In this exquisite letter sent from Rome, Fanny Hensel included a song—a trio for two sopranos and an alto with an opening line that translates to “tell me what my heart desires”—before wishing her mother a happy birthday. The document is decorated with drawings by her husband, the artist Wilhelm Hensel, with post-scripts by him and their nine-year-old son, Sebastian. Fanny Hensel was four years older than her brother, the composer Felix Mendelssohn, to whom she was close. A gifted pianist and composer, she rarely performed in public or published her music. On their visit to Rome, the Hensel family enjoyed the lively community around the Académie de France at Villa Medici, where Fanny’s private performances brought her a degree of recognition as a composer. __ Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel German, 1805–1847 Music and autograph letter to her mother, Lea, Rome, March 15, 1840 Drawings by Wilhelm Hensel (1794–1861) The Mary Flagler Cary Music Collection, The Morgan Library & Museum, MFC H5264.M5378. Photography by Carmen González Fraile #FannyHensel #MorganLibrary (fb)

“Tower,” by Iranian-American artist Shiva Ahmadi, is based on Indian representations of the deity Hanuman from the 17th and 18th centuries. In the work, seven monkeys are painted in translucent jewel tones. The figures—four sitting on top of tapered brick or stone towers, and three below—are entangled in delicate ribbons of watercolor that resemble calligraphy. Follow these ribbons and you see that each binds a figure to a round object, like a ball and chain. Within Ahmadi’s established iconography, the ornamental-looking balls signify objects of war—bombs and grenades—and the monkeys are the faceless subjects who enact the orders of despotic leaders. Lacking individual agency (“monkey see, monkey do”), they are ensnared in networks of corruption and violence. ___ Shiva Ahmadi (1975- ) Tower, 2017 The Morgan Library & Museum, Purchased with funds provided by Fady Jameel and Gail Monaghan, and on the Manley Family Fund, 2017.351. Photography by Graham Haber, 2019. © Shiva Ahmadi #AAPIHeritageMonth (fb)