February 12, 2022
The Best
of
The
News
from
Abroad
No. 135
Weekend
Edition
Saturdays

at 6:00 AM
In This Week’s Issue
Prime Mover?

Alexandra Marshall takes a second look at Lauren Sanchez, the woman Jeff Bezos can’t keep his hands off of—and who also just might be the most powerful woman in America …

Spirit Squad!

Former cheerleader (and top media executive) Bonnie Hammer has eight tips for Joe Biden and other leaders on what they need to do to raise our optimism …

A Profitable Crime Branch

George Pendle takes us inside the bizarre, multi-billion-dollar global smuggling ring that’s bringing rosewood to China’s nouveau riche …

Send out the Clowns

Stuart Heritage tracks the disasters piling up behind British prime minister Boris Johnson as his party prepares to show him the exit …

Page (And Profit) Turners

Steve Garbarino explains why “artistic license” now means the ability to print money for the estates of Ernest Hemingway, Hunter S. Thompson, and other dead authors …

When the Fur Flies

From the front row of the catwalk, Bridget Foley explains the catfights that ensue over seats at the fashion shows in New York, Milan, and Paris …

Call the K9 Unit!

Jensen Davis reports on Beverly Hills’ strange crime wave—the stealing of French bulldogs—and how owners are now afraid to walk their Frenchies in public …

But First …
Issue No. 135

The View from Here A cheerleader’s call to President Biden: How about less pomp and more pom-poms?

By Bonnie Hammer
Read On
Barry Blitt’s Sketchbook
Little Britain

“Not a Complete Clown” The parties, Wallpapergate, the police investigation, the apology to the Queen—Boris Johnson tries to hold it all together

By Stuart Heritage
Read On
Modern Times

Bezos in Love Is Lauren Sanchez a modern-day Marion Davies?

By Alexandra Marshall
Read On
The Criminal Element

Keep Your Frenchies Close In the wake of Lady Gaga’s French-bulldog kidnapping and several other pup snatchings, L.A.’s Frenchie owners fear their dogs will be next

By Jensen Davis
Read On
Small Talk

Heart Burns Valentine candies with a message 4 U

By John Ficarra
Read On
Air Supply

Tinker Tailor Soldier Buy

For those of us who love little more than pottering around the house on weekends, herein are our favorite items that you won’t likely discover already in your toolbox, mudroom, or garden shed
Shop
Photo: CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images (Albert and Gabor)
Small Talk
“Is this worse? Or is this worse?”
“Is this worse? Or is this worse?”
Guest Edit

My Favorite Things Marie-Chantal’s eponymous children’s-fashion collection is all about beautifully made classics, with just a hint of a twist. To fill her own closet, the author and designer seeks out versatile pieces with plenty of panache

By Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece
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Photo: Ngoc Minh Ngo (Marie-Chantal)
Style

The Chic Seats Fashion’s new power structure is duking it out in the front row

By Bridget Foley
Read On
Small Talk
“Nice to see him getting landmark status.”
“Nice to see him getting landmark status.”
Air Mail Diary

Not All Is What It Seems to Be in Gwyneth’s Home And other strange news about these curious days …

By George Kalogerakis
Read On
The Planet

War of the Rosewood How a Chinese status symbol became an environmental emergency

By George Pendle
Read On

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Don’t Miss
Los Angeles

Frieze frame: after a year’s hiatus, Frieze art fair returns …

Chicago

Strike a chord: the Newberry Consort plays music drawn from the collection of Cosimo de’ Medici, the patriarch of the ruling Renaissance family …

New York

Changing her tune: the Andrew Kreps Gallery displays the dramatic shifts in Hollis Sigler’s approach to art …

Houston

Worship at Rothko’s altar: for the 50th anniversary of the Rothko Chapel, the composer Tyshawn Sorey translates its paintings into music …

Online

The female Hamlet: a 2017 production of Hedda Gabler, a play centered on a woman’s rages, streams on the National Theatre Web site… …

Arts and Culture

Take Me to Dimes Square A young playwright reveals how the pandemic led him to find himself—and his latest play—in the Chinatown stomping ground of New York’s downtown set

By Matthew Gasda
Read On
Inspector Gadget

Landing Gear An electrified spoon to supercharge, not fry, your taste buds; an e-reader update worth writing home about; a window of opportunity for the videoconferencing elite; and more

By Jonathan Margolis
Read On
Close-up

Renate Reinsve The actress stars in Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World, Norway’s Oscar submission, which just earned a place on the Best International Feature Film short list

By Graham Fuller
Read On
Air Mail Jr.
Read On
Listen

It’s BoJo the Clown! Can Boris Johnson survive Partygate? And speaking of scandal: Who is stealing L.A.’s French bulldogs?

