Author Archives: Sally Whitman Coleman, PhD

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Just a Second: Codex-Style Vessel

Codex-Style Vessel (noun) A codex-style vessel is a vessel that was made in the ancient Mayan culture in Mesoamerica that has illustrations on it that resembles those in a book, or codex. This vessel, which was created during the late … Continue reading →

© 2013 . All rights reserved.

Glass Negatives, What’s True and What’s Accurate

Alexander Gardner was one of three photographers who “documented” the American Civil War with collodion photography, a new type of photographic process that used glass negatives.  Advantages of this photographic process were that the images were clear and crisp and … Continue reading →

© 2013 . All rights reserved.

George Bellows and How the Fit Survive

“The Apostles of Ugliness” is what the critics called members of the Ashcan School of painting because these artists painted the life of working-class New Yorkers at the turn of the 20th century using dirty and dark colors that reflected … Continue reading →

Leon Battista Albert, Façade of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, 1448-1470, Photo by Georges Jansoone via Wikimedia Commons, GNU Free Documentation License.

Just a Second: Façade

Façade (noun) From the French word for “face,” a façade is the front of a building that faces the street where people enter. Leon Battista Alberti’s early Renaissance design for the façade of Santa Maria Novella used many colors of … Continue reading →

Portrait of the Roman Emperor Caligula, 37-41 CE, marble, 13” x 8¼” x 9¼”, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Photo by Jacqueline Poggi via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

Make the Time: Yale University Art Gallery

After nearly ten years years, Yale University has opened the doors to a $135 million renovation and expansion of their art museum that combines three older art galleries into one, creating one space of over 64,000 square feet in which … Continue reading →

Donald Judd, 100 untitled works in mill aluminum, 1982-1986, aluminum, 41 x 51 x 72 inches each, Chinati Foundation, Marfa, TX, Photo by OneEighteen via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License.

You Just Have to See It for Yourself

Paul Emsley, the artist who painted the portrait of Kate Middleton that was recently unveiled to the public and is now hanging in the National Portrait Gallery in London, felt a need make the statement that the painting doesn’t photograph … Continue reading →

Detail of the stone vault in the staircase to the Refectory of Christ Church College, Oxford, 1847, Photo by Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

Just a Second: Tracery

Tracery (noun) Ornamental interlacing and branching lines in architecture. Sometimes tracery is openwork decorating a window as in Gothic cathedrals and other times it spreads across flat surfaces like ceiling vaults.  Tracery can be carved in wood or made from … Continue reading →

Jacob Lawrence, Confrontation at the Bridge from the series entitled, Not Songs of Loyalty Alone: The Struggle for Personal Freedom, 1975, Silkscreen, 19.5” x 25.85”, Photo by Zeal Harris via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

Jacob Lawrence Used the Appropriate Language

“When the subject is strong, simplicity is the only way to treat it.”  – Jacob Lawrence Jacob Lawrence was an American painter best known for his portrayal of essential moments in African American history.  Influenced by Cubism, Lawrence used bright colors … Continue reading →