I have nothing against Thomas Lawrence, indeed, I like his work, but—good grief!—he could make some annoying paintings. The Cleveland Museum of Art has two of the offending paintings hanging side-by-side. Lawrence (died 1830) had well-earned success throughout his life. A prodigy, he found success early and later became President of the Royal Academy. He…
Category: Art Museums
Art Museums, Artists, Cleveland, Paintings, Thumbs-Up-Down, Uncategorized
Thumbs-up: Neel, Thumbs-up (also): Pearlstein
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•By happenstance or cunning plan, The Cleveland Museum of Art has two large paintings hanging next to each other by artists of whom I am fond– Alice Neel and Philip Pearlstein. Juxtaposed this way, the relative merits of each can be studied. Except for a long detour in the Picasso Amusement Park, a straight line…
Art Museums, Artists, Cleveland, Paintings, Uncategorized
Gaertner at the Cleveland Museum of Art
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•I’m an idiot, but you already knew that. After writing about discovering Frederick Gaertner in this post, I belatedly realized I had seen–on numerous occasions, no less–one of his paintings at the Cleveland Museum of Art. For some reason, I never connected that Gaertner with my Gaertner discovered at the Bonfoey Gallery. The Museum’s “The Furnace”…
Aside
I missed the Toledo Art Museum’s Manet exhibition. As consultation I am reading Foucault’s “Manet and the Object of Painting.”
Art Museums, Artists, Reviews, Uncategorized
Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris
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•Claude Monet maintained (I’m paraphrasing) that caricature was the soul of art. Not a surprising statement coming from a master caricaturist. I agree with Monet wholeheartedly. The exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art—Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris—provides a great opportunity to examine some drawing and prints by Cassatt and her…
Art Museums, Artists, Paintings, Uncategorized
Dayton Art Institute—Fail
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•The Dayton Art Institute is handsomely situated on a hill above the Great Miami River. The museum’s beautiful Italianate main wing provides a remarkable view of the Dayton skyline. Travelers along I-75 passing beneath the museum’s imposing facade can’t help but be intrigued by the marvelous piece of architecture. The museum’s collection, while not as large…
Art Museums, Artists, Bio, Uncategorized
Robert Smith
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•Robert Smith was an American artist who died in 1985. When I knew him, he already was an elderly man. He lived with his teenage son in Kettering, Ohio in a French chateau-type building that seemed the height of romance to a high school kid, which was what I was when we met. Smith was…
Art Museums, Artists, Reviews, Thumbs-Up-Down, Uncategorized
Thumbs-up: van Ruisdael; Thumbs-down: Renoir
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•I’ve loved art as far back as I can remember. During the summer before First Grade we moved to a farm, and while exploring the barn loft (true story), I was thrilled to discover a bunch of painting gear—half-empty paint cans, rags, and stiff brushes. I loved it! I loved the smell of turpentine! That…