Have You Met Jules André Smith?

Jules Andre Smith’s experimental artist’s colony is an aesthetic masterpiece, created over 22 years by his singular artistic vision. Now the Maitland Art Center, and one of the only remaining examples “Mayan Revival” fantasy architecture in the Southeastern U.S. Smith’s compound is must-see National Historic Landmark. […]

David Bowie’s Post-Modernist Space Oddities

From the Renaissance through the mid-19th century, Western artists applied the logic of perspective in their work and were judged by their skill in reproducing reality. But fundamental changes in technology, science and philosophy were occurring by the end of the 19th century, inducing a series of new aesthetic movements. Some were longer-lived than others. […]

Have You Met Diné (Navajo) Photographer, Will Wilson?

Diné photographer Will Wilson (b. 1969) presents an authentic, contemporary depiction of Indigenous culture, using historical photographic techniques, in a comparative dialog with the work of Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868-1952). Curtis holds an enduring place the history of photography as a result of his life’s work, the 20-volume The North American Indian. Between 1900 and […]

Discovering American Arts and Crafts Woodblock Prints

In the late 19th century, the wave of Japonisme that washed over Western culture merged with the American Arts and Crafts reform movement — with its heightened interest in craftsmanship and the handmade — leading to the broad acceptance and popularity of color woodcuts. This centuries-old art of Japan inspired American artists to design beautiful, […]

Have You Met Arthur Wesley Dow?

Arthur Wesley Dow (1857, Ipswich, MA – 1922, NYC, NY) should be more widely recognized as a leader on the American art scene of the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He worked in watercolor, oils and ink, was a printmaker, a photographer and a lifelong designer. But his real influence was carried forward by his students.   While […]

Exploring the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement

Years in the planning, St. Petersburg FL’s magnificent MAACM is the only museum in the world dedicated to the American Arts and Crafts Movement. MAACM is a destination museum for devotees of the design and craftsmanship of the decorative arts in America in the decades flanking the turn of the 20th century. […]

Portraiture: Alive & Well in America Today  

Every three years, the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) highlights the creativity and skill of contemporary portrait artists in America with the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition and exhibition. This year’s finalists demonstrate the power of the genre and its capacity to make visual a broad range of life experiences. […]