African American Pioneer Artist: Joshua Johnson
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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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