The Unknown Artist

This from the NYT today.

Museum Campaigns for Donne Portrait

The National Portrait Gallery in London has begun an appeal to raise money to buy a portrait of John Donne (1572-1631) as a young man. The painting, by an unknown artist, captures the poet whose lines include "no man is an island," "for whom the bell tolls" and "go, and catch a falling star." It was bequeathed by Donne to Robert Kerr, an ancestor of Lord Lothian, and remained in a family collection until it re-emerged in 1961, the museum said. With six months to buy the painting, currently on loan, the gallery is seeking £1.65 million ($2.95 million), and on Thursday received £206,000 ($367,000) toward its goal from the Art Fund, the leading British art charity. The gallery said that if it succeeded in buying the painting, the work would "become the focus of a new display in its Tudor Gallery alongside portraits of Ben Jonson, William Shakespeare and Michael Drayton, creating the most important group of early British author portraiture." LAWRENCE VAN GELDER

For some reason I thought this was funny...

It is going to be a challenge to get around and make comments and also to link this week. It is turning out to be an opportunity to make do, cheerfully.