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realism

Curator's Corner

Mexican Artists in America: Jose Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza

Monday, September 24, 2012 | Karl Cole

I’d like to point out in this blog post the contribution of Mexican artists to American art since long before many parts of the country were colonized as American states. The Spanish tried to lu ...

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Curator's Corner

Celebrating Back-to-School: Winslow Homer

Wednesday, August 29, 2012 | Karl Cole

My nieces and nephew return to school this week, and I thought we should celebrate with an image of school in American art. With a twist, of course. I’ve written about Winslow Homer before in th ...

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Curator's Corner

Edgar Degas Early Self-Portrait

Tuesday, May 8, 2012 | Karl Cole

As a painter myself, I find it fascinating to watch a famous painter’s progress from early to late work. In the case of Edgar Degas (1834–1917), I’m always over the top because he is ...

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Curator's Corner

Women's History Month 2012: Eva Gonzalès

Monday, March 12, 2012 | Karl Cole

Last week I featured a woman who was a member of the first generation of Japanese women admitted into art schools, the coveted guild of ceramic artists in particular. I featured a Japanese woman artis ...

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Curator's Corner

Women, Restriction, and Art History: Barbara Regina Dietzsch

Monday, August 29, 2011 | Karl Cole

I have previously mentioned in this blog my observation that even though women artists are not covered adequately in art history surveys, they nonetheless were an integral part of art history. I said ...

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Curator's Corner

The Anonymous Artist: J.T. Bowen

Tuesday, July 5, 2011 | Karl Cole

While accessioning the John James Audubon Quadruped series this week, something occurred to me that I never really considered before, call it my “Hmmm” moment of the week: In the hist ...

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Curator's Corner

African American History Month 2011: John Biggers

Monday, February 7, 2011 | Karl Cole

Let’s start off African American History month with one of my favorite artists, John Biggers. The theme for this month in SchoolArts is “Messages,” so let’s examine what Bigger ...

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Curator's Corner

Art Breaking the Law? William Michael Harnett

Monday, January 17, 2011 | Karl Cole

Having said last week that I’m “not a big fan of realism,” I’ll punish that thought again by showing you a work by a master realist. I just came across this work in passing, an ...

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Curator's Corner

What Do You Know? Anthony Sisti

Monday, January 10, 2011 | Karl Cole

I’m not usually a big fan of realism, but when I come across an artist with an interesting background, I like to share it with you. Goodness knows one does not hear much about sports figures tra ...

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Curator's Corner

Importance of Portraits IV: Rosa Bonheur

Monday, September 20, 2010 | Karl Cole

Yes, I’m including a doggie portrait in my ongoing ode to the portrait. Whether a dog, cat, bird, squirrel, ermine, or fish, animals have been part of portraiture in western art since the reviva ...

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Curator's Corner

Unique Artist of His Time: Adolf Dehn

Monday, August 9, 2010 | Karl Cole

I generally find myself drawn to the work of artists whose names are not routinely discussed in the House of Art History. Adolf Dehn is one of those artists. I find the period between World War I (191 ...

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Curator's Corner

The Forgotten Impressionist: Pierre Prins

Monday, January 25, 2010 | Karl Cole

Pastel is a medium I have always dearly wanted to master but have never quite gotten a handle on. I’ve seen masters such as Jean-Étienne Liotard or John Singleton Copley who did portraits ...

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Curator's Corner

Northern Renaissance Engraver: Israhel van Meckenem

Monday, November 9, 2009 | Karl Cole

I like showing you works from the Renaissance period in Northern Europe. This is partly because my mother was Swiss and I wrote my master’s thesis about a Swiss Renaissance painter (yes, Switzer ...

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Curator's Corner

Ancient Roman Realism

Monday, June 8, 2009 | Karl Cole

While when we think of the art of ancient Rome we tend to connect it to the influence of Greek art, there was a strong naturalistic trend in Roman art that would have appalled Greek artists. ...

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Curator's Corner

What Is Realism? Jan van Eyck and Henry O. Tanner

Monday, June 1, 2009 | Karl Cole

American art has always been characterized by a strong reverence for realism, from the early colonial portraits by artists such as John Singleton Copley, through the Hudson River School, and into the ...

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