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The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters from Los Caprichos,1799 by Francisco Goya.
Los Caprichos was a series of prints Goya produced after he had become quite ill and eventually lost his hearing. It seems he let his imagination run wild and captured all of these unfettered thoughts in this group of etchings.
River Trout , c.1830 by Ando Hiroshige.
Hiroshige is best known for his woodblock prints, but was also a skilled painter and wrote a book on fish.
Knucklebones, c. 1830 -1896 by Frederic, Lord Leighton, Private Collection.
Playing an ancient Greek game called Astragoli, the model looks like she is sleeping rather than playing a game. Leighton's models were often seen lounging in diaphanous gowns.
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.
Red Hous, 1859 owned by William Morris, architect Philip Webb. Decorated by Morris & Co., National Trust, Bexleyheath, England.
A departure from the traditional Victorian style because it was open and full of light. Morris reaction to the industrial movement motivated him to hire artists and craftspersons to decorate the home and lead to the beginning of the arts and crafts movement.Interiors
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
Cat and Spider, c.1868 - 1912 by Oide Toko, The Metropolitan Museum.
From the Meiji period which began during the end of the feudal period and when Japan was exposed to the modern world. An eclectic mix of the ancient mix of the two worlds.
Three Black Cats by Maud Lewis, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
Canada's best known Folk Artist is Maud Lewis.The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia even has her small house which she decorated with her paintings restored and on display.
Maud Lewis House in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
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.
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.
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.
The Kiss by Gustav Klimt.
The most famous artist of the Art Nouveau period is Klimt who sense of decoration and design made his artwork rich and complicated. The two figures seem to emerge from the field of gold, flowers and shapes.
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.
The Abbey in the Oakwood, 1809-10 by Casper David Friedrich, Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin.
Friedrich's remarkable landscapes in the Romantic style influenced the great landscape artists of the Hudson River School and the Rocky Mountain School.This work was done in sepia.
Owl Wallpaper, c. 1898 by Charles F.A. Voysey.
Voysey began designing wallpaper and fabric and later moved on to architecture, as well. His simple style appealed to tastes that were becoming increasingly influenced by the British Arts & Crafts movement.
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.
Archangel Gabriel, 13th Century AD, Notre Dame Cathedral, Reims,France.
Notre Dame at Reims is the first example of the High Gothic style of architecture. It is highly decorated with carving, sculpture and stained glass. It sustained a great deal of damage after the French Revolution and during WWII.
Archangel Gabriel with Mary
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.
Carhenge, c.1987, Alliance, NE
Stonehenge, c.2950 BC, Salisbury Plain, England.
An ancient series of monoliths set in a circular pattern has enchanted and intrigued people for centuries because the original purpose has been lost - there are many theories that attempt to explain the site. Also, recent discoveries of other sites have brought about new scholarship.