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The Philadelphia Museum of Art has acquired three important French Impressionist paintings by Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Alfred Sisley, and a pastel by Mary Cassatt, the Pennsylvania native and American expatriate who became famously associated with Paris during the late 19th century. All of the works are gifts from Chara C. and the late John Haas, longtime supporters of the Museum. They include Path on the Island of Saint Martin, Vétheuil (1881) by Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926); Apple Tree in the Meadow, Éragny (1893) by Camille Pissaro (French, 1830-1903); Mooring Lines, the Effect of Snow at Saint Cloud (1879) by Alfred Sisley (French, 1839-1899); and Madame Bérard’s Baby in a Striped Armchair (1880-81) by Mary Cassatt (American, 1844-1926). Apple Tree in the Meadow, Éragny (1893) captures the fields and gardens around Camille Pissarro’s (French, 1830-1903) home in Éragny, a small village about 90 miles northwest of Paris. This focused study joins four other v

Vincent van Gogh. The Swamp, 1881. Purchased 1968. Collection National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Photo © NGC. National Gallery of Canada 18 May 2012 - 03 Sep 2012 This installation showcases a major work of the collection of the National Gallery of Canada, the celebrated drawing The Swamp by Vincent van Gogh produced during the artist’s Dutch period. It bridges Van Gogh’s profound appreciation of landscape with the Dutch tradition of landscape drawing and painting which emerged in the 17th century as a new and prevailing pictorial genre. Van Gogh’s early depiction of a landscape with a swamp drawn from nature in the province of North Brabant in 1881 is shown alongside representations of the Dutch landscape by artists such as Jan Lievens and Jan van Goyen working in the Netherlands during the 17th century, a period known as the Dutch Golden Age.

Exhibition Explores Van Gogh's Deep Immersion Into Nature “I…am always obliged to go and gaze at a blade of grass, a pine-tree branch, an ear of wheat, to calm myself,” Vincent van Gogh wrote in a letter to his sister, Wilhemina, in July of 1889. An artist of exceptional intensity, not only in his use of color and exuberant application of paint but also in his personal life, van Gogh was powerfully and passionately drawn to nature. From 1886, when van Gogh left Antwerp for Paris, to 1890 when he ended his own life in Auvers, van Gogh’s feverish artistic experimentation and zeal for the natural world propelled him to radically refashion his still lifes and landscapes. With an ardent desire to engage the viewer with the strength of the emotions he experienced before nature, van Gogh radically altered and at times even abandoned traditional pictorial strategies in order to create still lifes and landscapes the likes of which had never before been seen. Van Gogh Up Close, a major ex

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has acquired the painting Yarrow Mamout, 1819, an exceptionally rare portrait of an African-American by Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827), one of the most renowned American artists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Depicting an aged man who had been born in Guinea in western Africa, taken into slavery in the American colonies and later manumitted, or freed by his owner, it is one of the very earliest known works to depict a freed slave in the United States and the earliest known painting of a Muslim in America. Upon its completion, Yarrow Mamout was exhibited at Peale’s Museum, in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where it could be seen alongside other works by the artist and his son Rembrandt that represented George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Lewis and Clark, David Rittenhouse, and many other accomplished individuals. Measuring 24 x 20 inches, this new acquisition has today been placed on view at the Philadelphia Museum of

  PAUL CADMUS Twelve Etchings. Portfolio with complete text and 12 pencil signed etchings, 1979. 460x365 mm; 18 1/8x14 3/8 inches (sheets), full margins, loose as issued. One of 35 numbered copies, of a total edition of 50. Numbered "14/35 II" in pencil, on the justification page. Each print signed, titled and numbered "9/35 II" in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Richard Waller. Published by The Print Cabinet. Original black linen portfolio. Very good, well-inked and clearly printed impressions. Includes The Fleet's In!, 1934; Stewarts, 1934; YMCA Locker Room, 1934; Mother and Child, 1934; Coney Island, 1935; Horseplay, 1935; Shore Leave, 1935; Polo Spill, 1938; Two Boys on a Beach, No. 1, 1938; Youth with a Kite, 1941; Arabesque, 1947; and The Bath, 1953. Davenport 34-42, 46, 47 and 48. Estimate $30,000-50,000

