The persistence of types of artworks through the centuries always fascinates me. While materials may vary, the artwork still serves the same purpose. Before air conditioning, I’m sure fans were ...
Read ArticleWith the current focus on the Ebola outbreak, let’s reflect on the many epidemics that caught the world’s attention in the 20th and 21st centuries: bird flu, SARS, swine flu, flesh-eating ...
Read ArticleWilliam Morris (1834–1896, British) is not the only artist who can be associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late 1800s. I uncovered this artist in our collection who, in many ways, ...
Read ArticleI’m a big fan of artists, especially American artists, who may not be household names like Homer, Peale, or Eakins, but who nonetheless had an impact on art during their careers. There is such a ...
Read ArticleEffigy (portrait, human head, or whole figure) ceramic art (usually male) has been featured in all sorts of wares since ancient times from throughout the world. In many instances it is associated prim ...
Read ArticleIt often astounds me how little we learn from history (and by “we” I mean we human beings: any culture on this planet!). If you need reminding, I mention the massive immigrant/refugee cris ...
Read ArticleI’m celebrating the 4th of July by showing you one of the many portraits Gilbert Stuart did of our first president, George Washington. I hate to be an overly sappy art historian, but one of my s ...
Read ArticleI have long been a big fan/advocate for the importance of the earliest American artists who sought to buck the European-inspired academic system of history painting and realism. This “bucking&rd ...
Read ArticleThere are many ways to be a hero. I by no means denigrate our men and women in the armed services, who have given their all recently in two wars (one of which should never have happened). But, there a ...
Read ArticleI know there’s a popular cable show called Vikings. I’ve watched a few episodes, but, as an historian and art historian, I find it really doesn’t address many of the cultural co ...
Read ArticleStop me if you’ve heard this before, but I’m absolutely bonkers about ceramic art, and particularly Japanese and Chinese. This piece especially garnered my attention because it combines re ...
Read ArticleI guess it doesn’t need to be said, that, in the history of art, there are many artists who just don’t get massive exposure. Although they might often be lauded in their day, their works d ...
Read ArticleJust this week, I became reacquainted with this BEAUTIFUL head from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, probably from Flanders/Burgundy. Being half-Swiss I naturally gravitated in college to the study of t ...
Read ArticleThis offering is not so much about Americans abroad as it is for my admiration of any artist who can work in pastels. I’ve mentioned in a previous post how I always longed to become pr ...
Read ArticleOne of the most charming things, I think, is the enthusiasm of American designers after the “Industrial Age” kicked off in the early- to mid-1800s. The phenomenon led to the mass-productio ...
Read ArticleThe Davis Art Gallery just opened a show called All About Wood. In that spirit, I’m showing you one of my favorite wood pieces. Several years ago at a Christmas party we played an art histo ...
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