Fine Arts

  • Grasping at Straw in Hieronymus Bosch’s ‘The Haywain’
    Grasping at Straw in Hieronymus Bosch’s ‘The Haywain’
    September 19, 2018 | By Eric Bess
    Have you ever worked really hard for something or wanted something badly only to care little for it after you have gotten it? Or have you wanted something really badly only to regret having it after you’ve gotten it? I have experienced both of these. Sometimes things seem great when seen from a distance; the […]
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  • Contemporary Realism by 3 Scandinavian Masters
    Contemporary Realism by 3 Scandinavian Masters
    September 16, 2018 | By Susanne W. Lamm
    KRAPPERUP, Sweden—Realism and figurative art runs like a common thread through the art of painting, going back to masters like Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Velázquez, Caravaggio, Goya, and Zorn—even all the way back to the cave paintings of our ancestors, tens of thousands of years ago. This summer, two of Scandinavia’s finest oil painters were featured in […]
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  • ‘The Creation of Adam’ and the Kingdom Within
    ‘The Creation of Adam’ and the Kingdom Within
    September 10, 2018 | By Eric Bess
    Michelangelo Buonarroti’s “The Creation of Adam,” a small part of the fresco at the Sistine Chapel, is an iconic image and often referenced in television and literature. An episode of HBO’s “Westworld” referred to the painting in regard to the significance of consciousness. The “Westworld” character Dr. Robert Ford, played by Anthony Hopkins, used “The […]
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  • Norwegian Artist’s Finely Tuned Still Lifes Engage the Viewer
    Norwegian Artist’s Finely Tuned Still Lifes Engage the Viewer
    September 7, 2018 | By Susanne W. Lamm
    BERGEN, Norway—Norwegian artist Atle Skudal’s paintings capture significant moments in people’s lives. He often includes objects that are family-related or that used to belong to someone close to him, but beyond these close connections is a bigger story. In a sense, Skudal’s meticulously crafted still lifes are portraits–only without the actual people. He lovingly creates […]
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  • Transcendent Landscapes
    Transcendent Landscapes
    September 6, 2018 | By Irene Luo
    You ask me why I dwell in the emerald mountains. I smile and make no reply, my heart at ease. Peach blossoms flow downstream on the water, vanishing without a trace. It is another realm, beyond the human world. —Li Bai, one of China’s most celebrated poets For centuries, the Chinese have exalted and reveled […]
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  • Artist Thomas Kegler Celebrates the Creation of Nature
    Artist Thomas Kegler Celebrates the Creation of Nature
    September 1, 2018 | By Milene Fernandez
    EAST AURORA, N.Y.—The beauty and magnificence of nature can reveal truths for us. When Thomas Kegler paints outdoors, he is feeling air currents, watching the leaves move, and hearing their rustling. He’s observing birds glide in the distance or listening to their singing in nearby trees. He’s noticing squirrels scurrying, and hearing a concert of […]
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  • The Immortal Impact of China’s First Emperor
    The Immortal Impact of China’s First Emperor
    August 31, 2018 | By Lorraine Ferrier
    Traveling 5,000 miles from Shaanxi Province in northwest China, 10 life-size Terracotta Warriors have left their emperor’s kingdom in order to be exhibited in England, in “China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors,” an exhibition at the World Museum in Liverpool until Oct. 28. The famous burial chamber figures are displayed along with artifacts spanning […]
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  • “Medieval Monsters: Terrors, Aliens, and Wonders” Oh My!
    “Medieval Monsters: Terrors, Aliens, and Wonders” Oh My!