American photographer Walker Evans (1903–1975), with his direct and unsentimental images of life on small-town streets, in New York subways, and on sharecroppers’ porches, inspired generations of photographers and helped shape contemporary art. The Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University presents a broad survey of Evans’ 50-year career, drawn entirely from the collection of Elizabeth and Robert J. Fisher, MBA ’80. The exhibition, entitled “Walker Evans,” opens Feb. 1 and continues through April 8, 2012. This exhibition encompasses not only Evans’ brilliant documentation of the Great Depression and his work with James Agee on Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, the landmark study of three tenant farm families in Alabama published in 1941, but also his little-known experimental photographs from 1928 to 1930; the subway series (1938–41) later published in the monograph Many Are Called; photo-essays for Fortune magazine (1945–65); and rare Polaroid SX-70 prints from his final years. The exhibi

Lyonel Feininger, In a Village Near Paris (Street in Paris, Pink Sky), 1909. Oil on canvas, 39 3/4 x 32 in. (101 x 81.3 cm) University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City; gift of Owen and Leone Elliott 1968.15 © Lyonel Feininger Family, LLC./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York From the University of Iowa Museum of Art: Cartoon-like characters appear to be hurrying down a village street at dusk in late autumn. Implausible colors and a variety of perspectives define the composition. Lyonel Feininger’s fantastical representation of urban street life seems to capture a moment in time much as a photograph does—it is an embodiment of the distinctive characteristics of modern life. The distorted figures seen in the painting recall Feininger’s 1906–1907 Chicago Tribune comic series The Kin-der-Kids and Wee Willie Winkie’s World. Like his comic characters, the figures in the painting are strangely elongated with small heads on large bodies or squat and rotund, with very little detail on their

Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975), Shallow Creek, 1938, Oil and tempera on canvas mounted on board, 36 x 25 inches. Collection of James and Barbara Palmer Artã T. H. Benton and R. P. Benton Testamentary Trusts/UMB Bank Trustee/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. "There is something about flowing water that makes for easy views. Down the river is an immense sense of freedom given to those who yield to it." -Thomas Hart Benton, An Artist in America (1937) Images of water figure prominently in the art of the Regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975). His depictions of rivers, streams, gullies, and creeks form a subgenre of American landscape painting, inviting us to rethink the artistic meaning and historical legacy of even the narrowest of inlets. Among Benton's most significant representations of this subject matter is a body of work from 1938-42 depicting intimate coves and creeks. The painting Shallow Creek (1938) is a lynchpin of this series. Raised on the e

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669) Portrait of a Bearded Man in a Red Doublet, 1633 Oil on panel, 25 x 20 in. Private Collection, New York This painting of 1633 attests to youthful Rembrandt’s famous ability to bring his sitters vividly to life and demonstrates the style that made him the most-sought-after portraitist of his day in Amsterdam. The man’s lifelike expression is complemented by his bright red doublet, an unusually colorful outfit, very different from the somber black attire usually worn by Rembrandt’s patrons. The sitter’s identity has not yet been discovered, but the doublet and braid fastenings had military associations and it has been speculated that he might have been foreign soldier residing in the year of its commission in The Hague. Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669) Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo, 1658 Oil on canvas, 42 ¼ x 34 ¼ in. Courtesy Otto Naumann, Ltd. In contrast The Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo offers an excellent examp

Titian: Diana and Actaeon, 1556-59. © National Gallery, London Visitors to National Museum Cardiff have a unique opportunity to see one of the most important paintings of the Italian Renaissance this springtime. Titian’s famous painting ‘Diana and Actaeon’ will be coming to Cardiff on a tour from the National Gallery, London and will be displayed from 19 April – 17 June 2012. The painting is one of the artist’s finest creations – remarkable for its ambitious scale, masterful unity of colour, subject matter and excellent condition. 'Diana and Actaeon' is one of six large-scale mythologies inspired by the Roman poet Ovid, which Titian painted for King Philip II of Spain. Titian began the picture and its companion ‘Diana and Callisto’ (which was last month purchased for the nation after a £45m deal was agreed with owner the Duke of Sutherland) in 1556, the year of Philip’s coronation. Spurred on by the prestige of royal patronage, he unleashed all his creativity to produce works o

American Modernism from the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Jackson Pollock, No. 34, 1949, Enamel on paper mounted on masonite, 22 x 30 inches Edward W. Root Bequest, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Museum of Art, Utica, NY Photographer’s credit: Williamstown Art Conservation Laboratory © 2011 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Maurice Prendergast, Landscape with Figures,i> c. 1912, Oil on canvas,30 x 42 inches Edward W. Root Bequest, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Museum of Art, Utica, NY Photographer’s Credit: John Bigelow Taylor and Dianne Dubler Photography Between 1902 and 1953, Edward Wales Root amassed a spectacular collection of contemporary American art, which became the cornerstone of the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute collection. This exhibition features highlights from that collection, including key works from some of the most important artists of the first half of the 20th century. Among the 35 paintings in

