Anastázie Harris

4 posts
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Alicja Knast and Her Wonderland

Maybe it’s characteristic of all small nations, but we Czechs are world experts: while a genius is in our midst, we are unable to properly appreciate them. Leading a vast gallery (without any scandals) with an extensive collection is a very rare art in the world. And when the general director of the National Gallery finally bids farewell to Prague, the managerial (and genuinely human) calibre of Alicja Knast will be sorely missed.
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Breakfast at Tiffany’s, dinner at Poirot’s

“Queen Elizabeth II., legendary hostess of the world’s most formal banquets, preferred to dine alone, eating with a tray on her knees in front of the television. Has elegant dining really disappeared?” In her meditation on good food, Anastázie Harris, who today grows potatoes and asparagus in her English garden, ponders this question. She reflects on the evolution of dining, from aristocratic Sunday lunch in a block of flats, to high tea and lavish picnics.
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Anastázie Harris: My three Gardens

“Shortly before his death, Čapek recalled the lovely image of an English cottage with a garden. After spending a quarter of a century in England, there is no greater praise than when my (English) neighbour says, “how do you do it? I wish I had a garden like yours,”” Anastazie Harris begins her essay. She is the at times proud, other times despairing, owner of gardens in Tunbridge Wells, Slavkov u Brna and Maříž.