Naked Pearls… yes, I am hot on the pearl sighting trail. Which, could be an odd lead-in since I just said the words “naked” and “hot” within 6 words. But, no, I have pearls on the brain and I have a keen eye for pearls everywhere I go. Why? Well, for the very simple reason that pearls are everywhere! And I do love them..
So, today I met a dear friend for lunch at the Georgia Museum of Art. We actually never ate lunch… we just walked around and looked at art. We agreed we were probably a bit noisier than the usual museum guests but no one has ever referred to us as, “the quiet type.” One neat fact is that I actually live in a house that was built by the artist Lucy Mae Stanton. My door knocker says Stanton Studio! Today I got to see her Lucy’s self portrait. Even more amazing is how I immediately walked up to this painting without any idea who painted it and whom it depicted. Pretty cool!
Anyway, of note was the art of Kenneth Hayes Miller who seems to paint a lot of works of women in pearls. Maybe not on purpose, but his subjects do wear lots of pearls. He is noted for painting women shopping and maybe women just used to go shopping in pearls? Hmmm….
The Georgia Museum of Art has this piece in their permanent collection:
Upon reading up on Miller I was actually not able to find anything interesting to say about him except for the fact that he painted what I will call “Naked Pearls” but which is actually called “Woman Nude” (boring!). Anyway, in naked pearls he depicts a woman completely naked except for her pearls. She is looking at herself in a hand mirror. Because, you know, all a woman needs is to be dressed in pearls! Or shall we say, nothing but the pearls? Who cares what you are wearing as long as you are wearing pearls? See where I am going with this? Lots of good material here! All you need is pearls (da dada dada) All you need is pearls, pearls, pearls are all you need!
Just another post for where (and when) to wear pearls… in your self-portrait!
India
I am a modern day treasure hunter who travels the world for gorgeous pearls and amazing adventures. I own a pearl jewelry and jewelry repair business, ThePearlGirls.com, with a cute retail store in Athens, GA. I also have a Pearl Travel business and travel blog at TheWorldofPearl.com.
