A Realism Backlash? Modern Art Heads
After the horrors experienced by Europeans in World War I (1914–1918), the brakes were more or less put on to the prevailing trend towards modernism and abstraction, although certainly many arti ...
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Curator's Corner
How Old Is This? Edo and Jutta Sika Ceramics
Lately, I can’t seem to get away from seeing “abstraction” in all sorts of places. I came across this wonderful Japanese bowl from the mid-1700s to mid-1800s, during the Edo period ( ...
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Curator's Corner
Recognize This Artist? Louise Nevelson
When I was teaching art history, I guess I was a student’s worst nightmare, because on tests I would not show them images of the works that they had seen in the book and in class. Instead, I wou ...
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Curator's Corner
Women's (Art) History Month: Nell Blaine
There are so many inspiring stories involving artists throughout history that I could probably crank out a blog every day! (Don’t worry, I’m not going to do that!) But, to celebrate Women& ...
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Curator's Corner
African American History Month 2015: Jae Jarrell
The G.I. Bill after World War II (1939–1945) allowed unprecedented numbers of African Americans to attend art schools. Since African Americans served with distinction in both WWII and the Korean ...
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Curator's Corner
Survey No. 11: Unknown Impressionists
Art in the 1800s brought us the terms Neoclassicism, Romanticism, and Realism, covered in my New Slant on Art History. The second half of the century saw a major shift in how artists used art to portr ...
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Curator's Corner
Survey No. 10: Ubiquitous Real
So far we have taken a look at Classicism and Romanticism around the world in the 1800s. Now let’s look at “realism,” which—like every other style—has been a trend somewh ...
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Curator's Corner
Drawing: Ruth Henshaw Bascom
I’m showing you Ruth Henshaw Bascom’s work as a celebration of the new show in the Davis Art Gallery, Drawing: The Art of Making Marks. Drawing was not really considered a “fine ...
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Curator's Corner
Spiritual Color: Sister Gertrude Morgan
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 ...
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Curator's Corner
Unsung Heroes: Dorothea Lange
There 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 ...
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