Blogs

Curator's Corner

Documenting Native America: George Catlin

Monday, March 16, 2009 | Karl Cole

Whenever we think of Native Americans in the United States during the 1800s, we naturally think of the decimation of numerous indigenous cultures in America’s quest to dominate the continent (&l ...

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Curator's Corner

Earliest Poet of the Americas: Juana Inez de la Cruz

Monday, March 9, 2009 | Karl Cole

When we in the West think of people who take religious orders, we usually think of vows of poverty, self-denial, and a life devoted to prayer and contemplation. We don’t expect the religious lif ...

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Curator's Corner

Pioneer Japanese Woman Artist: Kiyohara Yukinobu

Tuesday, March 3, 2009 | Karl Cole

Every year when March rolls around, I start to yearn for spring. What better way to celebrate that yearning than by presenting an artwork with spring as the subject matter? ...

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Curator's Corner

Index of American Design: Mae A. Clarke

Monday, February 23, 2009 | Karl Cole

I am always thinking about how art reflects what is going on in our world. Obviously, in the current recession, a lot of folks are not going to have extra money to spring for a painting or sculpture. ...

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Curator's Corner

African American Pioneer Artist: Joshua Johnson

Friday, February 13, 2009 | Karl Cole

I’m going to follow up my rant about American Primitive painting from last week’s blog with a tribute to another such painter. It is also my tribute to African American History month. Who ...

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Curator's Corner

American "Primitive": Ammi Phillips

Monday, February 9, 2009 | Karl Cole

Did you ever wonder about the stylistic term “American Primitive?” Well, I have. “Primitive” is usually a term used in Western art to describe an aesthetic that is not sophisti ...

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Curator's Corner

Spanish Colonial Portraiture

Monday, February 2, 2009 | Karl Cole

When we think of portraiture in the “New World,” we usually tend to think of John Singleton Copley and Charles Willson Peale in the United States. However, there was a thriving artistic mi ...

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Curator's Corner

A Non-European Renaissance: Riza Abbasi

Monday, January 26, 2009 | Karl Cole

When we think of great periods of flowering in the arts, we, as westerners, usually think of the European Renaissance or the Baroque periods, or Ancient Greece. I think it is very important that we un ...

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Curator's Corner

Pioneering Digital Artist: Laurence Gartel

Monday, January 19, 2009 | Karl Cole

Did you ever consider that in the 1970s and 1980s computer art was in the same position as photography was in the 1800s—not considered “fine art?” But things have changed in the 21st ...

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Curator's Corner

The King of Impressionism: Claude Monet

Monday, January 12, 2009 | Karl Cole

Among my heroes in the history of art, Claude Monet has to be right near the top. Of all of the Impressionists, Monet’s work, especially his late paintings, has had the most impact on my own lan ...

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Curator's Corner

Early American Watercolorist: Mary Ann Willson

Monday, January 5, 2009 | Karl Cole

Among the earliest artists who worked predominantly in watercolor in America were several women who rose to prominence. Mary Ann Willson was one of these. Imagine being an artist and basically a pione ...

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Curator's Corner

Woman Documentary Photographer: Consuelo Kanaga

Monday, December 22, 2008 | Karl Cole

Did you know that photography was the first art form women were actually encouraged to explore during the 1800s? At that time, women were not allowed to study in most academic art schools. Have your s ...

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Curator's Corner

World's Oldest Ceramic Vessels: Jōmon

Monday, December 8, 2008 | Karl Cole

Most people think of ancient Greek painted ceramic vessels when you mention the word “ancient pottery.” What I think of are the sophisticated, elegant, and beautiful ceramic vessels of one ...

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Curator's Corner

Women Artists in America: Frances Flora Palmer

Monday, December 1, 2008 | Karl Cole

Although largely passed over by art historians until the 1970s, women artists have played a significant role in the art world since ancient times. Ask your students to create a work of art that expres ...

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Curator's Corner

American Impressionist Watercolors: John Singer Sargent

Monday, November 24, 2008 | Karl Cole

Watercolor can be a tricky medium to master because of its transparency. Maybe that’s why I stick to oils in my personal painting. But, in the right hands, watercolors can produce amazing result ...

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Curator's Corner

Fashion of the 1910s: Charles Martin

Monday, November 10, 2008 | Karl Cole

I have always been fascinated by the evolution of fashion and how it impacts our lives, and the lives of people in the past. Having studied the history of fashion, it is quite easy for me to sometimes ...

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