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Dean Frey

@dean.bsky.social
2.8K followers 569 following 28K posts

aka Deny Fear 📷 David Soyer’s photo of “Motif provençal”, Alsatian textile from 1825 Profile pic: Dean in Banff National Park, 1986 "And when you look along the way we've come, there are spirals of vultures wheeling." - Bruce Chatwin

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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 4h
Good night, Bluesky George Hirose Closing Time, Ueno, Tokyo, 2017
Late night: wrapping it up at a market stall.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 7h
My review of a new album of music for recorder & basso continuo by Robert Valentine, a composer from Leicester. several-instruments.blogspot.com/2026/10/baro...
Album cover
Robert Valentine: 12 sonatas for recorder and basso continuo, op. 11, ‘Parensi’
Première recording
Heidi Fardell, recorder
Lynda Sayce, lute, guitar
Poppy Walshaw, cello
Robin Bigwood, harpsichord
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 12h
I'm not sure that it is. Horvat is doing some interesting processing to these shots. Not sure if he used Photoshop, but Horvat was an early adopter of digital photography. At least some of these animal shots started with photos he took at the Zoological Gardens in 1993.
A hippo with its mouth open wide.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 12h
Frank Horvat Proboscis monkeys, from Horvat's Bestiary, 1994
Two monkeys hanging out in a tree. I'm calling them Bob Hope & Jimmy Durante.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13h
Celebrate the Karl Richter Centennial 🎂💯 📷 Jeremy Fletcher, London, 1973 “Musical truth for Richter is about the intense and direct projection of the text as he reads it.” - Jonathan Freeman-Attwood www.youtube.com/watch?v=13NF...
Richter at the podium, conducting Handel’s Messiah
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13h
Shoutout to David Levine. I've already posted three of his caricatures today; here's a fourth, of Italo Calvino.
Caricature of Italo CalvinoCaricature of Michel FoucaultCaricature of Richard WagnerCaricature of P. D. Wodehouse
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 16h
It must have been Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Day at the thrift shop this week. I found two LPs of women composers, plus two discs from Columbia’s Black Composers Series. So pleased to add this wonderful music to my collection.
Album cover
Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Symphonie Concertante in G Major
Symphony no. 1 in G Major
Scene from “Ernestine”
String Quartet no. 1 in C Major

London Symphony Orchestra / Paul Freeman, conductorAlbum cover

William Grant Still
Afro-American Symphony
Two arias from “Highway 1, U.S.A.”

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Danse Nègre
Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast

London Symphony Orchestra / Paul Freeman, conductorAlbum cover

Piano Works by Women Composers
Rosario Marciano, Piano

Fanny Mendelssohn
Clara Schumann
Mrs. H.H.A. Beach
Cecile Chaminade
Germaine Tailleferre
Maria Szymanowska
and othersAlbum cover

Americana Vol. III

Mrs. Amy Beach
Piano Quintet

Arthur Foote
Piano Quintet

With a painting of three women & a child in an observatory.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 17h
C. P. Snow by Arnold Newman London, 1966 "Try as I might, I could never feel any great affection for a man who so much resembled a Baked Alaska – sweet, warm and gungy on the outside, hard and cold within." - Francis King Ouch!
Closeup of the author, his eyes obscured by light reflecting off his glasses.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 17h
Bert Stern Sir Charles and Lady Snow (aka C. P. Snow and Pamela Hansford Johnson) Vogue, 1961
The couple pose against a bright background.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 17h
C. P. Snow by Nicolas Clerihew Bentley pen and ink, published 1964 "Although not to the Establishment born, he adapted to it after his fashion; and it, in turn, adopted him after its fashion." - Alden Whitman
Caricature of the author, wearing a suit & tie.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 17h
Remembering C. P. Snow on his birthday 🎂 📷 Paul Joyce, 1977 "When you think of the long & gloomy history of man, you will find that far more, & far more hideous, crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion."
Colour portrait of the author sitting in a leather chair.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 17h
Holland House was badly damaged during the Blitz, but the Dutch Garden remains. One can imagine walking through the background of Tissot's painting today. I have fond memories of walking here with Dixie 💔 📷 Richard Thomas, Wikimedia Commons, 2006
Tulips in the Dutch Garden in a spring photograph. Holland House in the background.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 17h
James Tissot's The Letter, c. 1878 National Gallery of Canada Tissot often used real locations as settings for his paintings. The Letter is set in the Dutch Garden at Holland House, near Kensington Palace.
A young woman in a long full dress, with a black coat & hat, walking in an autumn garden.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 17h
James Tissot October, 1877 Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal "Tissot presents her youthful charm in such a surprisingly intimate close-up composition for a monumental painting – over 7 feet tall and 3 ½ feet wide – that it overwhelms the viewer with a sense of vitality." - Lucy Paquette
A young woman in a black dress & hat, against a back-lit tree with bright yellow leaves.

