Season 4 of the hit series Downton Abbey is just a few weeks away, premiering January 5th on WVIZ/PBS ideastream. Expect some big changes to the cast, including the addition of actors Nigel Harman as Green, a valet; Dame Harriet Walter as Lady Shackleton, an old friend of the Dowager; and Gary Carr, as a jazz singer named Jack Ross. You can also expect costume changes as the show moves into the roaring twenties. Laura Loew, president of Lost in the Past helps put the fashion of Downton into context.
Before there was a Downton Abbey series, the show's creator Julian Fellowes did deep research on how British nobility lived their lives at the turn of the 20th century. One of the resources he used was a book by author Carol Wallace titled To Marry an English Lord. Wallace's writing helped Fellowes shape the character of the American heiress Cora Crawley, who becomes Lady Grantham. In this installment of our Applause America series, Carol Wallace shares some insight into the reality of Cora Crawley's world.
Former Canton resident, sculptor Diana Al-Hadid, currently lives in New York. She has a rather unique approach to art, making finished pieces that look incomplete and unfinished, yet hauntingly beautiful! They're Hadid's way of exploring boundaries, tipping points, and inner and outer spaces. Right now, a collection of her work is on view at the Akron Art Museum, in the exhibit Nolli's Order.
Unlike artist Diana Al-Hadid's spontaneously evolving sculptures, every item that goes into a piece created by the Cleveland-based team of Nottingham-Spirk has a specific reason for being there. John Nottingham and John Spirk are best friends and industrial designers whose firm is responsible for some of the most recognizable products in the world.Laura Loew, Lost in the Past
Carol Wallace, Author, To Marry an English Lord
Diana Al-Hadid, Sculptor
John Nottingham and John Spirk