Both American artists Winslow Homer (1836-1910) and Frederick Judd Waugh (1861-1940) were drawn to tropical locales such as Florida and Barbados, taking us from a stormy wind-tossed coast to the depths of a swamp with exotic birds.
Author Archive | Joan Hart
Arts Everyday Living: Happy Birthday Leonardo! The Spirit of Mona Lisa, from Vermeer to Klimt
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEONARDO–THE SPIRIT OF MONA LISA, FROM VERMEER TO KLIMT The anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday’s was Thursday, April 15, 1452. A true Renaissance man, one of the great geniuses of history: a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer and scientist. And creator of the most famous painting in the world: the Mona […]
Arts Everyday Living: William Glackens, the Renoir of the 20th Century—At the Soda Fountain
American artist William Glackens (1870-1938) was also a member of The Eight who like his colleague Robert Henri focused on contemporary life. However, the women portrayed in The Soda Fountain date from later in the 20th century, dressed in the fashion of the 1930s. Glackens was also an admirer of Renoir and often incorporated the Impressionist’s warm […]
Arts Everyday Living: Robert Henri, American Portraitist–A Star of the Ziegfield Follies
American master Robert Henri (1865-1929) was the leader of The Eight, a group of New York artists known for their realism. Henri was an especially accomplished portraitist; among his subjects was Jessica Penn, an actress and dancer with Ziegfield Follies.
Arts Everyday Living: Eternal Venice, Its Palaces and Bridges–from Renoir to Prendergast
Venice has always been a magical city for artists. Both French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) and American Post-Impressionist Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) utilized color in particular to recreate its monumental buildings and multiple bridges. For instance, Prendergast’s Ponte della Paglia vibrates with rich patterns of stain glass-like tones while Renoir’s Venice (Doge’s Palace) is defined by the luminous light […]
Arts Everyday Living: Coffee, Anyone? The Universal Art of the Coffee Break
Coffee, anyone? A 17th century woman drinking the always popular beverage from a saucer (a method of cooling it), a young girl of the early 1900s quietly enjoying a cup, along with a slice of bread, or the striking display of its accoutrements. Belgian Leonard Defrance (1735-1805) and Swiss Albert Anker (1831-1910) both immortalized […]
Arts Everyday Living: Van Gogh & Tom Thomson-Lady of the Lake and the Innkeeper’s Daughter
The theme of a woman in profile is universal in art. For instance, Canadian artist Tom Thomson (1877-1917) immortalized Laura, sitting against the wilderness landscape of Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park in Central Ontario. While Dutch master Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) has posed his model Adeline Ravoux in a more traditional interior, probably a […]
Arts Everyday Living: Through the Eyes of Monet & Other Artists-Love of Sailing, Wind & Water
Seeing the world through an artist’s eyes expands and enhances our experience of daily life. What do you think of the difference between the interpretations of sailboats by French master Claude Monet (1840-1926) and American early Modernist Charles Demuth (1883-1935)? Decades separate these works of art, Monet’s Sailboats at Argenteuil representing the Impressionist style, […]
Arts Everyday Living: Best Friends & Companions–the Royal Pets of Queen Victoria
British master Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-1873) is considered one of the supreme painters of animals, demonstrated here in his moving portraits of two of Queen Victoria’s pets. Landseer was a favorite artist of the queen and she commissioned the portrayal of Waldmann above, a smooth haired dachshund as well as The Lory, a parrot given to […]
Arts Everyday Living: Celebrating Easter in Art—the Rejuvenation of Nature and Spring
American artist George Hitchcock ((1850-1913) often painted the glories of flowers as is evident in Easter Sunday, in the delicate bouquet held by the young woman; the floral pattern of her costume; and the blooming field behind her. Hitchcock spent several years of his artistic career in the Netherlands where he probably created the work above. […]
