The large figures on the Hope Memorial Bridge in Cleveland (also known as the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge) were created by sculptor Henry Hering in 1932 and executed by many stone carvers who found much work in Cleveland in the early 20th century. The architects of the bridge were the firm of Walker and Weeks. Hering was primarily a Beaux-Arts style sculptor, having been a student of the famous Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and the architect Frank Walker is credited with the over-all art deco design of the figures. In the 1970’s they were almost taken down and the county engineer at that time thought they were hideous, but thank goodness they saved and remain an important part of the city landscape. The bridge was renamed the Hope Memorial Bridge in 1980 after the entertainer Bob Hope donated money for its restoration because his father had worked on it.
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Standing Guard
Cleveland Guardian of Traffic – photo by David SchwartzHope Memorial Bridge: Guardians of Traffic holding truck – CSU Digital Humanities -
Richness of Color
Universe by Olga SuvorovaAnother of the artists I have found on Pinterest series. Olga Suvorova (b. 1966) is a Russian artist whose beautifully detailed paintings call to mind the rich color and workmanship of the great Northern Renaissance artist Jan van Eyck and the Henry VIII court painter Hans Holbein. Suvorova’s detail and imagination, combined with her use of color, create truly breath-taking paintings.
The Theatre by Olga Suvorova -
Art for All
Everyone knows about the financial and societal woes of Detroit. The once grand and prospering city has been in decline for decades now and an emergency manager was appointed in March which gave fiscal control to the state instead of the city. Last week the news came out that all city interests are being examined as possible revenue streams, up to and including, the city owned Detroit Institute of Arts. Now in all probability, the city would not be able to sell off assets given in trust or as gifts to the institution and the idea has already sparked a backlash in the museum community who would take it as a direct assault on museums in general. Even the suggestion of looting the collection really drives home how desperate situation is. The DIA owns some spectacular pieces, a Brueghel any museum would love to own, a beautiful Caravaggio, the painting by Whistler that sparked (pun intended) the legendary Whistler vs. Ruskin case, a sublime Bingham, and of course the Rivera Court, just to name a few. Perhaps all this publicity will remind people the depth and beauty of the collection and how a visit, over the course of the summer, to see it for themselves would do the DIA and the city good. -
Quiet Remembrance
Although considered part of the Harlem Renaissance movement, Motley never lived in Harlem. He was born in New Orleans and moved to Chicago where he studied art the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. This painting from early in his career shows his grandmother Emily Motley (a former slave) quietly mending socks surrounded by mementos and references to her life. -
Discovered on Pinterest
Marguerite Kelsey by Meredith Frampton, 1928, Tate, London.Meredith Frampton was the son of a sculptor who created very detailed and finely finished paintings of a very modern style for the early 20th century. Some of his work, even veers toward the surreal in style. Frampton used a model for this work and dressed her in the latest austere fashions from Paris, making the work all the more modern in tone. -
Herculaneum – The Redheaded Step Child
Pompeii A.D. 79 by Alfred Elmore, 1878, Yale Center for British ArtAn exhibition entitled The Last Days of Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection opened on February 24th and runs through July 7, 2013 at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The exhibition features works inspired by the loss of the cities in 79 AD and their re-discovery in the early 18th century. It includes works by a wise range of artists from Piranesi and his detailed drawings of the site, to Rothko’s abstract expressionist take on the murals from the Villa of the Mysteries. -
Western Art
This weekend a new art venue opens on Cleveland’s near west side. The Transformer Station is a project of the Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Foundation and a collaboration with The Cleveland Museum of Art that strives to being contemporary art to Cleveland’s oft neglected west side. The opening exhibition is called Bridging Cleveland Photographs by Vaughn Wascovich also, Light of Day Photographs from the Collection of Fred and Laura Bidwell. -
Generations
The Fighting Gillises
, 1944 by
.
Six generations of soldiers in the same family. This was a
cover.
Happy Veteran’s Day!
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Seattle Art Glass 2012
Seattle Art Glass 2012, a set on Flickr.
I recently visited The Seattle area where we saw some amazing art glass.
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Happy Birthday, Ingres
Madame Moitessier, 1856 by Jacques-Auguste-Dominque Ingres, National Gallery of Art, London.
True to the fashion of his time, Ingres was more interested in painting historic scenes than doing portraits, but also true, portraits are an artist’s bread and butter. Mme. Moitessier’s husband asked Ingres to paint his wife’s portrait and Ingres refused, upon meeting her however, he was intrigued and agreed to paint her. Notice how the use of the mirror behind her, gives us two portraits in one.
Your Daily Art 
