Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Eight, The

Group of American painters who exhibited together only once, in New York City in 1908, but who established one of the main currents in 20th-century American painting. The original Eight included Robert Henri, leader of the group, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, George Luks, and William J. Glackens. George Bellows later joined them.

Aerobatics

Maneuvers in which an aircraft is flown under precise control in unusual attitudes (the position of an aircraft determined by the relationship between its axes and a reference such as the horizon). A myriad of aerobatic maneuvers exist, some of the better-known being rolls, loops, stall turns (hammerheads), and tailslides. The term aerobatics came into use in early 1914 after

Monday, May 16, 2005

Papier-mâché

Repulped paper that has been mixed with glue or paste so that it can be molded. The art of making articles of papier-mâché, beautifully decorated in Oriental motifs and handsomely lacquered, was known in the East centuries before its introduction in Europe. Molded-paper products were first made in France in the early part of the 18th century and, later, in Germany and England.

Saturday, May 14, 2005

Racine

City, seat (1836) of Racine county, southeastern Wisconsin, U.S. It lies along Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River, just south of Milwaukee. Founded in 1834 as Port Gilbert by a lake captain, Gilbert Knapp, in 1837 it adopted its present name, which was derived either from the French word for “root” or from the Algonkian pakwasewin, meaning “a place where wild rice is gathered.” The improvement