#cassatt and shelley wouldn't warrant a second glance on the el.

[notbecauseofvictories]

It's heartening sometimes to realize how incredibly ordinary historical figures looked. If you watch a bunch of period dramas, you come away thinking that history was made exclusively by shockingly attractive people---when actually, famous poets with burnished names look more like Jim, The Local Bank Manager; artists who broke the mold wouldn't look out of place scrolling through their phone on the subway. You could walk past the absurdly wealthy doyennes of society in the grocery store and never give them a second glance.

#have you ever seen a photograph of the mitford sisters? #they're just women. attractive women certainly! but regular degular good-looking ladies. #rossetti and apollinaire look like bank managers. #cassatt and shelley wouldn't warrant a second glance on the el. #.......the vanderbilts got lucky with gloria tbh #anyway these are the things I think about sometimes when I look in the mirror and feel very average. #celestial emporium of benevolent knowledge