Alessandro Di Mariano Filipepi, called Sandro Botticelli, Madonna with Child ("Madonna della loggia") (detail), ca. 1466-1467, oil on panel. 72 x 50 cm. Collection of the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy Luca Signorelli (and his workshop) (Cortona 1450 circa-1523), Detail, The Last Supper, The Prayer in the Garden, Flagellation, 1510 ca., Oil on panel, cm 32.5 x 204.5. Dignitaries from leading cultural institutions of the region spoke at the Italian Consulate in Philadelphia today, announcing the arrival of major works of Renaissance and Baroque art from the famed Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, to the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa. This is the first American tour of an exhibit drawn entirely from the Uffizi collection. Offering of the Angels: Treasures from the Uffizi Gallery will feature works from Botticelli, Titian, Tintoretto and others at the Michener April 21 through August 10, 2012. https://gluwhite-platinum.blogspot.com/ https://gluwhite2022.blogsp

The Indiana murals were originally created for the Indiana Hall at the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago in 22 panels that stretched 250 feet, encircling the exposition. When the Century of Progress Exposition closed, Benton's panels were stored in a horse barn at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Herman B Wells, early in his tenure as Indiana University president, arranged for the state to give the murals to IU in 1940. Today, 16 of the panels are in the lobby of the IU Auditorium, two are in Woodburn Hall and four were in the old University Theatre building, which is currently under construction (the two panels currently being restored come from the theater building). Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975), "Indiana Puts Her Trust in Thought," 1933. From the Indiana Murals (Cultural Panel 11).Tempera on canvas on panel. Benton (1889-1975) was a Missouri native who studied art in Paris and New York. When Indiana officials commissioned him to produce the mural

…isms: Unlocking Art’s Mysteries (Florence Griswold Museum 96 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT 06371 860-434-5542 through June 10, 2012 ) examines 100 works of American art and culture from the 18th to the 21st centuries to explain art movements and styles. The exhibition is perfect for non museumgoers as an introduction to these stylistic concepts. Seasoned art lovers will enjoy testing their knowledge and learning about the larger historical contexts that have informed artists’ work. The exhibition fosters a richer appreciation of familiar objects from the collection as well as introduces new acquisitions and selected loans. While some “isms” began as official movements initiated by artists, many, such as Impressionism or Tonalism, acquired their names from critics who recognized new developments in art and coined terms to describe them. Occasionally, as in the case of Luminism, these labels were not assigned until a century later, when art historians discerned, in hindsight, qualities of l

Thomas Sergeant LaFarge Aloft (Preparatory drawing for mural on East wall in New London Post Office) 20th Century Charcoal on Paper 15 x 71 inches Gift of Mrs. Thomas LaFarge Lyman Allyn Art Museum's exhibition, America @ Work: New Deal Murals in New London and Beyond, is on view through June 9, 2012. The exhibition has been organized by Guest Curator Barbara Zabel, Professor Emeritus of Art History at Connecticut College. The lobby of the New London Post Office on Masonic Street boasts remarkable murals painted in the 1930s. Hailed by Philip Eliasoph as “the Sistine Chapel of Connecticut,” these murals by New England artist Thomas La Farge (1904-1942) feature scenes of a crew at work on a whaling ship. La Farge’s murals were created under the auspices of the art projects of the New Deal, President Roosevelt’s comprehensive relief program designed to put Americans back to work during the Great Depression. The Lyman Allyn Art Museum is fortunate to have in its collection the artist’

Martin Lewis (1881-1962) Little Penthouse,1931 Drypoint, 9 7/8 x 6 ¾ in. Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly © Estate of Martin Lewis The Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, presented the new exhibition The Prints of Martin Lewis: From the Collection of Dr. Dorrance Kelly from October 2, 2011, through February 19, 2012. Recognized as one of the premier American printmakers of the first half of the 20th-century, Martin Lewis (1881-1962) left an indelible mark on the landscape of the art world. Although not as publicly well known as some of his contemporaries such as Edward Hopper, Lewis was a highly skilled printer who was greatly involved in the artistic scene of New York City during the 1920s and ‘30s. This exhibition features more than thirty etchings and several canceled plates by the artist from the private collection of Dr. Dorrance Kelly of West Redding, Connecticut. The exhibition The Prints of Martin Lewis: From the Collection of Dr. Dorrance Kelly provided a brief biograph