Read On
Small Talk
“Hey—make sure the mask covers his nose.”
“Hey—make sure the mask covers his nose.”
Travel

Légion d’Bonheur Say no to golf and shuffleboard—retire at a 17th-century château in Provence the way French Foreign Legionnaires do

By Peter Conradi
Read On
Books and Baubles

Are Those Socks Bukowski? Celebrated authors don’t have to “go Hollywood” to sell out—they just have to die

By Steve Garbarino
Read On

Into the Wild

In an alternate universe, Beatrix Potter was a pioneering mycologist, not the author-illustrator of some of the world’s most beloved and enduring children’s books. Had it not been for the sexism of Britain’s late-19th-century scientific establishment, the aspiring naturalist would have found a place in science for her research on the mechanics of fungi reproduction. But when Potter, then 31, submitted a paper on the subject in 1897 to a leading (and all-male) scientific society, she wasn’t allowed to present it. The silver lining of this injustice: it led to The Tale of Peter Rabbit, an instant success when it hit bookstores in 1902. Mycology’s loss, childhood’s gain. READ ON

An illustration of Peter Rabbit from Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, 1904.

Read On
Discover
Design

A Feast for the Senses At home in the Cotswolds with Nicky Haslam

By Liz Elliot
Read On
From the Archives

Gridiron Giants Ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl, a look back through the archives of America’s favorite sport

15
David Tyree, of the New York Giants, catches a 32-yard pass from Eli Manning as Rodney Harrison, of the New England Patriots, attempts to knock it out, in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLII, in Glendale, Arizona, 2008.
Manning during Superbowl XLII.
John Matuszak, of the Oakland Raiders, salutes his fans ahead of Super Bowl XV, in New Orleans, 1981.
Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi is carried off the field by Jerry Kramer after the Packers’ victory over the Oakland Raiders at the second-ever Super Bowl, in Miami, 1968.
The Patriots’ Tom Brady stretches ahead of Super Bowl XLII.
Top, Whitney Houston sings the national anthem ahead of Super Bowl XXV, in Tampa, 1991; above, Lady Gaga performs during the halftime show of Super Bowl LI, in Houston, 2017.
Curtis McClinton, of the Kansas City Chiefs, rests in the locker room during the first Super Bowl, in Los Angeles, 1967.
Earl Cooper, of the San Francisco 49ers, scores a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals at Super Bowl XVI, in Pontiac, Michigan, 1982.
Top, fans celebrate the San Francisco 49ers’ win against the Dallas Cowboys in an N.F.C. playoff game, 1982; above, 49ers fans at a tailgate ahead of Super Bowl XIX, in Stanford, California, 1985.
Washington Redskins guard John Wilbur rests during a 14–7 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VII.
New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath walks off the field, victorious after winning against the Baltimore Colts at Super Bowl III, in Miami, 1969.
Miami Dolphins co-owner Danny Thomas reads a magazine in the stands during Super Bowl VII against the Washington Redskins, in L.A., 1973.
The Packers’ Herb Adderley and the Chiefs’ Fred Arbanas head to their lockers after Green Bay’s 35–10 victory over Kansas City in Super Bowl I.
Jim McMahon, of the Chicago Bears, films the video for “The Super Bowl Shuffle,” a song recorded by the Bears in 1985 ahead of their Super Bowl XX win over the New England Patriots.
Legendary coach Tom Landry, the Dallas Cowboys’ first head coach in the N.F.L. During his 29 consecutive years with the team, Landry won two Super Bowl titles (VI, in 1972, against the Miami Dolphins, and XII, in New Orleans, against the Denver Broncos).
Read On
Books
Adrian Brune On

White Lies: The Double Life of Walter F. White and America’s Darkest Secret

by A. J. Baime
Read On
Michael Knox Beran On

The First Kennedys: The Humble Roots of an American Dynasty

by Neal Thompson
Read On
Small Talk
“Tell us where the bodies are buried and then we’ll discuss a Netflix special.”
“Tell us where the bodies are buried and then we’ll discuss a Netflix special.”
Inside Story

Switching Geres The author of a new book about China and Hollywood reveals how Richard Gere went from A-list to blacklist

