Rachel Harmeyer

Independent art historian and visual artist. Posts mainly focus on the visual history of death, mourning, and needlework.

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

Very excited to have a chapter on amateur American artists who embroidered copies after Angelica Kauffman in this forthcoming anthology! Young women adapted her work to creatively communicate their educated status and cultural values. https://t.co/DhcnK6EaP3

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

Hi everyone, I’ve been on twitter for many years, from sharing posts on the visual culture of death and mourning as deathandthegirl since before I went to grad school for art history, up to now— leaving feels strange, but necessary. My academic profile on insta is rrharmeyer.

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

@zorafuture Don’t forget the café au lait and beignets! Hope you’re having a great time.

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

Watching the Serpent Queen has made me interested in learning more about the history of wearing white as a color for mourning. As always, @ArtOfMourning never disappoints: Mourning Fashion in White https://t.co/SW5QEjfQjp

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

@BairdCampbell The crimes done against innocent avocados were too much for me.

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

@1a @DrTempleGrandin When teaching, I encourage my students to break down paintings visually (into foreground, middle ground background) and think critically about how the elements interact and create meaning as well as the artist’s intent. It’s fun to see the wheels click in their heads!

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

@1a @DrTempleGrandin Omg I see in PowerPoint slides! Handy for an art historian. ;)

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

@JessicaHarby I thought of you yesterday!

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

This feels like the real ceremonial ending: returning my last library book. #phdlife #phd

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

Stress dream turned out to involve me unprepared to teach a new class in a mystery location. I’ll take it, unconscious. Growth?

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

I think I’ve finally submitted every bureaucratic thing I need to officially graduate with my PhD this December, but there is still a 99.9% chance I will have a stress nightmare where I forgot to finish high school tonight.

[The Historic New Orleans Collection @visit_hnoc]

The New Orleans Cemetery Database is an online resource providing free access to digitized versions of cemetery-related records housed at The Historic New Orleans Collection: https://t.co/L1pRNdOCaG

Image: A postcard of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, ca. 1907-1913.

#nola #history

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

All this to say is that if you know how to look things up, even a basic keyword search, it’s regarded as some kind of superpower!

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

At my first real job in a library, I was surprised at how much of my role consisted of responding to random inquiries by simply searching Google for people. I had no idea how much this would be what I do most often at every job I’ve ever had.

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

And by this I mean most of what I do is looking up and sharing information on request with people who could have accessed it easily on their own.

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

#Neoclassical iconography pervades this beautiful #mourning miniature/immortelle containing hair from multiple family members. Miniatures of mourners in elegiac landscapes were popular from the 1780s on. Rather than classical attire, this mourner wears 19th c. contemporary dress!

[The Historic New Orleans Collection @visit_hnoc]

The St. Cyr and Lacoste family immortelle -- made of human hair and paint on an ivory background -- is on view in the Louisiana History Galleries.

Plan your visit: https://t.co/AJdhJsVtue

#nola #history

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

@BairdCampbell Maddening! Thank you for fighting the good fight. I’m strongly considering switching to secondary education because of the deficits I observed in my first-year college students that are completely not their fault. A drop in the bucket but maybe worth it?

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

Archivists are the heroes we need right now. You don’t mess with the rules of the archive.

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

@elle_hunt https://t.co/ohhD0AtElg

[Rachel Harmeyer @rrharmeyer]

@elle_hunt I’m from the Gulf South in the US. Drink lots of water, stay indoors, look up how to use an electric box fan properly to get good cross ventilation if you don’t have ac, and try to keep cool!