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Curator's Corner

Winter

Monday, January 11, 2016 | Karl Cole

Well, it’s winter. Instead of ruefully awaiting spring, I prefer to look at works of art that evoke the idea of winter, one way or another. It’s always interesting to me how artists can ca ...

Curator's Corner

Happy New Year: Japanese Surimono

Monday, January 4, 2016 | Karl Cole

Since I’m feeling lazy this week, I’m showing you Japanese New Year cards (surimono) again. I think they’re lovely, and who wouldn’t want to receive one of these color woodcut ...

Curator's Corner

Rookwood, A National Treasure

Tuesday, December 22, 2015 | Karl Cole

I’m a really big fan of American art pottery, so you can just imagine me doing a little jig of joy in my office when we recently acquired this gorgeous pitcher from the Brooklyn Museum! If I cou ...

Curator's Corner

National Monkey Day: Shimizu Seifu

Wednesday, December 16, 2015 | Karl Cole

I always admit I’m never too old to learn. This week I learned about National/International Monkey Day, which fell on the 14th of December. The commemorative day has only been around since 2000, ...

Curator's Corner

Endlessly Engaging (Ancient) Egypt

Monday, December 7, 2015 | Karl Cole

Naturally occurring pattern always fascinates me, especially when there’s a good art history story behind it. I present you with three ancient Egyptian vessels, all with different, random patter ...

Curator's Corner

The Noble Carp?

Friday, December 4, 2015 | Karl Cole

It probably doesn’t occur to most people to view a fish as a symbol of heroic qualities, unless maybe it’s a whale or a shark. In Japan, the carp (koi in Japanese) is a symbol of cour ...

Curator's Corner

Afterthoughts about Being Thankful: Lewis Wickes Hine

Friday, December 4, 2015 | Karl Cole

Now that we’re done saying how grateful we are for all the food with which we stuffed ourselves on Thanksgiving, and for our iPhones, and the gift of being able to drive one person per car to wo ...

Curator's Corner

More Wearable Art: Reiko Sudo

Friday, November 20, 2015 | Karl Cole

You may remember that I introduced you to the fiber art of Korean artist Jeung Hwa-Park, whose work is fabulous, back in 2009. Now I’ve discovered this wonderful Japanese artist who bowls me ove ...

Curator's Corner

Utilitarian Object or Sculpture?

Friday, November 13, 2015 | Karl Cole

First of all, let me clarify the use of “utilitarian” or “decorative arts.” These are unfortunately terms art historians are stuck with from the 1800s art history gods in Weste ...

Curator's Corner

Revival Curiosities: 1800s Furniture

Friday, November 6, 2015 | Karl Cole

I once was a teaching assistant in a furniture history course in grad school, and have subsequently loved historic furniture and design. One of the mantras we chanted about the history of furniture wa ...

Curator's Corner

The Beauty of Wayō Shodō

Friday, October 30, 2015 | Karl Cole

Did you known that the Japanese did not have a written language up until the 400s CE? I find cursive Japanese so incredibly beautiful. The story behind its development is very interesting, and I bet y ...

Curator's Corner

Stories of Ruler Portraits

Monday, October 19, 2015 | Karl Cole

Since (ugh) election time coming around once again, let’s look at some interesting portraits of people who were never elected (except for the last one). There are always interesting tidbits abou ...

Curator's Corner

A Beautiful Idea...and Building: Louis Bourgeois

Tuesday, October 13, 2015 | Karl Cole

Once, while on a plane landing at O’Hare when I lived in Chicago, the sun was going down and we flew in low over this spectacular building. I’ll never forget that sight. And, yes, it was i ...

Curator's Corner

German American Heritage Month: Pennsylvania German

Monday, October 5, 2015 | Karl Cole

The more things change, etc. I get really irritated with people who say in speeches that immigrants to the United States should “speak American.” For one thing, “American” isn& ...

Curator's Corner

A Bridge: Jasper Johns

Monday, September 28, 2015 | Karl Cole

The impression a reader gets from some surveys of art history, unfortunately, is that one artistic movement ends and another picks up in a totally different direction. We know this is not true when we ...

Curator's Corner

Gently Waft into Fall: Elizabeth Otis Boott Duveneck

Monday, September 21, 2015 | Karl Cole

Since I don’t know many people who enjoy seeing summer end, I use the words “gently waft” instead of “fall” for this post. What better way to mark—not celebrate&mda ...

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Winter

Happy New Year: Japanese Surimono

Rookwood, A National Treasure

National Monkey Day: Shimizu Seifu

Endlessly Engaging (Ancient) Egypt

The Noble Carp?

Afterthoughts about Being Thankful: Lewis Wickes Hine

More Wearable Art: Reiko Sudo

Utilitarian Object or Sculpture?

Revival Curiosities: 1800s Furniture

The Beauty of Wayō Shodō

Stories of Ruler Portraits

A Beautiful Idea...and Building: Louis Bourgeois

German American Heritage Month: Pennsylvania German

A Bridge: Jasper Johns

Gently Waft into Fall: Elizabeth Otis Boott Duveneck

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