The future Queen Anne of Great Britain as Princess of Denmark, painted by Willem Wissing and Jan van der Vaart (1685, oil on canvas). Scottish National Gallery.

Camera obscura on female power and rivalry -- 'The Favourite'

January 2, 2019

“The Favourite” — a diabolically dotty Oscar contender about a diva of sorts supplanted by a younger rival — owes something to the 1950 Oscar winner “All About Eve.” Call it “All About Eve” for the PBS' “Masterpiece” set. Like “Eve’ it offers the reminder that life, the ultimate power player, often dictates that winners might actually be losers and losers, winners.

The good girl and the bad boy: King vs. Riggs in ‘Battle of the Sexes’

September 19, 2017

There are few more individualistic activities than tennis and few more fiercely individualistic people than tennis players.

“Battle of the Sexes,” which opens Friday, Sept. 22, gives us the iconic clash between two such individuals – tennis star Billie Jean King and former champ Bobby Riggs – in a 1973 match that was both a media event and a cause célèbre in the then-rising women’s movement. (King would win 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.)

At that time, there was no LGBTQ movement, and tennis players did not make the lavish livings they do today. The men were still something of barnstormers earning little more than beer money, and the women – whom they did not necessarily treat well – made squat. ...

Tennis, everyone

August 24, 2017

The qualifying rounds of the US Open are underway at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens. The actual tournament – the last of the four Slams – begins with first-round play Monday, Aug. 28. In the meantime, enjoy the game’s stars in a lighter mood at Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day on Saturday, Aug. 26.

On the tournament’s infrastructure front, the big news is the temporary Louie (as in Louis Armstrong Stadium) while the United States Tennis Association readies the new Louie for its Big Apple Bow next year. On the personnel front, a number of big names will be missing this year. ...