In Texas: Art of the American Plains

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May 4, 2019

Western art and paintings - FineArtConnoisseur.com — Pam Bunch (b. 1943), “Plains Bachelors,” oil, 8 x 10 in.

The American Plains Artists (APA) Signature Show will be hosted by the Museum of Western Art, May 4–June 29, 2019, with the Opening Reception on Saturday, May 4th, 2–4 p.m. at the Museum of Western Art, 1550 Bandera Hwy., Kerrville, TX.

The public is invited to attend this celebration of “Art of the Plains,” featuring realistic and representational artworks in traditional media that depict the American Great Plains region — its landscape, wildlife, people, and way of life in historical or modern times.

Artwork in the show will be rendered by nationally recognized, award-winning artists who hail from across the U.S.A. The 60 artworks exhibited and for sale at this event will be created by the APA Signature members who earned the right to Signature status and were elected to that status due in part to the continual high quality of their artwork.

For more information about the APA and the Museum of Western Art please go to www.americanplainsartists.com and www.museumofwesternart.com.

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The Art of Collecting: A Symposium

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Fine Art Today

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May 4, 2019

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Art collecting - FineArtConnoisseur.com — Image courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts

Becoming a collector of art does not have to be an overwhelming process. This day-long symposium at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts introduces artists and art lovers to the information, determination, and courage needed to collect original works of art.

Through a combination of talks, panels, and demonstrations, this event will offer insights into why collecting is important, provide the tools to feel confident in making choices and understanding aesthetics, and allow new collectors to engage directly with artists, museums, and galleries in an empowered way.

This event will feature a keynote conversation between Nashormeh Lindo, artist, educator, and wife of Hollywood actor Delroy Lindo, and PAFA Museum Director Brooke Davis Anderson to conclude the day’s events. The discussion will center around how the Lindos have established an inspiring art collecting practice as a couple.

When: Saturday, May 18, 2019, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Location: Rhoden Arts Center, Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Members: $10 | Public: $20
For more information visit www.pafa.org.

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Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney: Art Patron and Sculptor

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Fine Art Today

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May 3, 2019

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Fine art sculptures - FineArtConnoisseur.com — Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, “The Kiss,” 1933, bronze, private collection

The Newport Art Museum is pleased to welcome “Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney: Sculpture,” a traveling exhibition organized by the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, and curated by Ellen E. Roberts, the Harold and Anne Berkley Smith Curator of American Art. “Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney: Sculpture” will be on view through July 21 in the Cushing and Morris galleries of the Newport Art Museum’s Cushing Building, located at 76 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI.

From the museum:

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney is best known as an art patron and founder of New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art. Yet she also had a significant career as a sculptor, exhibiting throughout the United States and Europe and receiving major commissions and prizes. This is the first exhibition of Whitney’s art since her death in 1942.

“Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney: Sculpture” will showcase rarely seen works from private collections, examining the remarkable variety of the artist’s work — from her earliest classical sculptures to her more symbolic public monuments, from her bleakly Realist depiction of the tragedy of World War I to her late Art Deco work. Whitney was one of the only Americans who did not glorify the war in her public monuments, and her sensitive portraits of working-class people, including African Americans and the unemployed, are also unusually nuanced for her time. A century after she worked, both the compelling nature of Whitney’s art and her contemporaries’ admiration for it make it time for a reassessment.

Coinciding with the exhibition, the Museum will present two lectures inspired by “Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney: Sculpture.” Avis Berman, an independent writer, critic, and art historian, will present “Distilling the American Flavor: Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Juliana Force, and the Creation of the Whitney Museum” on Friday, May 17, at 6 p.m. David Lubin, the Charlotte C. Weber Professor of Art at Wake Forest University, will present “Whitney at War: Healing, Death, and Memory in the WWI Sculptures” on Thursday, July 11, at 6 p.m.

“Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney: Sculpture” is organized by the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida. This exhibition is made possible by the generosity of Anne Berkley Smith. Additional support is provided by the Priscilla and John Richman Endowment for American Art, the Mr. and Mrs. Hamish Maxwell Exhibition Endowment, and the Diane Belfer Endowment for Sculpture. The Newport Art Museum is grateful to Ray and Barbara Dalio for their generous support of the exhibition in Newport. We thank Katharine B. Cushing for additional support.

