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The Hydra of Madison Avenue by Todd Schorr, 2001
This work is a trip down memory lane with a message about mass consumerism and Madison Avenue advertising. How many logos do you recognize? Schorr's detailed and beautifully colorful paintings have been aptly called Neosurrealist
Althea by John White Alexander, 1895. Private Collection.
John White Alexander is primarily known as a portraitist who created beautiful, languid portraits of the young society women in his circle. He achieved success in France where he received many honors, as well as, in the US where he painted many luminaries of the day including Walt Whitman, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Mark Twain, and John Burrows. The Smithsonian Archives of American Art has made his papers available online.
Repose by John White Alexander, 1895, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Penelope Unraveling her Work by Dora Wheeler, 1886, textile.
Wheeler and her mother ran an interior design firm and Dora Wheeler did some original textiles for the firm. This piece is featured in the Connections/Poetry by Jennette Mullaney.
The Cleveland Museum of Art also has a wonderful portrait of Dora Wheeler, which features a textile (with fighting cats) behind her done painted by her teacher William Merritt Chase.
Portrait of Dora Wheeler by William Merritt Chase, 1882-83, The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Sharecropper by Elizabeth Catlett, 1957.
Elizabeth Catlett has always felt it was very important for her to present images of Black America with a straight forward dignity and pride so other people around the world could see what she sees.
Maurice Prendergast, Landscape with Figures, 1921.
Originally posted in 2010.
I am currently getting ready to make a trip up to Nova Scotia and Québec and in looking-up Canadian artists I discovered that one of my favorites, Maurice Prendergast was born in St. John, Newfoundland. His family eventually settled in Boston and he was part of the Ashcan School but usually with a lighter tone, a brighter palette, and a more abstract hand.
Burn by Kara Walker, 1998.
Kara Walker takes a close look at race in America and makes strong statements about what she sees. In this instance, her artwork is done as a silhouette and at first glance may not seem to be a harsh a look as it really is; her use of a traditional and mostly innocuous medium makes her message even stronger.
Classic shape and colors, Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI
The Pewabic pottery was founded by Mary Chase Perry Stratton in 1903 in Detroit and the building they built to house the pottery in 1915 is still being used today. They have a museum, they offer classes, and they run a retail shop out of the original building. It is the only arts & crafts pottery still in continuous production in the Midwest.
Pewabic Pottery, Detroit MI
Black, White, and Ten Red by Alexander Calder, 1957, NGA, Washington.
Calder was from a family of artists but chose to himself to train as an engineer; skills that would serve him well when he changed course and began to study art at the Art Students League in NYC.
Flower Market, Tokyo by Robert Frederick Blum, c. 1892.
Blum was born in Cincinnati where he worked for a lithographer before he began to take classes in drawing. He had a strong interest in all things Japanese as did many other artists at the time such as Whistler and Monet. Blum's preferred medium was pastels and he and W.M. Chase founded the Society of Painters in Pastel in New York.
Red Canna by Georgia O'Keeffe, 1923, University of Arizonia Art Museum.
Everyone has many associations with a flower - the idea of flowers. Still-in a way - nobody sees a flower - really - it is so small - we haven' t the time...So I said to myself - I'll paint what I see - what the flower looks like to me but I'll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it. - Georgia O'Keeffe,
Georgia O'Keeffe, Viking, 1973.
The New Novel by Winslow Homer, 1877, Museum of Fine Art, Springfield MA
This work is a favorite among avid readers and book clubs for obvious reasons. The orange of the dress and the girl's hair provide a warm contrast against the background dominated by shades of brown and green.
Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room, designed by James McNeill Whistler, 1876-77.
Whistler was asked by the room's owner to paint the room to compliment the painting that Whistler had done that is seen over the fireplace. When the owner returned he was stunned and horrified at what Whistler had done. Luckily, he did not destroy it and the room is now found at the Freer Gallery in Washington D.C.
Section of a Stencil from the face of the Main Ceiling Trusses of the Trading Room of the Chicago Stock Exchange Building 1893/94 designed by Adler and Sullivan and executed by Healy and Miller, The Art Institute of Chicago.
The trading room from the Chicago Stock Exchange was dismantled when the building was torn down and reconstructed at The Art Institute of Chicago. The building was torn down in 1972. It was designed by the famous Chicago architecture firm of Adler and Sullivan.
The Return of Odysseus (Homage to Pinturicchio and Benin), 1977 by Romare Bearden.
Bearden has re-cast the Greek hero if Homer's epic The Odyssey as an African family as they might have been portrayed in art from the African Kingdom of Benin. He also references frescos by the Italian artist Pinturicchio in the composition (and the title).
George Washington (Lansdowne portrait), 1796 by Gilbert Stuart, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian.
This portrait of Washington was on loan to the Smithsonian for many years until the owner decided to sell it. It was offered to the NPG for $20 million. A gift was given that allowed for its purchase and to renovate the gallery where it hangs.
Meadow Heart #1, 1971 by Jim Dine.
Dine creates "multiples" of everyday objects. He also takes advantage of every medium available.
The Midnight Mass, 1911 by Edward Timothy Hurley, Cincinnati Art Museum.
A beautiful night time snow scene showing the rooftops and the majority of the light coming from the church as the faithful have left their homes to attend.
Anne with a Japanese Parasol, 1917 by George Bellows.
Bellows did quite a few portraits of his family and friends. This is his oldest daughter. He was a member of the group known as The Eight and a teacher at the Art Students League.
Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly, c. 1950-64 by James Hampton, The Smithsonian.
James Hampton worked as a Janitor to earn a living all his life, on his off time he was compelled to create art to express his strong religious beliefs. He made this assemblage out of discarded furniture, flashbulbs, wrapped in gold and silver foil and purple tissue paper.
