Although I did not get to the big art fairs in South Florida this year, I do try
to keep up with the art world and subscribe to magazines. A couple of them
now offer digital subscriptions at very low prices, superb color photos, and
excellent articles about shows, styles, and individual artists. You can adjust
the size of text and pictures and go in as close you want for details.
Galleries also have ads for pieces for sale, like this wonderful
"Peony Tiffany Lamp."
"The Star" by Alexander Calder is a large tapestry from 1975.
"Woman Reclining" by Tadashi Osama in 1969 is a very interesting work,
which to me shows the influence of Matisse and Philip Pearlstein,
among others, but is also unique.
Christian Cravo is a wildlife photographer, and his pictures ae available in various sizes
from desktop to large wall size. This is "Family of Young Cheetahs." There were also
photos of lion, giraffes, and elephants available.
"Rainbow" is a silkscreen print by Roy Lichtenstein in Pop Art Style.
He made use of commercial techniques, like very simple forms
and Ben Day dots, to show shading and medium hues.
American antiques represent an area I am working on.
This is a Carousel Horse carved of wood from the 19th century.
Art is much more than "Fine arts of painting and sculpture."
Jeff Koons. "Blue Balloon Dog." Porcelain. 12 inches.
These come in many different colors; the last ones I saw at a show
were going for $25,000. The 15 foot tall versions go for many millions
and are made of stainless steel.
I find furniture fascinating. This is a Pennsylvania
mahogany chest with painted decorations of the 18th century.
"Saunier Book of Hours." This an illuminated manuscript of 1490-1500
from Lyons, France. The man who did the lettering and the man who did the
illuminated pictures are both known. It contains prayers to be said at the
eight canonical times per day. A couple commissioned it, and the lady is
pictured above in red with her patron saint, Catherine, standing behind her.
The male figure is probably St. Stephen, holding the rocks which would be used
to kill him, in his garment.
Pair of porcelain vases from 1878 made by Marc Solon for the Paris Exposition.
The technique is pate on pate, which means dozens of layers of clay slip
added one by one and allowed to dry. These vases took several months to make.
But the style is called Pompeian, both because of the subject matter, but also
because the layers of slip are thick enough to be carved like the cameos of Pompei.
Ancient art is always included. This is Egyptian/Nubian
of the 25th dynasty and depicts the goddess Hathor, who can
be identified by the horns.
"George Washington" mantelpiece clock.
President Washington was extremely popular, and many products
were made using his image.
Jasper Johns. "Target." 1947 Print.
Johns was not interested in heroic figures or saints or farmers,
but he decided to use 2D objects such as flags and targets
and make them art objects. This is one of the first.
John Chamberlain created "Cashmereelite" from pieces of
lacquered steel from old cars. Sculpture did not have to be made of
cast bronze or carved wood, but could be any 3D material.
Sebastiao Salgado. "Mountain of Chile." Photo.
Until recently, women artists have been overlooked or ignored.
No more. This is from an article about women artists in the
Provincetown, MA, art colony, who especially worked in prints.
Blanche Lazzell created "Provincetown Backyards" in
colored woodblock technique.
Although the New York School has dominated thinking about
American art for a while, these days the Schools of Chicago,
and California, of San Francisco and Los Angeles, are all
being recognized and studied. This is "Satellite" by
Roland Peterson, a 97 year old artist in San Francisco.
"Angulo Amarillo" is a large steel sculpture by Carmen Herrera.
She was both a prolific painter and a sculptor. Her work is finally
being recognized.
A very interesting article discusses how Taos, New Mexico, has
influenced artists in a variety of styles from realistic to abstract.
"American Indian Abstraction" is by Hilaire Hiler from 1930.
Andrew Dasburg created "Taos Pueblo" as a woodblock print in 1925.
Articles about special shows are especially interesting.
The National Portrait Gallery in London currently has a show
for the 19th century British artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti,
who was one of the leading Pre-Raphaelites.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti. "Proserpine." 1870
The mane of hair and the full lips are
typical of the Pre-Raphaelites, partly because
two of their wives looked like that.
"Lady Lilith." 1868
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