Blogs

portraiture

Curator’s Corner

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2023: Chan Chao

Tuesday, May 30, 2023 | Karl Cole

Photography was a groundbreaking art form when it was first introduced. Quite soon after its development, numerous Western photographers explored photography for documentary and journalistic purposes. ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

Women's History Month 2022: Toyin Ojih Odutola

Monday, March 14, 2022 | Karl Cole

Nigerian-born artist Toyin Ojih Odutola explores contemporary definitions of gender, culture, and society with a unique graphic/painting technique. ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

Respect for the Aged Day 2021

Monday, September 20, 2021 | Karl Cole

The concept of filial piety (reverence for one’s elders) has been deeply ingrained in many cultures around the world for forever. At one time this may have been the case in the West, but the obs ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

How Art Looks at Age

Monday, August 9, 2021 | Karl Cole

Having made my weekly visit to my dear friend Alice in a senior residence—where she was committed by a state conservator—I began thinking about how society perceives older (and I refuse to ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

The Headgear of Ancient Egypt

Monday, November 9, 2020 | Karl Cole

Since I was a child art historian (there is such a thing), I have been fascinated by the art and culture of ancient Egypt. Aside from the amazing continuity of almost 3000 years in their canonized art ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

Ancient Egypt Find

Monday, May 13, 2019 | Karl Cole

Because of the recent news about an exciting archeological find in Giza, I decided to show some stunning portraits from ancient Egypt. ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

African American History Month 2018 IV

Monday, February 26, 2018 | Karl Cole

One of the avenues of expression in the flourishing of African American art since the Harlem Renaissance (ca. 1920s–1940) has been the exploration of subject matter concerning the contemporary B ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

Something Beautiful for March

Saturday, March 19, 2016 | Karl Cole

Instead of showing a painting of daffodils blooming or March winds and rain, I’d like to look at one of my favorite photographers, who just happened to take this photograph in March. It probably ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

National Women's History Month 2016

Friday, March 18, 2016 | Karl Cole

To celebrate National Women’s History Month I would like to introduce you to a woman who is not in many history books about Europe: Queen Anna Jagiellon. However, she played a very important rol ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

The Peale Women

Monday, January 25, 2016 | Karl Cole

The name “Peale” is synonymous with the First Family of American painting. The painters of the Peale family were the first “dynasty” of American art, and what a dynasty! They e ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

Photo Phear

Monday, August 31, 2015 | Karl Cole

I am Totally not into getting my photograph taken, especially while on vacation, so I am the last person on Earth who should criticize the way other people come out in photographic portraits. I don&rs ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

Happy Fourth of July Week

Monday, July 6, 2015 | Karl Cole

I would really have liked to have been around when George Washington was our first president! That must have been such an exciting (and challenging, to be sure) period in which to live. Everything abo ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

Patriots Day Week

Friday, April 24, 2015 | Karl Cole

Since Monday was Patriots Day, as well as the running of the Boston Marathon, I’m celebrating this week—in an art historical way, of course—with one of my favorite colonial portrait ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

One of the Forbearers of American Art

Monday, February 3, 2014 | Karl Cole

Since I moved to New England years ago, I have come to greatly to appreciate the rich history of our country. One of the most interesting aspects of realllllly early American art is the influence (nat ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

Oil Painting in Italy

Tuesday, September 4, 2012 | Karl Cole

I really love the Philadelphia Museum of Art, especially the monastery-like room in which I saw this painting displayed. I also really like getting the side-eye from this guy, because this artist is o ...

Read More
Curator’s Corner

An African Photographer

Monday, October 18, 2010 | Karl Cole

In looking at the history of art, I always try to appreciate art that is under-appreciated. Photography has been accepted as an art form since the early 1900s, although is it rarely studied outside of ...

Read More

Always Stay in the Loop

Want to know what’s new from Davis? Subscribe to our mailing list for periodic updates on new products, contests, free stuff, and great content.

Back to top