Ancient Roman Realism
While when we think of the art of ancient Rome we tend to connect it to the influence of Greek art, there was a strong naturalistic trend in Roman art that would have appalled Greek artists. ...
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Curator's Corner
What Is Realism? Jan van Eyck and Henry O. Tanner
American art has always been characterized by a strong reverence for realism, from the early colonial portraits by artists such as John Singleton Copley, through the Hudson River School, and into the ...
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Curator's Corner
Ancient Roman Cast Glass
When I was in graduate school, I was privileged to be able to visit Venice and subsequently the island of Murano, famous for its glass-making. I was fascinated watching glass-blowing and instantly wan ...
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Curator's Corner
Pioneer American Modernist: Marsden Hartley
Every now and then my landscape painter alter-ego forces me to focus on a painter who is renowned for his or her landscapes. One of my all-time favorites in that department is Marsden Hartley. I espec ...
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Curator's Corner
Ancient Peruvian Fiber Art: Paracas Culture
Over the years, I have gone through periods of intense fascination for a variety of art forms. Have you ever found yourself thinking, “If I weren’t a painter, I’d be a glass artist&r ...
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Curator's Corner
Expressionist Architecture: Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint
Every now and then (actually on a weekly basis), I come across a “Holy Cow!” work of art in our image collection that I either never noticed before or had not seen in a really long time. U ...
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Curator's Corner
Miniature Portraits: Sarah Goodridge
Lynn Babineau is a marvelous artist who works at Davis Publications. As a painter, one of her specialties that I admire most is as a miniaturist. Before photography, miniature portraits, usually paint ...
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Curator's Corner
American Poster Design: Will Carqueville
Did you know that the second half of the 1800s saw more printed matter produced than ever before? The last two decades of the 1800s was the last era during which printed matter was almost the exclusiv ...
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Curator's Corner
The Power of Nature: Winslow Homer
Still yearning for warmer weather, my thoughts in spring always turn to paintings of nature. When asked to think of work by American realist Winslow Homer, of which of his genres do you think? Illustr ...
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Curator's Corner
Sophisticated Sculpture = New Guinea: Yimam People
In January, I visited the Beyeler Foundation Museum in Basel, Switzerland, and I saw dozens of these elegant, monumental Yipwon figures. When you think of sculpture known for delicate and intricate ca ...
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