Most artists may have looked in a mirror and became their own models. There are those artists who have painted themselves literally into religious works. Namely, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Leonardo, and Rembrandt.

Books by Harry Potter and Hieronymus Bosch can be found in the children´s room of your local library. I have my "Oprah-like" book recommendations for young people.

We live in a time when some people are trying to take religion out of Christmas. A most endearing painting, ´Madonna and Child,´ will warm any heart.

Thirty years have passed since the 'Treasures of Tutankhamun' blockbuster exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1979. Then, the 'Golden Age of the Pharaohs' in 2005-2007 to be continued in 2010-2011 with a venue in New York.

An exhibition in 2000 showcasing artists working in Paris (1895-1950). I discuss some of the artists whose work was shown. Namely, Picasso, Matisse, Rousseau, Modigliani, and Balthus.

The re-discovery of the painting 'The Taking of Christ' by the Baroque Old Master artist Caravaggio has precipitated a book 'The Lost Painting - The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece' by Jonathan Harr.

I discuss the issue of looters stealing art treasures vs. archaeologists who properly excavate priceless works of art. The case of 'Weary Herakles' is examined.

The former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY writes a comprehensive book for a broad overview of art collections and museums. I will recommend an abbreviated list of art from the book, and my viewpoint.

When we hear 'Bonfire of the Vanities' we think of a novel by Tom Wolfe, with a movie version in 1990. An actual event during the Renaissance, I’ll discuss its significance as it relates to art and the artist Sandro Botticelli.

Seventeen years after the 'Fabergé in America' exhibit, I was delighted to see a special Fabergé exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA from the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. I’ll discuss my favorites from both exhibits.