Beautiful Blue: Ancient Egyptian Faience
When one thinks “ancient Egyptian art,” pyramids and mummies usually pop into one’s mind. Not mine (as you might know). Several years ago I went to the Museum of Art at the Rhode Isl ...
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Curator's Corner
Visions of the Future: Noel Schaffer
I consider any work of art that stands apart from what the mainstream “art world” is cranking out to be worthy of attention every now and then (well, not just “now and then,” d ...
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Curator's Corner
Art History Heroes: Alma Woodsey Thomas
We all have heroes of one sort or another, be it a sports figure, politician (as if), or favorite teacher. My heroes are artists whom I have learned to appreciate over the years (go figure, as an art ...
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Curator's Corner
21st Century Calligraphy: Son Man-jin
Since my post on the first of June, I seem to be on a tear about updating tradition. Did you ever get the feeling when you’re working on your own art that there is nothing that hasn’t been ...
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Curator's Corner
Fancy Paint Box: Josiah Wedgwood
I always look for artistic beauty in everyday objects, and I have shown you many that really caught my eye. But this piece has got to be the high point of this concept. Actually, this Wedgwood piece a ...
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Curator's Corner
What's Old is New Again: Barbara Ess
One of my greatest treats is to show you art that is a little bit of a surprise, whether it be subject matter, style, period, whatever. It tickles my art history bone to be able to show you works of a ...
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Curator's Corner
SÅsaku Hanga: Keiko Minami
It never fails to amaze me how certain “facts” in the history of art are true no matter what culture we examine. Fact: up until the early 1900s, certain art forms, subject matter, and styl ...
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Curator's Corner
Tradition Meets Contemporary: Emmi Whitehorse
Art history geeks like me often like to ponder some of the conundrums of art history as pertaining to cross-cultural phenomena. The United States effectively quashed Native American cultures during th ...
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Curator's Corner
Another Vanishing Tradition? Nigerian Wax-resist Textiles
What do we in the West think of when the word “African art” is mentioned? masks? ancestor figures? In most African cultures, textile arts are considered THE finest of the fine arts. ...
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Curator's Corner
Japanese Art Nouveau Postcard
As long as I talked about Japanese art last week, I might as well stay in Japan after coming across this gem in our digital collection. Years ago someone talked about the earth being a global village. ...
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