    August 20, 2018 | By Milene Fernandez
    NEW YORK—A medieval illuminator painted a giant in a book so tiny that you could potentially grasp it in one hand. But it’s not just any giant. This is a depiction of the saintly Christopher as he warily ferries the Christ child across a river. Legend has it that with each step the giant took, […]
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  • Delacroix’s Secret Devotion to Drawing
    Delacroix’s Secret Devotion to Drawing
    August 9, 2018 | By Milene Fernandez
    NEW YORK—“Many people have some knowledge of Delacroix the painter; far fewer know Delacroix the draftsman,” Ashley E. Dunn said, introducing the exhibition that she organized, “Devotion to Drawing: The Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Indeed, even for those unfamiliar with the French Romantic painter’s name, Eugène […]
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  • The Rise of Conservative Art and Poetry
    The Rise of Conservative Art and Poetry
    August 8, 2018 | By Evan Mantyk
    Commentary When Jon McNaughton unveiled his new painting, “Crossing the Swamp,” on July 31, he probably wasn’t expecting to get as much attention as he did, which included more than 14,000 Twitter comments, 20,000 likes, and news coverage from major outlets like Fox News, USA Today, and ABC News. What the incident reveals is a […]
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  • National World War I Memorial Design Team Gets the Green Light
    National World War I Memorial Design Team Gets the Green Light
    July 31, 2018 | By Milene Fernandez
    WASHINGTON—The war that did not end all wars, World War I, marked a dramatic turning point in history. It changed everything, including art. Collective trauma gave way to irony, cynicism, sarcasm, a taste for the absurd, and nihilistic disillusionment. The moral fabric of society and how it translated into art started to deteriorate at an […]
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  • Curator’s Notes: A Bronze ‘Crouching Venus’ by Antonio Susini
    Curator’s Notes: A Bronze ‘Crouching Venus’ by Antonio Susini
    July 28, 2018 | By Lorraine Ferrier
    As curator of decorative arts at the Holburne Museum in Bath, England, Catrin Jones tells us about the Susini “Crouching Venus,” a Renaissance bronze. The moment I realized how much I like this object was when I took it on a courier trip to Venice. It was part of a show called “Portable Classics: Ancient […]
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  • Designer Christine Leja Brings the Quintessence of Los Angeles to Mallorca, Spain
    Designer Christine Leja Brings the Quintessence of Los Angeles to Mallorca, Spain
    July 26, 2018 | By Angela Feng
    Upon stepping into this charming, mid-century bungalow in Mallorca, Spain, guests are whisked away to the Golden State of California. Designed by Christine Leja, one of the founders of Bconnected Living Concepts, this lively abode impeccably embodies the spirit of Los Angeles in the 1960s. Brought up in a family of architects, Leja acquired an […]
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  • Curator’s Notes: ‘Venus Rising From the Waves,’ a 16th-Century Agate Cameo
    Curator’s Notes: ‘Venus Rising From the Waves,’ a 16th-Century Agate Cameo
    July 24, 2018 | By Lorraine Ferrier
    As curator of decorative arts at the Holburne Museum in Bath, England, Catrin Jones tells us about the tiny cameo “Venus Rising From the Waves.” We don’t know who made the “Venus”; we know roughly when it was made but not precisely down to the year, as we don’t have any documentary evidence. But, based […]
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  • International Painter Carlos Madrid, Seeker of Harmony
    International Painter Carlos Madrid, Seeker of Harmony
    July 22, 2018 | By Milene Fernandez
    NEW YORK—Carlos Madrid’s insatiable curiosity leads him to explore the beauty of nature and life. He’s been on a long journey of expressing the gifts life has offered him, and the mysteries that have unfolded before him. You can see it in his paintings. They are packed with meaning while exuding a deliberate sense of calm containment. […]
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  • Anticipating the Second Annual Figurative Art Convention & Expo
    Anticipating the Second Annual Figurative Art Convention & Expo
    July 12, 2018 | By Milene Fernandez
    NEW YORK—Artists spend so much time alone in their studios that when they venture out to socialize, the experience can feel quite intense. If they attend the Figurative Art Convention & Expo (FACE), they can expect an especially enriching, sociable experience. At FACE, they can draw, paint, or sculpt from live models, together with more than […]
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  • Witnessing ‘The Magic of Handwriting’
    Witnessing ‘The Magic of Handwriting’
    July 4, 2018 | By Milene Fernandez
    NEW YORK—We might form certain notions in our minds about famous people from the way they have been written about in history books, presented in the media, or talked about in everyday conversation. But if we see their autographs—their handwriting in a document, a fleeting note, or an intimate letter—our notions about them may change. […]
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  • Exceptional Art at Christie’s ‘Classic Week’
    Exceptional Art at Christie’s ‘Classic Week’
    July 3, 2018 | By Lorraine Ferrier
