Somewhere inside Manhattan's Morgan Library & Museum is an illuminated manuscript from the 15th century called The Black Hours. It is one of many such books that were prevalent in Christian households in the Middle Ages, noting which prayers to recite throughout the day. But what makes The Black Hours so special-its vellum pages darkened with carbon, giving the silver and gold text and the ornately drawn religious scenes a striking luster-is also what makes it so fragile.
"It's like a ghost story," says the artist Lily Stockman, whose abstract paintings give off their own kind of glow. She's never seen The Black Hours in person (few have-it was last on view in 1997), but years ago she heard the tale of this 500-year-old book tucked inside an acid-free box. "Maybe there's something that's kind of romantic about that too," she says.
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