A portrait of his mistress & muse, Kathleen Newton.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 17h
James Tissot A wonderful portrait by Edgar Degas, 1867–68 "In Paris he found success and social connections. He was trained by former students of Ingres along with Degas, who became a close friend, and met Whistler while copying an Ingres at the Musée du Luxembourg." - Bridget Alsdorf
The painter in his studio.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 17h
James Tissot Ramsgate A spectacular late drawing (around the turn of the century) in the Musée des beaux-arts in Nantes
Drawing of two women & a man in a room overlooking a harbour.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 17h
James Tissot A Civic Procession Descending Ludgate Hill, London, 1879 Guildhall Art Gallery How marvellous!
The Lord Mayor (I think) in a splendid red outfit, sitting next to a top-hatted dignitary in an open carriage, in a procession with marchers carrying flags.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 17h
Coffee with James Tissot ☕️ Morning, 1886 Metropolitan Museum of Art "There is something of the human soul in his work and that is why he is great, immense, infinite…" - Vincent Van Gogh, in a letter to his brother Theo
Drawing of a female servant with a breakfast tray.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 17h
Remembering James Tissot on his birthday 🎂 Self-portrait, c. 1865 De Young Museum John Russell calls this self-portrait "debonair but slightly shifty".
Oil painting of the moustachioed artist, one hand to his face.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Good night, Bluesky, & pleasant dreams William Steig New Yorker November 1, 1969
New Yorker cover

Description: A five-headed jack-in-the-box of monster heads springs into action.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Frank Horvat Turtles, from Horvat's Bestiary, 1994
Two large turtles approach one another on a beach.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
On Pharoah Sanders' birthday, I'm listening to his 1969 album Jewels of Thought, with a great Chuck Stewart photo on the cover. Leon Thomas, vocals Lonnie Liston Smith, piano Cecil McBee & Richard Davis, bass Idris Muhammad & Roy Haynes, drums www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBzQ...
Album cover
A closeup shot of Sanders from above; he's crossed his arms around his body.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
John Coltrane with Pharoah Sanders 📷 Chuck Stewart, 1966 "I loved being around him because I don’t talk that much, either. It was just good vibes between us both. We were just very quiet." - JC www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gio8...
Coltrane & Sanders in the studio, both wearing suits.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Pharoah Sanders by Christian Weber, 2020 What do you listen to these days? I haven’t been listening to anybody. I listen to things that maybe some guys don’t. I listen to the waves of the water. Train coming down. Or I listen to an airplane taking off. newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Sanders sits in a splendid purple outfit, wearing a fez and sunglasses.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Remembering Pharoah Sanders on his birthday 🎂 📷 Tom Copi, 1970 "The whole musical persona of Pharoah Sanders is of a consciousness in conscious search of a higher consciousness." - Amiri Baraka www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii63...
Sanders practices his tenor saxophone in a hallway.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Here's the Pommery Champagne ad as it appeared in magazines.
POMMERY GALLERY

"L'Amour est un miracle. Le champagne aussi. Voilà pourquoi ils vont si bien ensemble."
Photo Frank Horvat

Photo of a couple enjoying some Pommery.

"Sachez apprécier et déguster avec moderation."
Être Pommery, C'est tout un art.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Frank Horvat "Martha Argerich: Divine mais pas Diva..." 1982, SONY MAGAZINE, France
Two page magazine spread.

On the left: eight black & white shots of the pianist talking.
On the right: text with two shots of Argerich at the keyboard.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Listening to Korngold & Zemlinsky played by the splendidly named Stefan Zweig Trio, who "seek to show their affinity to the longstanding Viennese musical tradition as well as to the characteristic & deeply emotional work of Stefan Zweig." The cover is by Anja Hoppe. album.link/y/OLAK5uy_l7...
Album cover
Klaviertrios
Korngold / Zemlinsky
Stefan Zweig Trio