    Take in a tour of the world through the art of the ages, piece by exquisite piece, starting with herculean sculptures for the Sun King and ending with the smallest of golden boxes for the average aristocrat. Christie’s “Classic Week,” through July 12 at Christie’s London, showcases the sale of the most extraordinary fine and […]
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  • Artist M. Tobias Hall Celebrates Connection, Presence, and Life
    Artist M. Tobias Hall Celebrates Connection, Presence, and Life
    June 26, 2018 | By Milene Fernandez
    NEW YORK—As he paints, M. Tobias Hall contemplates the changing light of the day interacting with forms. Time can slip by so fast. It’s difficult to be just in the present—without ruminating about the past or being anxious about the future. He’s searching for what many of us yearn for: a way to feel connected with the truth of reality and, […]
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  • An Exhibition of ‘Prized Possessions: Dutch Masterpieces From National Trust Houses’
    An Exhibition of ‘Prized Possessions: Dutch Masterpieces From National Trust Houses’
    June 25, 2018 | By Lorraine Ferrier
    This hasn’t happened for over 20 years: a gathering of 22 Dutch masterpieces on display in an exhibition dedicated to National Trust paintings. Such is the demand for each of these important paintings in the UK and abroad that they very rarely venture out together. “Prized Possessions: Dutch Masterpieces From National Trust Houses” at The […]
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  • The Blossoming of Imagination: Italian Renaissance Drawing
    The Blossoming of Imagination: Italian Renaissance Drawing
    June 20, 2018 | By Tim Gebhart
    Simplistic and paradoxically expressive, drawings and the merits of the craft have begun to be showcased in many art institutions around the world. From the recent exhibit “Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to the upcoming UK tour of Leonardo DaVinci’s drawings starting in February of 2019, […]
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  • Interpreting a Masterpiece: Botticelli’s ‘Primavera’
    Interpreting a Masterpiece: Botticelli’s ‘Primavera’
    June 13, 2018 | By Eric Bess
    What relationship does a modern spectator have with a painting created over 500 years ago? It’s sometimes difficult to see meaning in art seemingly outdated in style and subject matter. But if a viewer can look at Sandro Botticelli’s “Primavera” (“Spring”), for example, as it relates to certain questions that still affect us, it can […]
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  • Discovering Tiepolo’s ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’ Anew
    Discovering Tiepolo’s ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’ Anew
    June 12, 2018 | By Lorraine Ferrier
    There is a renewed splendor to Venetian master Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s “Bacchus and Ariadne” (circa 1743–45). The colors of this masterpiece are once again alive, thanks to a four-year conservation project by the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Bacchus, the god of wine, can now be seen, as he should, in full fecundity. Place […]
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  • Canova’s ‘George Washington’ Rises From the Ashes at the Frick Collection
    Canova’s ‘George Washington’ Rises From the Ashes at the Frick Collection
    June 6, 2018 | By Milene Fernandez
    NEW YORK—The face of the first president of the United States is well imprinted on our minds. We see it countless times on the one-dollar bill. We take it for granted that this iconic image of George Washington and the portrait by Gilbert Stuart from which it was derived is what he really looked like. […]
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  • Rosario Candela: Architectural Entrepreneur of Elegance
    Rosario Candela: Architectural Entrepreneur of Elegance
    June 5, 2018 | By Lorraine Ferrier
    NEW YORK– Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue in New York City need no introduction, but few may know the stories behind these streets and their buildings. In fact, while the imposing walls of the limestone apartment buildings that frame Central Park may feel like the very fabric of the city, these buildings are a relatively […]
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  • Capturing the Nature of New York City’s Neighborhoods
    Capturing the Nature of New York City’s Neighborhoods
    May 29, 2018 | By Lorraine Ferrier
    NEW YORK—It’s certainly not the savanna, but in the shadows of New York’s streets, photographer Richard Koek can be found lying in wait, ready to pounce on that perfect picture.   New York’s architecture sets the scene, as he waits patiently for his subjects to show up, yet he has no idea who they are […]
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  • The New Worlds of Vision and Music of the Fête Galante
    The New Worlds of Vision and Music of the Fête Galante
    May 28, 2018 | By Milene Fernandez
    NEW YORK—Imagine your most memorable moments captured in a painting. The scene could be of time spent at leisure, without a goal in sight, talking with friends outdoors in mild weather. The conversation is lively, sometimes heated, but there’s no finger-pointing whatsoever. You challenge each other to think in ways you had not anticipated before […]
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