I Like What I Know: A Visual Autobiography by Vincent Price: book review

I Like What I Know: A Visual Autobiography (1959) is a memoir by American actor, Vincent Leonard Price (1911-1993), noted for his horror films and distinctive voice. But this is not about his roles in movies. Instead, it is about his love of art.

The title is from the saying: I don’t know anything about art, but I know what I like. To which Price comments, ‘There comes a time in life when you know what you like and have to make up your mind to like what you know.’

Price begins with his mother’s home, and the first time he ‘fell financially in love’ with art. His first art purchase at the age of 12 was ‘Two Nude Models, One Standing’ by Rembrandt (1606-1669). It cost $37.50, which took him a year to pay.

At the age of 16 he travelled alone to Europe for a ‘seven capitals in seven weeks’ tour in which he visited art galleries. He tells of Yale art school and his studies in London, before his first acting role in a Broadway show in 1935, as leading man to Helen Hayes.

Price writes of what he looks for when purchasing a piece of art, and his impression of art dealers, his favourite art galleries and museums, his brief period as a gallery owner, and his penchant for collecting works of art.

He writes about his love of art: the arts ‘stimulate, encourage, challenge, and most of all, guarantee a future free from boredom.’

Vincent Price’s memoir is a fascinating and well-written account of his view of art and how it evokes opinions, emotions, desire, and love. And in telling his of love of art it informs readers a lot about the man.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass...

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog