Sunday, July 15, 2018

Chasing Hubert, Finding........

Every life is like a book and we all live out our story. Some have many chapters, some are  short stories. Some read like thrillers while others are more ordinary. Some have happy endings while others are sorrowful. Whatever the story may be, they are all unique. We all own our own story.

I can recall sharing this bibliophile's philosophy with my beloved brother, Steve, just before he passed away unexpectedly a few months ago. Steve's response to my theory was "There is no such thing as an ending, just a place where you leave the story," a quote from a recently watched movie. How particularly poignant these words were to become.

Steve was a wonderful brother, a devoted father, a generous uncle, a loyal friend to many, a talented writer and playwright, a baseball enthusiast, and my first friend. He had a quick-witted, playful sense of humor but was also a gentle and sensitive soul with a heart of gold. In a tragic twist of fate it was his bigger than life heart that ultimately gave out. Steve was a great supporter of my Chasing Hubert and encouraged me to keep the search going even while it appeared the search was going nowhere.

It is with a heavy heart yet at the same time a joyous one that I write this to share two recent exciting events in my Hubert search. In May, I was approached by art critic John Zeaman who was interested in writing a story for the August/September issue of Design N.J. Magazine on my Chasing Hubert quest. After almost a year of blogging inactivity it was time to go public with my chase with the hope that this new exposure would deliver new clues. Mr. Zeaman captured the essence of my "print mystery" at https://www.designnewjersey.com/features/a-print-mystery/

Ironically, just as the article hit the newsstand, I received an email from a French blogger and researcher of forgotten French artists of the 19th and 20th centuries with whom I had been occasionally corresponding since 2016. His opening sentence was: "probably got it!" And by George! (or should I say, by Hubert!) I believe he did!!

Currently putting together all the details - stay tuned...