In the 20th century, the works of Gustave Baumann became iconic representations of the American Southwest. He drew upon a wide range of influences, from the German avant-garde to the rich cultural heritage of the Indigenous populations of North America.” This exhibition reveals Baumann in the context of those influences and offers insights into the development of his identity as an artist. […]
A Day and A Half in Tampa
Tampa’s downtown riverfront has bloomed in the past decade or so, with the splendid Riverwalk connecting museums, parks, restaurants and other attractions. Slip on your walking shoes and head out for a day of history, art, terrific food options and people-watching. Rivers were essential to the commercial viability and growth of cities, and from the […]
Cutting Corners with Patrick Dougherty
For 30 years Patrick Dougherty’s enchanting Stickwork sculptures have been sprouting up at museums, botanical gardens, and public spaces around the world. Amazing what you can do with 30,000 pounds of willow! Until recently I’d never seen one, but whenever I’ve read about a Dougherty Stickwork I’ve been tantalized. So it was a delight to […]
Art in Context: Seraphs Are Red, Cherubs Are Blue
Surrounded by the highest choir of angels, this portrait of King Charles VII’s favorite mistress was commissioned by the King’s treasurer for his wife’s mortuary altar. […]
Rosa Bonheur: The Most Famous Artist You’ve Never Heard Of …
In the 19th-century, during her lifetime Rosa Bonheur was one of the most famous artists in all of Europe and North America. Required to obtain a cross-dressing permit in order to venture into the world of men — for the sake of her art — she took that world by storm! […]
A Painter’s Process
All the learning about composition, color, brushwork builds in an intuitive way. Sometimes you have to paint over something that you love — a beautiful color, passage, image — in order for the painting to continue to unfold. […]
What to Expect As Art Museums Re-Open …
As the world slowly, tentatively, begins to emerge from lockdown, people are wondering what the new social order will look like. Most of us accept that things will be different for some time to come. The question is, “How different?” […]
Visualizing 4000 Years of Spanish History
The collection of the Hispanic Society of America reveals the history of Spain and its place in the world, from antiquity to modern times. Unrivaled outside Spain, the scope and quality of the collection is hard to believe, considering that it was largely amassed by a single inspired collector. […]
Art in Context: Not Living in the Moment
For people who lived (and died) in the 14th century — when the Great Plague (aka the Black Death, the Great Mortality) killed roughly half the world’s population — a truly horrible death was not hard to envision. It’s almost impossible for most of us, today, to understand the constant presence of death that was the reality of life for everyone until very recent times. […]
Isamu Noguchi: Knowing the Ways of Nature
There is perhaps no more serene space in New York City than the Noguchi Museum and Garden in Queens. Profoundly influenced by Brancusi, Isamu Noguchi blended modernism and abstraction with Japanese traditions to create a powerful aesthetic of simplicity. […]