By Erich Schwartzel
Read On
Best
Store Halcyon Days x Tug Rice The illustrator Tug Rice has never taken a professional art class. He thought he wanted to be… Subscribe GJournals Fran Camaj opened Gjelina, on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice Beach, nearly 15 years ago. In 2011 he opened a to-go outpost… Wear Mati Ventrillon If you are excessively invested in the second season of All Creatures Great and Small, the PBS show about British veterinarians in the 1930s,… Christie’s employees pose in front of a painting entitled Salvator Mundi by Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci at a photocall at Christie’s auction house in central London on October 22, 2017 ahead of its sale at Christie’s New York on November 15, 2017.Salvator Mundi, one of fewer than 20 known paintings by da Vinci, and the only one in private hands, will be offered for sale in Christie’s Post-War And Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York and is estimated to realise in the region of 100 million USD (85 million euro; 76 million GBP). Watch The Lost Leonardo How this documentary, released in the summer of 2021, failed to be nominated for the Academy Awards’ best documentary feature… Read Inque The new annual magazine Inque is formidable, both in terms of the contributors and in terms of sheer heft. Its trim size… Stomp Pierre Hardy This is a boring old loafer. And that’s a good thing. In a world of overcomplicated styles—platform heels, lug soles, unnecessary… Store Halcyon Days x Tug Rice The illustrator Tug Rice has never taken a professional art class. He thought he wanted to be… Subscribe GJournals Fran Camaj opened Gjelina, on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice Beach, nearly 15 years ago. In 2011 he opened a to-go outpost… Wear Mati Ventrillon If you are excessively invested in the second season of All Creatures Great and Small, the PBS show about British veterinarians in the 1930s,… Christie’s employees pose in front of a painting entitled Salvator Mundi by Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci at a photocall at Christie’s auction house in central London on October 22, 2017 ahead of its sale at Christie’s New York on November 15, 2017.Salvator Mundi, one of fewer than 20 known paintings by da Vinci, and the only one in private hands, will be offered for sale in Christie’s Post-War And Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York and is estimated to realise in the region of 100 million USD (85 million euro; 76 million GBP). Watch The Lost Leonardo How this documentary, released in the summer of 2021, failed to be nominated for the Academy Awards’ best documentary feature… Read Inque The new annual magazine Inque is formidable, both in terms of the contributors and in terms of sheer heft. Its trim size… Stomp Pierre Hardy This is a boring old loafer. And that’s a good thing. In a world of overcomplicated styles—platform heels, lug soles, unnecessary…
Great Lives

A Publisher and a Gentleman Jason Epstein, a co-founder of The New York Review of Books, always seemed to know everything—and be everywhere

By Ivana Lowell
Read On
View With a Room

Stepping Back in Time Heading to Florida? Skip the hotel and check into these midcentury masterpieces

By Alexander Lobrano
Read On
The Perfect Ending

Bella Freud

The designer answers 34 of life’s most pressing questions
Read On
Air Play

What Becomes of the Brokenhearted

Take the bitter with the sweet this Valentine’s Day with these tracks by Earl King, Ike & Tina Turner, Esther Phillips, Fats Domino, and more

By Randall Poster
View on Spotify
Read On
Drew Friedman’s Sketchbook
A school board in Tennessee recently voted to remove Art Spiegelman’s Maus from an eighth-grade language-arts curriculum, due to worries about “unnecessary” profanity and a single image of a nude female. The Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic novel tells the story of Spiegelman’s father, a Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust. The above portrait depicts Art in the mid-70s, around the time I had him as an instructor at the School of Visual Arts, in New York. Art was, and continues to be, passionate about the potential of comics.
Is Edited By

Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley

Deputy Editors

Ashley Baker Chris Garrett Michael Hainey Nathan King Julia Vitale

Design Director

Angela Panichi

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John Tornow

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Jim Kelly

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Laura Jacobs

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Ash Carter

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David Foxley

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Ann Schneider

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Elena Clavarino Jensen Davis Coco Paul-Henriot Jacob Robbins Elinor Schneider Roxy Solis

Art Director

Paloma Huerre

Columnists

Cazzie David Emma Freud Lisa Henricksson
Walter Isaacson Pico Iyer Rachel Johnson
John Lahr Jonathan Margolis Douglas McGrath
Linda Wells James Wolcott

Writers at Large

Lili Anolik Joseph Bullmore Vassi Chamberlain William D. Cohan Rich Cohen Stuart Heritage George Kalogerakis Sam Kashner Alexander Lobrano Alexandra Marshall

Contributing Artists

Monica Ahanonu Barry Blitt André Carrilho Paul Davis David Downton Andrea Ferolla Josh Gosfield Cathy Graham Duncan Hannah Eric Hanson Angelica Hicks Pip Johnson Hilary Knight Jenny Kroik Michael Lindsay-Hogg Ross MacDonald Joe McKendry James McMullan Donald Robertson Charles Dare Scheips Grant Shaffer Ed Sorel Ralph Steadman

International Editor

Isabelle Harvie-Watt

London Editor

Bridget Arsenault

Architectural Consultant

Basil Walter

Communications Director

Monika Camara Batista

Head of Audience Development

Rachel LeSage

Cartoon Editor

Bob Mankoff

Music Supervisor

Randall Poster

Copy Editor

Adam Nadler

Research & Legal Editor

Matt Kapp

Photo Editor

Emine Gozde Sevim

Production Editor

H. Scott Jolley

Technology

Brooks Oakley Justin Rubaloff Sade Singleton

Intern

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Chief Operating Officer

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Shop General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Anjali Lewis

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Georgia Karakostas

Financial & Business Operations

Marc Leyer

Chief Strategy Adviser

Adam Mendelsohn

In Memoriam

Richard David Story Peter Bogdanovich André Leon Talley

Issue No. 135
February 12, 2022
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Issue No. 135
February 12, 2022
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