Art Exhibition - American Watercolors

The exhibition chosen for today’s article is American Watercolors from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This exhibition was organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The American Federation of Art. This exhibition of 150 works took place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1991. Two selections of 75 water colors each were on national tour. This exhibition featured landscapes, topographical views, architectural studies and still lifes painted over a period of almost 150 years. The pieces were carefully chosen and represented the best of the bests. Many of the artists included in this exhibition are some of my favorite painters. Among my favorites are John Singer Sargent, John Marin, John La Farge and Childe Hassam. There were, however, a number of painters with work included in this exhibition that were unknown to me. A few of the artist with work in this show there were previously unknown to me were: James David Smillie, William Stanley Haseltine and William Guy Wall. Visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art is always exciting and viewing American Watercolors from the Metropolitan Museum of Art would have made the experience one that I would have treasured forever. You can find a great collection of art books and exhibition catalogs at Nella’s Books and Collectibles.

Art Exhibition of Betye Saar

Today I continue my series of articles on art exhibitions I have chosen an artist that does not create the ordinary. The American artist is Betye Saar. The exhibition, Betye Saar Cage – A New Series of Assemblages, was held at the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery in New York on November 6 – January 15, 2011.


The exhibition presented Saar’s mixed media creations: installations, assemblages, and collages using the motif of cages. She is thought to be a master of assemblage. This artist typical uses culture and politics with her creations and most of her work in this exhibition included objects that she collected. The art work presented in this exhibition was created after years of collecting cages from yard sales and various other places. She also used scrap metal, artificial hair and feathers.



Betye Saar’s art work this exhibition was influenced by many things as most of her art work has over the years. The exhibition encouraged viewer to think differently about common objects and to have deeper thoughs about many things in life that are often ignored. This exhibition said to be very thought-proving.



You can find a great collection of art books and exhibition catalogs at Nella’s Books and Collectibles.

Norman Rockwell - Art Exhibition for the American People

Today I am continuing the series of articles on art exhibitions I wished I could have attended with one of America’s most popular artist and illustrator, Norman Rockwell. The exhibition, Norman Rockwell – Pictures for the American People toured several seven cities in the U.S. from January 2000 to March 2002. The national tour began at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and ended at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.
The two organizing institutions, The Norman Rockwell Museum of Art and the High Museum of Art clearly made this exhibition unlike any other. If has been referred to as a landmark exhibition. Great care was taken to make sure American history portrayed in Rockwell’s art and history of yesteryear was prevalent in this exhibition.
The exhibition contained all the familiar Rockwell images that many of us have seen through the years. There were also some not so familiar Rockwell paintings in this exhibition. Images from magazine covers, original paintings from private collections and familiar illustrations from books were included.
If you are like me and never tire of viewing the art work of Norman Rockwell, this is one exhibition that would have been a joy to attend. You can find a great collection of art books and exhibition catalogs at Nella’s Books and Collectibles.

Willem de Kooning - His Greatest Art Exhibition

Today's art exhibition that I wished I could have attended is the Willem de Kooning exhibition held at the Museum of Modern Art in 1969. The exhibition was also at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as well as out of the U.S. At the time, this was the most comprehensive showing of de Kooning’s work. The show presented de Kooning in mid-career, beginning with his first works in the 1930s and ended with a large picture finished in November 1967. Willem de Kooning selected some pictures for this exhibition that he thought best represented his work and he wrote a chronological commentary to go along with the exhibition. Some of the pictures used in the exhibition had seldom been shown in public prior to this show. There have been subsequent showings of de Kooning’s work, but the 1978 exhibition created a lot of excitement in the art world and was well received by the admirers of one of the most important artists of the 20th Century. You can find a great collection of art books and exhibition catalogs at Nella’s Books and Collectibles.

Art Exhibits I Wished I Could Have Attended

Today begins a series of articles on art exhibitions I wished I could have attended. There are many reasons why I was unable to attend the exhibition. Some of the exhibitions took place in far away destinations; some were local and not so far away. Another thing all the exhibitions have in common is that they are not currently showing. They were held in the past. I love attending art shows at museums and galleries and I believe there is no better way to learn about an artist. Today’s featured exhibition is Paul Gauguin – The Breakthrough into Modernity The exhibition was held at the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. A point of interest about this exhibition is that it was an exhibition about an exhibition. In 1889 Paul Gauguin had some of his work displayed at a café in Paris near the exposition grounds. The work is referred to is the Volpini Suite. This was the first close examination of the Volpini Suite prints. The Volpini Suite consists of ten zincographs in a folder plus a frontispiece attached to the cardboard cover. Sixty works by Paul Gauguin including the Volpini Suite and related works were shown at this exhibition. You can find a great collection of art books and exhibition catalogs at Nella’s Books and Collectibles.

William Sydney Mount American Genre Painter

Today’s featured artist is William Sydney Mount. Like other artists in this series, Mount is not a new artist but one I have recently discovered. William Sydney Mount is considered one of the early American painters. His work is considered to be primarily genre painting. He also painted portraits. Mount’s work is included in the category that reflects scenes of everyday life and includes history, literature and other subjects. He is not only known for his pure paintings but also storytelling reflected in his work. Mount was born on Long Island in 1807. He studied at the National Academy of Design in New York where he studied European painting. His paintings were usually monochromatic and he used muted colors. Some of his noted paintings are The Long Story, The Painter’s Triumph and the Power of Music. Mount died in 1868. His work can be seen Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and other major museums. www.nellasbooksandcollectibles.com