European Art · Exhibitions

Rembrandt Lost and Gained: Portrait of a Young Woman at the Allentown Art Museum

The Allentown Art Museum in Allentown, Pennsylvania has recently celebrated the addition of a painting by Rembrandt van Rijn to its collection. The catch? The museum has already owned this painting for sixty years! What follows is the completely crazy, totally true story of how the Allentown Art Museum gained, lost, and then gained a Rembrandt again.

European Art · Museums

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.

Books · European Art

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!

American Art · Art That Inspires Me

Art That Inspires Me: Lady Agnew of Locknaw by John Singer Sargent

I love the American artist John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), and I have wanted to write an Art That Inspires Me post about him for a while. However, there are just so many things that inspire me about Sargent, and I struggled to pick a few to focus on. This is my all-time favorite Sargent painting. It depicts Lady (Gertrude) Agnew of Locknaw, the wife of a Scottish nobleman.

American Art · Books

American Artists and the American Revolution

Here in the United States, paintings play a big role in how we experience the story of our country's origins. Portraits of our Founding Fathers and other paintings of the Revolutionary War appear on our money, in our textbooks, and decorating our government buildings. These paintings have become a huge part of our national consciousness. Paul Staiti's Of Arms and Artists: The American Revolution Through Painters' Eyes is about the five American painters most responsible for depicting the Revolution era.

Books · European Art

The Mystery of the Disappearing Velasquez (maybe)

I just finished reading a book that told a wild, but true story about a work of art. Laura Cumming's The Vanishing Velasquez: A 19th-Century Bookseller's Obsession with a Lost Masterpiece tells the story of an English bookseller who believed that he owned a lost masterpiece by Spanish artist Diego Velasquez. It ends with a huge, still-unsolved mystery.

African Art · Ancient & Classical Art · Art That Inspires Me

Art That Inspires Me: Faiyum Mummy Portraits

During Egypt's Roman period (c. 30 BCE - 330 CE), many beautiful portraits were made in and around the area of Faiyum (or Fayum). They were mummy portraits, which means that they were attached to mummy wrappings to cover the mummy's head. Discover what makes them so vivid and special.