium is a high-tech sports venue built for the 2020 Olympics.
Italy’s prime minister Mario Draghi heads to Washington to meet Joe Biden. Plus: Beijing and Shanghai ratchet up coronavirus restrictions, a look ahead to the Eurovision Song Contest and a review of today’s papers.
Stockholm is looking beautiful this crisp spring morning. My bike is a bit noisy but quickly takes us around these picturesque, central islands.
Skeppsholmen and Kastellholmen are two beautiful islands in the middle of Stockholm, joined together by a bridge. The easiest way to get here is just by taking a walk along Skeppsholmsbron or taking the public transport ferry from Slussen or Nybrokajen. The islands are probably best known for their museums and attractions; Moderna Musset, The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, and Stockholm Toy Museum are all found here. They’re also great for a seaside walk, with a panoramic view of Östermalm, Djurgården, Södermalm, and Gamla Stan. And if you want to chill out for a bit, maybe enjoy a takeaway lunch from any of the cafés or restaurants here, Sveskuddsparken or Kastellparken offer a green oasis.
Each year, just about 30,000 metric tonnes of plastic pollution enter Indonesia’s waters. How does one man plan to clean it up?
In Indonesia, the ocean plays a critical role in people’s livelihood; from their food to their careers. But that important life source is under threat from overwhelming amounts of plastic. Unfortunately, this pollution is fueled from one of Indonesia’s most popular tourist destinations, Bali.
This, combined with plastic from the rest of the world, washes up on beaches, gets hooked by local fishermen, and damages marine ecosystems. This film follows Wayan, a 90-year-old Balinese fisherman using all his resources and knowledge to tackle this growing problem, one net of trash at a time. This is Voice Above Water, a production from Turning Tides Films.
Lisbon is Portugal’s hilly, coastal capital city. From imposing São Jorge Castle, the view encompasses the old city’s pastel-colored buildings, Tagus Estuary and Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge. Nearby, the National Azulejo Museum displays 5 centuries of decorative ceramic tiles. Just outside Lisbon is a string of Atlantic beaches, from Cascais to Estori
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