The Mermaid, 1910 by Howard Pyle, The Delaware Museum of Art.
This was the painting Pyle was working on when he sailed for Italy to study mural painting by studying the Italian Renaissance masters. He died while in Italy.
Final Exam
The Architect's Dream, 1840 by Thomas Cole, The Toledo Museum of Art.
On my final for intro to art history, I would always include this work which the students had not seen before and ask them to identify at least five styles of architecture - it was fun and a good way to end the exam.
Breaking it Down
Composition 8, 1914 by Piet Mondrian, The Guggenheim Museum, NYC.
This is Mondrian's interpretation of a tree after seeing the cubist work of Braque and Picasso. He eventually took it to an even more abstract level.
Piet Mondrian Composition C (No.III) with Red, Yellow and Blue © 2007 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust c/o HCR International, Warrenton, VA
Women's Weeds
Dress 3 by Karen LaMonte, 2001. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
LaMonte honors women, dresses and the art of glass in her work. You see the body beneath the garment, but the garment really is the star of the show.
Big Business
The Chrysler Building, 1930, architect William Van Alen, New York.
An homage to all things modern, the tallest building (until the Empire State eclipsed it one year later), decorated with hubcaps, hood ornaments and steel so shiny it looks like chrome. It remains an Art Deco Icon.
Iconic
American Gothic, 1930 by Grant Wood, Art Institute of Chicago.
The "Gothic" in American Gothic refers to the window in the background of the painting. It is a style seen in Gothic churches with the point on the top. The woman is Wood's sister Nan and the man was the town dentist.
Inspiration
Gamble House, 1908 by Greene & Greene, Pasadena, CA.
A masterful combination of arts & crafts and Japanese aesthetics, the Gamble House is one of the crowning glories of the movement that preached a return to skilled craftsmanship and creating beautiful, useful objects.
Dining Room, The Gamble House, Pasadena CA
Charming
Halloween, 1955 by Anna Mary Robertson “Grandma Moses,” Copyright © 1984 Grandma Moses Properties Co. , The Bennington Museum, Bennington VT.
The Folk Artist known as Grandma Moses was 80 years old when she was "discovered" by a New York art dealer in 1940. For the next 20 years she painted and became a beloved American figure. She created over 1500 works although she did not begin to paint until in her 70's.
Soaked
Madame Matisse, 1983 by Helen Frankenthaler, University Art Museum, University at Albany State University of New York
Frankenthaler was strongly influenced by Pollock, but took his methodology down a different road when she used raw canvas and began to work with the stains the paint caused as it soaked in.
Horizon
Surrealist Landscape1990 - 1996 by George Morrison, The Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Morrison was born a Chippewa Native American who was then trained in the European/American style at the Art Students League in New York in the 1940's. The same place that turned out Jackson Pollock and many other Abstract Expressionists. His work shows these influences with a reverence for nature combined with a free-form style.
Wyeth Redux
Portrait of a Pig, 1970 by James Wyeth, The Brandywine River Museum.
Yet another artist in the Wyeth family. James is well known for his portraits although he creates paintings from many different genres.
Classic Beauty
Daybreak by Maxfield Parrish, 1922, Private Collection.
Parrish's father was an artist and he was encouraged by his family to pursue a career as an artist. He had a good deal of success as an artist, but also as illustrator who added life and color to many books. This is one of his most famous pieces and is still available as a print today.
Awwww!
Kitty and Girl on Beach, c. 1960's by Margaret Keane, glued to cardboard in basements.
Popular in the 1960's big eyed puppies, kitties and children could be found tacked to bedroom walls and in this case on puzzles from Woolworth. These works were painted by Margaret Keane whose husband originally claimed to be the artist. It eventually came down to a “paint off” between the two. The story is captured in the movie Big Eyes.
Homage
Carhenge, c.1987, Alliance, NE
More Painting with Glass
Garden Landscape and Fountain, 1905-1915 by Louis Comfort Tiffany, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Tiffany's father began the jewelry business that has become on of the world's most famous and Louis Comfort Tiffany could have settled into the family business, but instead he chose to create a legacy of his own and some of the most widely collected and prized art glass in the world.
Painting with Glass
The Fish, 1890 by John La Farge, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
La Farge worked in stained glass creating many famous projects in public buildings, especially churches. He was also a painter in oil and watercolors, and a writer.
Blue and White Vases
The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, 1882 by John Singer Sargent, MFA Boston.
Sargent's portraits of children are among his most expressive. It must have been nice for him to work with subjects who would have probably been less vain than the adults (although I am sure a few of them were looking over his shoulder).
Revival
Andy Mouse, 1985 by Keith Haring © Keith Haring Foundation
Haring was very popular from the mid 1980's on. He was a real presence in NYC first through the drawings he used to do in chalk on the black matte surfaces of empty subway advertising panels. These drawings brought him recognition and gallery shows. He and Jean-Michel Basquiat, his friend have had a return to popularity recently.
This work in a portrait of Andy Warhol.
Feminist Art or Just Art?
The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago, 1974-79, Brooklyn Museum
There are two exhibitions at the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington DC right now that were organized by the Brooklyn Museum. They are a show featuring the work of artist Judy Chicago, often label as a Feminist, but naturally as labels go, she is that and so much more.
detail from The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago
Reflection
Symphony in White No.2: Little White Girl by James Abbot McNeill Whistler, Tate Gallery, London.
The Japanese theme in Whistler's art can be seen in the decorations around the figure of the woman. Around the mid 19th century Japanese influences began to appear in Europe and became quite fashionable.