A Scholarly Skater
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An Art Quote for the Quote Challenge
The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. – Pablo Picasso Thanks to Belinda O. and her excellent taste in quotations, I was inspired to find and post a meaningful quote relating to the theme of my blog. This one is both relevant and true. No matter your preferred medium…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of the City College of New York
I freely admit that I haven’t been great about posting gargoyles over the past few months, but I recently found a reader grotesque that I hadn’t seen before, and it seems to have snapped me back into action. This scholarly fellow attends the City College of New York. I believe that he resides on the…
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Hudson River School Day
Thomas Cole and Frederick Edwin Church, the two most prominent Hudson River School painters, both had homes and studios in the Catskill area of New York. One summer day, I went up there to visit the two houses, which are now museums open to the public for tours. This was my experience.
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of Buen Retiro Park, Madrid
These gargoyles may not be on a building, but they are certainly serving their proper purpose. Located on the base of the Fountain of the Fallen Angel (Fuente del Ángel Caído) in Madrid’s Buen Retiro Park, these eight devil figures spit water out of their mouths and the mouths of their reptilian pets. The statue, designed…
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Houston Street by George Luks
George Luks (1866-1933) was an American social realist painter. He is known best for his images of New York City, specifically its working-class and immigrant neighborhoods, and his energetic style seems to suit these scenes’ vibrancy perfectly. He also studied and painted in Europe. Along with fellow American painters of urban life, Luks was part of the…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of the Turnblad Mansion, Minneapolis
I belong to a wonderful group on Facebook called Mansions of the Gilded Age. Last month, I asked some of my fellow group members whether they knew of any gargoyles on Gilded Age homes. They came back with quite a few great examples, including the Turnblad Mansion in Minneapolis. Commissioned by Swedish-born newspaper publisher Swan Turnblad…
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Paris La Nuit by Charles Courtney Curran
I think there’s something quite fascinating about paintings of Europe by American artists. It’s interesting to compare how European cities look through American eyes with American scenes and with European artists’ representations of the same cities. Does a Frenchman represent Paris differently than an American? How does an American see London compared with how he sees New York? Since so many nineteenth…
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The Cathedrals of Broadway by Florine Stettheimer
The Cathedrals of Broadway, from a series of four paintings by American artist Florine Stettmheimer about life in 1920s-40s New York.
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More Gargoyles and Grotesques of Reims Cathedral
This gargoyle on Reims Cathedral seems to have had a head transplant some time since the Middle Ages! The concept is actually not that unusual, since centuries of running water often erode functioning gargoyles over time. It’s difficult to tell from this photo if the replacement was done in metal or a differently-colored stone. Either way, the end result…
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May Night by Willard Metcalf
I thought that the title of this painting made it appropriate for today. Willard Metcalf (1858-1925) was an influential American artist from New England. He painted this work in Old Lyme, Connecticut when he was associated with the art colony there.* I love the mystery and beauty of this painting. Who is the girl? What…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of the Pohjola Building, Helsinki
The 1901 Pohjola building in Helsinki, Finland is decorated with many grotesques representing figures from Finland’s mythology. The word “Pohjola” itself refers to a place in the myth Kalevala,which is Finland’s national epic, and the people and animals on the building are presumably from that epic. Pohjola may also refer to the name of the insurance company…
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Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent
Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose is a lovely, dreamlike painting by John Singer Sargent. It depicts two little girls with Japanese lanterns in a setting of pale flowers.
