53 Comments

How beautiful is all this. I can see those places because we were there - maybe just a little later.

And powerful eulogies, of these great men you met - who you incorporated into yourself as wise as you were even as young as you were. Wisdom, when young, is listening, hearing - and remembering, never diminished.

Art feeds you because it shows you ways of seeing. Windows into life experienced by men and women who were wise as children- and remember. You are well matched I think.

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Perfect! I read it three times. What lovely homages to your friends. And I know what you mean about not having "the eye." How lucky you are to have had (have) people in your life to remove the blinders. Kudos, Lucian. 💗

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Lucian, the measly five dollars I spend each month on your Substack column gives me 10 or 20 times that much value and enjoyment. Here’s hoping you have thousands upon thousands of monthly subscribers, just like me. Thanks again!

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You are an artist in your own right.

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Bravo, wordsmith

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Living with an artist always makes life more interesting…just ask my husband!

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Beautifu;; thanks for republishing. And thanks for Whitten's "King's Wish." A quick Google search didn't indicate where someone could see that (actual) painting today. Finally, perhaps a daub of paint on your current (certainly not round metal) garbage cans, today?

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Beautiful!

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This is beautiful, and it touched me as I felt myself walking along this timeline. My mind was lit with color, human interaction, deep feeling, awe, respect for the artists, and the extraordinary writer that you are. Thanks for sharing so much!

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One of your best ! You have a gift for bringing to life names of people famous and not so famous behind the bylines and NYT aricles and bringing them into everyday living. There is a whole memoir / novel behind the trumpeter.

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Terrific.

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Thank you for this. I come from a family of artists and this took my mind into my grandfather’s workshop. There he created art from whales’s teeth: some with scrimshaw. One became a jewelry box given to Tricia Nixon. The shop was full of works in progress..a wood carving of Saint Francis, an oil seascape, a watercolor toadstool with red spots. A meticulously researched ship model. And the aromas of wood and paint. Thank you for taking me there.

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👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍👍💥🙏🏻

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I've read a lot about that place at that time. You were indeed very lucky to have lived through it.

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Beautiful story Lucian! It gives another perspective on the appreciation for art that I need and had never experienced in 77 years!❤️

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His painting looks alive.

I love your stories.

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