Blogs

Curator's Corner

Pointillism! Sally Hazelet Drummond

Monday, April 14, 2025 | Karl Cole

It may not be something that you have thought about art historically, but believe me, Pointillism—the brilliant Neo-Impressionist painting technique of the late 1800s—did not die with Paul ...

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Curator's Corner

National Gardening Day: Arshile Gorky

Monday, April 14, 2025 | Karl Cole

In 1986, President Reagan established National Garden Week, which was first celebrated in 1987 from 12 through 16 April. In 2002 the National Gardening Association insisted that the entire month of Ap ...

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Curator's Corner

National Pet Day: Isoda Koryūsai

Friday, April 11, 2025 | Karl Cole

National Pet Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated on April 11. It was founded 2005/2006 by animal advocate and pet and family lifestyle expert Colleen Paige. The day is dedicated to all types of pe ...

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Curator's Corner

Artist Birthday: Kenneth Noland

Thursday, April 10, 2025 | Karl Cole

Kenneth Noland was part of the Post Painterly Abstraction group of Color Field artists who sought to distance themselves from the gestural painting of Abstract Expressionism. His epiphany moment came, ...

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Curator's Corner

Artist Birthday: Victor Vasarely

Wednesday, April 9, 2025 | Karl Cole

The study of the optical effects possible in the manipulation of color and shape that began with the Neo-Impressionists Georges Seurat (1895–1891) and Paul Signac (1863–1935) in the late 1 ...

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Curator's Corner

National Library Week: Jacob Lawrence

Tuesday, April 8, 2025 | Karl Cole

Established in 1958, National Library Week has been sponsored by the American Library Association. It now has international recognition. National Library Week was started to encourage the support and ...

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Curator's Corner

National Poetry Month: Sōtatsu Tawaraya and Hon'ami Koetsu

Monday, April 7, 2025 | Karl Cole

I’ve posted previously about how poetry can be a visual art form when in the hands of a great calligrapher. I am not ashamed to repeat that assertion with this beautiful example of calligraphy c ...

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Curator's Corner

Artist Birthday: Gino Severini

Monday, April 7, 2025 | Karl Cole

Gino Severini was a Futurist painter, writer, mosaicist and set designer. Severini took the Cubism-offshoot movement of Futurism into total abstraction. He exhausted his commitment to Futurism by the ...

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Curator's Corner

Artist Birthday: William H. Jackson

Friday, April 4, 2025 | Karl Cole

Jackson took photographs of Shoshone Falls numerous times from every conceivable angle. Like the other photographers who were early chroniclers of the Western territories, Jackson's photographs emphas ...

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Curator's Corner

National Tweed Day: Otto Baumberger

Thursday, April 3, 2025 | Karl Cole

This PKZ (department store) poster typifies the "object poster" genre. The object to be marketed is presented in extreme close-up, either in photo-realistic or almost abstract fashion. Text ...

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Curator's Corner

Artist Birthday: Max Ernst

Wednesday, April 2, 2025 | Karl Cole

In 1925, Ernst pioneered the techniques of frottage (pencil rubbings on various textured surfaces or objects) and decalcomania (transferring paint from surface to another by pressing them together). H ...

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Curator's Corner

Artist Birthday: Alfred Bricher

Tuesday, April 1, 2025 | Karl Cole

In the 1870s, Bricher concentrated almost entirely on marine views up and down the New England coastline. This view of an unnamed bay sums up the combination of influences on his landscape painting. H ...

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Curator's Corner

Women's History Month: Janet Sobel

Monday, March 31, 2025 | Karl Cole

It is not often that we discover an artist whose work may have had a major impact on the direction of American art. But Janet Sobel is one such artist. You think Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) was ...

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Curator's Corner

Women's History Month: Maria Sibylla Merian

Monday, March 24, 2025 | Karl Cole

Few artists in history have distinguished themselves both as artists and scientists, but Maria Sibylla Merian holds that distinction. She is considered one of the most important scientists/entomologis ...

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Curator's Corner

Women's History Month: Else Regensteiner

Monday, March 17, 2025 | Karl Cole

In the history of art, fiber arts began to earn respect as a fine art medium in the Western world starting in the mid-1800s. Going back to ancient times, many countries around the world have perceived ...

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Article

Editor's Letter: Contemporary Art

Tuesday, March 11, 2025 | Frank Juárez

In 2022, I began to reassess how I present curricula to all my students. I wondered if the artists I was introducing reflected who they are in their identities and why it is important to bring diverse ...

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