David Douglas Duncan, Cover photograph for This is War!, 1951
Earlier this month, David Douglas Duncan, one of the most influential photographers of the 20thcentury, passed away at the age of 102. His career as a photojournalist began auspiciously when he was a college student and he photographed a hotel … Continue reading
Thomas Cole, The Oxbow (The Connecticut River near Northampton), 1836, Oil on canvas, 51½
On January 29th, Thomas Cole’s Journey: Atlantic Crossings will open at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibition features the Hudson River School founder’s masterpieces The Oxbow and The Course of the Empire series as points of departure to examine … Continue reading
Grandma Moses, Christmas at Home, early 20th century, Photo via Wikiart.com
Nothing conveys holiday warmth like a Christmas scene by Grandma Moses (Anna Mary Robertson Moses, 1860-1961). It wasn’t long after she began her painting career in her late 70s that this self-taught artist attracted the attention of Hallmark Cards, Inc. … Continue reading
Edward Hopper, Automat, 1927, oil on canvas, 28” x 36”, Des Moines Art Center, IA, Artwork in the Public Domain via Wikipedia.
American artist Edward Hopper was born on this day in 1882. His easily recognizable style did not change for most of his long career that began in 1895 and continued until his death in 1963. Hopper mostly painted scenes that … Continue reading
James McNeill Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black, 1871, oil on canvas, 56.8” x 63.9”, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, Artwork in the Public Domain, Photo from Wikipedia.
This old gal still holds a fascination for viewers 145 years after James McNeill Whistler painted her. The American expatriate artist gave the painting the title, Arrangement in Grey and Black because his primary interest was to create a balanced … Continue reading
Grandma Moses, Catching the Thanksgiving Turkey, July, 22, 1944, 19¾“x 26”, oil and glitter on Masonite, Private Collection.
Anna Mary Robertson Moses, also known as Grandma Moses, the American Folk artist, began her artistic career at the ripe age of 78. This self-taught artist painted nostalgic scenes of “old-timey” New England landscapes depicting rural life. She began painting … Continue reading
John Trumbull, Thomas Jefferson, 1788, oil on panel, 4.8" x 3", The White House, Washington, DC, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
“Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation and freedom in all just pursuits.” Thomas Jefferson Happy Independence … Continue reading
Marsden Hartley, Portrait of a German Officer, 1914, oil on canvas, 68.25” x 41.375”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Marsden Harley [Public Domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
Olivia Huffstetter, a student at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX, wrote this post. When we think about war, the first thought that comes to mind usually isn’t about a love affair or a relationship. However, this is just what American … Continue reading
Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942, oil on canvas, 33 ⅛” x 60”, Art Institute of Chicago, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
The American artist Edward Hopper had the uncanny ability to make his brightly lit spaces rather cool. It suited the desolate mood of his realist images of the urban environment in the 20th century. The fluorescent lighting in this painting … Continue reading
© 2013 Sally Whitman Coleman, PhD. All rights reserved.
“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
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, 1871, oil on canvas, 56.8
“An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision.” James Abbott McNeill Whistler
John Singleton Copley, Boy with a Squirrel, 1765, oil on canvas, 30¼” x 25”, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Back in the Colonial era in America, people were suspicious of art. Art was aristocratic and European. The colonies most definitely were not. It was not easy for artists like John Singleton Copley to find training or work. Typically for … Continue reading