Artist Birthday: William Bell
The Civil War (1861–1865) was one of the earliest major wars that was extensively documented by the young art form of photography. William Bell started his career as a Daguerreotype photographer ...
Read More
< Back to Curator's Corner
Curator's Corner
Artist Birthday: Marcus Aurelius Root
Marcus Root was one of the first of a group of pioneer Daguerreotype photographers, among the first to open a portrait studio. He was an early advocate of photographers being considered artists. ...
Read More
Curator's Corner
Artist Birthday: Joshua Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds was part of the important first generation of native British artists who emerged after the Baroque period (1600–1750) that was marked by a dominance by foreign—mostly Flemi ...
Read More
Curator's Corner
Fiercely Independent: Ellen Day Hale
Out of nine children, Ellen Day Hale was the only daughter of the noted orator and author Edward Everett Hale (1822–1909). She came from a family filled with notable figures. Her great ...
Read More
Curator's Corner
Artist Birthday: Erastus Salisbury Field
Erastus Salisbury Field was an essentially self-taught painter who produced portraits, landscapes, and history subjects in his long career. He was one of the most successful of the great early America ...
Read More
Curator's Corner
Artist Birthday: Elizabeth Catlett
Elizabeth Catlett’s body of work as an artist was predominantly intended to connect with and honor achievements of African Americans, particularly women. Her works about women such as this army ...
Read More
Curator's Corner
An Image of Royal Power Attributed to Muhammad Hasan
In the history of portrait painting, it is fascinating to interpret what the artist is trying to convey about the sitter. Sometimes when the portrait is of a member of a ruling family, it’s pret ...
Read More
Curator's Corner
Art for National Peach Month 2024
August was first declared National Peach Month in the United States in 1982. Since August is the month when peaches are supposed to be at their peak ripeness, let’s look at some works of art tha ...
Read More
Curator's Corner
Celebrating Rembrandt's Birthday
As one of the most remarkable talents of the Dutch Golden Age of painting, Rembrandt had the distinction of becoming a fantastically successful artist. Although his contemporaries raved about him, Rem ...
Read More
Curator's Corner
Emancipated Artist: Moses Williams
In honor of Juneteenth this week, I present an earlier experience of emancipation—that of artist Moses Williams. When he was 9 years old, Williams’s parents were emancipated. At the time, ...
Read More
