Author Archives: Laura

Art Sunday 08/17/08: Storm King Art Center, New York

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Left: “Mother Peace” 1969 sculpture by Marc di Suvero Click to enlarge. The Storm King Art Center is a museum that celebrates the relationship between sculpture and nature. Five hundred acres of landscaped lawns, fields and woodlands provide the site for sculptures by internationally renowned artists. At Storm King, the exhibition space is defined by sky and land. Unencumbered by walls, the subtly created flow of space is punctuated by modern sculpture. The grounds are surrounded by the undulating profiles of the Hudson Highlands, a … Continue reading →

Art Sunday 09/21/08: My Trip to MOMA

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The Dancers (I) Oil on canvas Henri Matisse The Museum of Modorn Art New York City The highlights of what I saw: French painter Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954) is best known for his paintings and collages, and as the founder of Fauvism, a style of painting that focused on using color to express emotion, rather than represent the actual/natural colors of the subject of the painting. Matisse’s fame and significance in modern art is probably only matched by his good friend and rival, Pablo … Continue reading →

Art Sunday 04/05/09: Leighton’s final masterpiece

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Clytie Frederic Leighton Oil on canvas, c.1895-96 Frederic, Lord Leighton’s work Clytie will stay in Leighton House Museum, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, thanks to grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Art Fund, the UK’s leading independent art charity, and Friends of Leighton House. Clytie powerfully depicts a sense of loss and despair at a time of departure, giving the work a powerful autobiographical resonance, as it was this very painting that Leighton struggled with whilst facing his final illness. He … Continue reading →

Art Sunday 12/21/08: Illusions and Renaissance Art

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The Ambassadors Hans Holbein (German), 1533 Oil on canvas (see below for larger version) When I first saw this painting, I thought, “Here’s a Renaissance painting you don’t see everyday.” I think this painting has just as much mystery to it than the Mona Lisa, and it doesn’t get any attention at all. In 1533 artisan Hans Holbein painted “The Ambassadors” (see below for a larger version of the painting), a portrait of Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selves of Henry VIII’s court. Holbein … Continue reading →

Art Sunday 01/31/09: The Jewish Bride

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The Jewish Bride, 1662 Oil on canvas by Rembrandt Rembrandt’s The Jewish Bride (1662) remains one of his more famous paintings though it was a commissioned wedding painting by the couple themselves in Amderstdam. Since this portrait was painted, generations of museum visitors have cherished it. Vincent van Gogh once said that he’d exchange ten years of his life for the opportunity to gaze at this masterpiece for two weeks The thing that charmed him and all the admirers before us is the same thing … Continue reading →

Art Sunday 10/11/09: Paul Signac

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Opus 217. Against the Enamel of a Background Rhythmic with Beats and Angles, Tones, and Tints, Portrait of M. Félix Fénéon in 1890. By Paul Signac I thought this painting (and the long title) was so unusual for 1890, that I thought I might feature it for Art Sunday. It recently was on exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. I couldn’t find much information on it specifically, except that Felix Feneon was a much feared French art critic, but here … Continue reading →

Art Sunday 7/31/2011 Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series

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BOB DYLAN Bob Dylan is one of the most influential and, at times, controversial figures in the music world of the last five decades. Over the last forty-eight years he has released forty-six albums and written over five hundred songs including ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’, ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’, ‘Like a Rolling Stone’, ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ and ‘Make You Feel My Love’. Selling over 110 million records around the world, his songs have been covered more than three thousand times by artists as … Continue reading →

Art Sunday 12/25/08: The Adoration of the Kings

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The Adoration of the Kings, 1510 Jan Gossaert Oil on wood, 177 x 161 cm National Gallery, London (See below for a close-up) This has got to be one of the most magnificent Renaissance paintings that captures the beauty of the Christmas spirit. I think this painting is absolutely gorgeous. The colors are so bright and cheerful. In Jan Gossaert’s painting, The Adoration of the Kings, the artist shows the arrival of the three kings to bestow gifts on the Christ child. This large picture … Continue reading →

ART SUNDAY 08/10/08: Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks

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A view I shot from the Skyline Drive at sunset. Click to enlarge. Hi everyone ! I’m back from my vacation from Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks. First, let me tell you a little about Shenandoah (located in Virginia). The Skyline Drive, which runs for 105 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, is flanked by a rumpled panorama of forests and mountains. To many who travel the drive, the highway itself is a park ! But the cars are passing … Continue reading →

Art Sunday 09/14/08: Seven Paintings by Marc Chagall

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Marc Chagall, (7 July 1887 – 28 March 1985) was a Jewish painter who was born in Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire. Among the celebrated painters of the 20th century, he is associated with the modern movements after impressionism. Beginning to study painting in 1906 under famed local artist Yehuda Pen. Later, he left St. Petersburg to settle in Paris in order to be near the art community of the Montparnasse district, where he becomes a friend of Guillaume Apollinaire, Robert Delaunay, and … Continue reading →