The Frick Collection has recently acquired Portrait of a Woman, an intriguing and surprisingly assertive portrait of an unidentified woman in luxurious Renaissance clothing. Here is how I interpreted the work during and after my first chance to see it at Frick Madison.
Tag: painting
Susie M. Barstow – Redefining the Hudson River School
Nancy Siegel's Susie M. Barstow: Redefining the Hudson River School (Lund Humphries, 2023) is the first-ever biography of Susie M. Barstow, a greatly under-rated Hudson River School artist, teacher, and adventurer. I really enjoyed reading about Barstow's adventurous life and beautiful art.
What is Attribution?
Understand attribution, the process by which art historians make educated suppositions about who made an artwork, and learn about the pseudonyms given to artists whose real names we don't know. Enjoy some pretty religious paintings at the same time.
Art Appreciation Activities Handout
Sign up to receive a handout with nine fun art appreciation activities for all ages. These games and challenges will help you connect with artworks and practice key art appreciation skills like attention to detail, comparison, and visual description in the process. I hope you'll have as much fun trying them as I had dreaming them up!
Have a Sublime Halloween
Enjoy a few of my favorite Sublime landscape paintings, which are definitely frightening enough for Halloween.
Orsola Maddalena Caccia at the Met
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's acquisition of three works by little-known 16th-century painter Orsola Maddalena Caccia (1596-1676) made headlines in late 2020. I got to see the two of them, a pair of large still life paintings, on view in the summer of 2021.
Frick Madison Shines New Light on Old Friends
On the afternoon of March 4th, I was one of the very first people to experience Frick Madison, the Frick Collection's new installation in the Whitney Museum's former home at 945 Madison Avenue. The surprisingly-wonderful combination of historical art and Brutalist structure literally shines a new light on the Frick's beloved artworks.
Art is a Tyrant – an Entertaining Biography of Rosa Bonheur
I wasn't planning to review Art is a Tyrant: The Unconventional Life of Rosa Bonheur (London: Icon Books, Ltd., 2020), Catherine Hewitt's new biography of French animal painter Rosa Bonheur. But after enjoying it so much, I decided to spread the word.
The Sumptuous Saints of Carlo Crivelli
Meet Carlo Crivelli, painter of sumptuously-dressed Madonnas and saints. His rich and beautiful style is part Gothic and part Renaissance, with more than a hint of Byzantine icon painting.
The Sleeve Should Be Illegal – A Unique New Book from the Frick
Next month, The Frick Collection and DelMonico Books/D.A.P. will publish The Sleeve Should Be Illegal & Other Reflections on Art at the Frick, a book of short essays responding to works in the Frick's collection. I was lucky enough to receive an early pdf copy, and I really liked it!