It happened in a house museum.
The docent leading our group through the Rockefeller mansion just north of New York City paused by a John Singer Sargent painting. “This work by famed English artist…” she began, and before I could stop myself, I respectfully offered that the artist, though born in Italy of expat parents, was indeed American. Two journalism degrees and a passion for Sargent paintings can get the best of you.
I’m a writer, strategist, and creative director because I have a need to explore everything — portraiture, film, theatre, architecture — that opens a window into the stories of how people live. As a marketing expert with more than a decade of experience in arts and culture, I’m driven by the desire to uncover the universal experiences that connect us so deeply to creative expression. Why does an image jump out in the long scroll of social media? Why do some words strike at the heart of what we feel?
But it’s not just why — it’s how. I approach creative challenges with a business acumen to craft marketing solutions and drive results. I’m a collaborative leader who believes the best work comes when it doesn’t feel like work. And I’m the occasional, accidental docent because authenticity and truth matter. The stories of how it really happened in history are always the most interesting.
“I do not judge, I only chronicle.”
John Singer Sargent
Phillip B. Crook 