Abraham Lincoln told the following story, when beseeched by job-seekers in Washington:
An eccentric old king was so much bothered by bad weather, that he hired a prophet to prophesy the royal weather for him. One day, as the king was dressing for an important engagement, he asked the weather prophet what the weather would be like.
“It will be a bright, clear night,” predicted the prophet.
The king, following the advice of his prophet, put on a light suit and left his umbrella in the palace closet as he started off. On the road he chanced to meet an old farmer riding a jackass, holding an umbrella over his head.
Folk art gets a proper pedestal at the MFA
By Murray Whyte Globe Staff,Updated February 18, 2021, 6:45 p.m.
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Collector Maxim Karolik gifted this peacock weather vane, created about 1860 to 75.Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
It was 1939 or 1940, by his own recollection, when collector Maxim Karolik showed a group of Museum of Fine Arts curators the paintings heâd gathered around Lenox. âThis is the part I call a little sad,â he said, speaking to Brian OâDoherty for WGBH TVâs âInvitation to Artâ in 1962.
The curators wanted names to validate the pictures, Karolik said, while he and his wife had the opposite intent. âOur motto was not âTell me who the painter is and Iâll tell you whether the painting is good,ââ he said, his gravelly voice thick with an accent that made him sound like a Hollywood Dracula. âOur motto is âTell me if the painting is good, and I donât care who the painter is!â