Arts & Culture

New Deal Murals by Ben Shahn, Philip Guston, and Seymour Fogel are located in the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building in Washington, D.C. The art cannot be viewed by the public. The Cohen Building is closed. The Cohen Building and other older federal buildings are slated for sale and eventual demolition. They might destroy the murals, but they cannot erase our collective consciousness, what we remember and pass down to our children. #wilburjcohenbuilding #philipguston #benshahn

I stumbled upon Keith McNally’s memoir in my usual awkward, almost bumbling fashion. I happened to be in New York City with a friend. I had long promised to take her to Balthazar for breakfast. Four empty tables away sat a man alone with his laptop and a book. Astonished that he sat at a table for so long without being gently prodded to get on with it to make room for the next guest, I struck up a conversation.