A photo of a zebra in a landscape. Its stripes are coming undone!
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Good night, Bluesky, & pleasant dreams! William Steig New Yorker October 31st, 1959
New Yorker cover
Description: Tree with scary Halloween characters hiding in it, including a witch, a cat, an owl and a jack-o-lantern.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Frank Horvat Wolf-fox, from Horvat's Bestiary, 1994 This is a Maned Wolf, native to South America.
A maned wolf walking through the ferns of a South American rain forest.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Another Herman Leonard photo of Ray Brown on the cover of the 1958 album This Is Ray Brown, from Verve. With Osie Johnson on drums, Jerome Richardson on flute; Herb Ellis on guitar & Oscar Peterson on piano & organ. music.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Album cover
Brown sits next to his bass in a colour photo.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
One of the greatest musical partnerships in jazz is Oscar Peterson & Ray Brown. They worked in trios over many years together, along with guitarists Barney Kessel & Ray Ellis, & then drummer Ed Thigpen. A great photo by K. Abe, from sometime in the 1970s. www.youtube.com/watch?v=G28y...
Oscar in the spotlight, at the piano. To one side, Ray Brown with another spotlight behind him.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Celebrate the Ray Brown Centennial 🎂💯 📷 Herman Leonard, 1948 "His notes are shapely -- fat and round and well-defined -- and his rhythm is so propelling that on up-tempo pieces his eighth-notes are always blowing wind into the music." - Ben Ratliff www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yvs...
Brown seen in profile, holding his bass. Signed by the photographer with the notation "20/30 Ray Brown - NYC - 1948". From the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
We were talking the other day about Strangers on a Train; I said Walker & Granger swapping roles wouldn't work at all. But here's a shot of Robert Walker with a tennis racket. He would have been fine as Guy, but Hitch would've had to work hard with Granger to make us believe his Bruno.
Walker with a tennis racket & two balls, standing by the net. 1955 photo by an unidentified photographer.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Robert Walker as Johannes Brahms eyes the pretty neck of Katharine Hepburn (Clara Schumann), as Paul Henreid (Robert Schumann) looks on, in Clarence Brown's Song of Love, 1947. Four years later, his turn as Bruno Antony in Strangers on a Train.
Kate as Clara at the piano, wearing a low-cut dress. Walker as a young Brahms, wearing white groves, looks lovingly at here, while Henreid as Schumann is a passive onlooker.Walker nearly strangles Norma Varden, as Laura Treadwell tries to break things up.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Remembering Robert Walker on his birthday 🎂 With Farley Granger in Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train 📷 Durward Graybill, 1951 Walker is wonderful as one of the cinema's great charming bad guys. Here exchanging small talk - and murders - with Granger. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChBS...
Granger as Guy Haines talks with Walker as Bruno Antony in the train dining car.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
The Genius of Art Tatum, 1954 A great David Stone Martin cover illustration & three Phil Stern photos. “Yesterdays” www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0QD...
Illustration of Tatum at the pianoBlack and white photo of TatumTatum’s hands on the keyboard A smiling Tatum sits at the piano
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Good night, Bluesky George Hirose Incline, Quebec City, 2006 From Canada (Night series)
Night shot of a street, with a long exposure of tail-lights going down the road.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Denise Colomb Les Halles, Paris, c. 1953-54
Night shot from outside Le Clair de Lune café
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Another great shot by one of the best on-set still photographers, Raymond Voinquel. Yves Montand in Les Portes de la Nuit.
Montand by himself on an empty street
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Raymond Voinquel Yves Montand & Nathalie Nattier in Marcel Carné’s Les Portes de la Nuit, 1946
Description:
Yves Montand as Jean Diego & Nathalie Nattier as Malou, arm in arm
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Willy Ronis Pont Alexandre-III, Paris, 1957
Night shot
Pedestrians cross the bridge in a fog
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Olivier Mériel Guernesey, les récifs, mars 1998
Night shot of a rocky shore
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Frank Horvat Sumatran rhinoceros, from Horvat's Bestiary, 1994
Two Rhinoceroses in the jungle.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Good night, Bluesky George Hirose Full Moon and Window Provincetown, Mass., 2005
Night shot: A full moon in a cloudy sky; the reflection on the water. A house with a light in the window.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Frank Horvat's Bestiary Alligator, 1994
An alligator peaks its head out of the water, in a beautiful glade with water lilies.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Tom Thomson Autumn, Algonquin Park, 1916 Art Gallery of Ontario
Oil painting with brightly coloured autumn foliage
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Frank Horvat 1984, New York, father and son in the subway From his series New York Up & Down
A man holding his sleeping son, seen from behind in the subway station.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Frank Horvat 1984, New York, women in a cafeteria From his series New York Up & Down
Two women having lunch, seen from outside. Reflection from across the street in the large window.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Frank Horvat 1984, New York, balloons in the subway From his series New York Up & Down
A man carrying party balloons gets on a graffiti-covered subway car.
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