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney - FineArtConnoisseur.com — Robert Henri, “Portrait of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney,” 1916, oil on canvas, 126.8 x 182.9 cm (49 15/16 x 72 inches), Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Gift of Flora Whitney Miller, 86.70.3.

More details about the exhibition are available at newportartmuseum.org.

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All Aboard for Art — Fine Art Connoisseur May/June 2019

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Peter Trippi, Editor-in-Chief, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine

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May 2, 2019

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Fine Art Connoisseur magazine — Cover art: Eileen Hogan (b. 1948), “His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales” (Version 2, detail), 2016, oil, wax, and charcoal on paper, mounted on board, 34 1/4 x 34 1/4 in. (overall), Garden Museum, London

Fine Art Connoisseur May/June 2019, Editor’s Note:

All Aboard for Art

Each year, Fine Art Connoisseur leads a small group of art lovers on a VIP tour that visits an area of the world renowned for its artistic heritage. The distinguishing factors are that we can access private collections, artists’ studios, and museum galleries that other travelers don’t see, that I contextualize the visits with illustrated lectures that lay out why this art matters, and that we enjoy on-site commentary from curators and seasoned experts who live in the community. They are not just tour guides, but professional colleagues who really know their art.

It is truly hard to believe that a decade has passed since Fine Art Connoisseur launched this travel program, which has featured adventures in such countries as Russia, Italy, and Holland. Now we are turning our attention to the South of France.

Yes, this autumn our merry band will explore Provence (staying in Saint-Rémy October 11–15) and then the Riviera (staying in Nice October 15–19). Beyond the sunny weather, breathtaking scenery, delicious cuisine, and friendly hospitality, we will see how this region influenced the artistry of such masters as Paul Cézanne, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Marc Chagall.

In Provence our destinations will include the:
• Musée Estrine, with its interpretation center about Van Gogh, who lived here in 1889–90
• Saint-Paul de Mausole, the monastery where Van Gogh stayed
• Carrières des Lumières, an unforgettable light installation in Les Baux de Provence
• The pretty town of Aix-en-Provence with its outstanding Musée Granet
• Located in and around Aix are important sites related to Cézanne: Les Lauves, Jas de Bouffan, Bibemus Quarries, and Mont Saint-Victoire
• Marseille has fine museums and historic buildings, including the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Mediteranée
• The Centre Interdisciplinaire de Conservation et Restauration de Patrimoine
• Cassis: the Camargo Foundation, a private artist-residency campus overlooking the sea
• Avignon: medieval architecture and Musée Angladon (Collection Jacques Doucet)
• Arles, where Van Gogh lived 1888–89, including the Musée Réattu and Roman Arena

After we settle in at Nice’s famous Hotel Negresco, our destinations on the Riviera will include the:
• Musée Matisse
• Musée National Marc Chagall
• Saint Paul de Vence: Fondation Maeght
• Vence: The Rosary Chapel designed by Henri Matisse
• Antibes: Musée Picasso at Vallauris
• Le Cannet: Musée Bonnard
• Mandelieu-la-Napoule: Chateau de la Napoule
• St Jean Cap Ferrat: Villa Ephrussi, Villa Kerylos, Villa Santo Sospir
• Monaco, with its impressive new art museum

For our optional four-night post-trip, we have cooked up something special. So many of our previous guests asked that we visit Scotland that we decided to take a non-stop flight from Nice to Edinburgh, where we will settle in at the Scottish capital’s most prestigious hotel, the Balmoral, in the heart of town. Edinburgh is filled with great art and architecture, so we will keep busy here (October 19–23), adding in a few jaunts into the lovely green hills nearby. Our destinations here will include the:

• Scottish National Gallery
• Holyrood Palace and the adjacent Queen’s Gallery
• The Georgian House
• Edinburgh Castle
• Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Archi-tecture
• The Royal Yacht HMS Britannia
• Phoebe Anna Traquair’s murals in two his-toric churches
• Dovecot (an extraordinary tapestry weav-ing workshop)
• The Fine Art Society
• Lyon & Turnbull auctioneers
• Scottish National Portrait Gallery
• Hopetoun House
• A day in the Borders near Edinburgh

I truly hope you can join us for some or all of these adventures, and we look forward to answering any questions you may have. For details or to reserve your seat, please visit finearttrip.com/france or contact our marvelous travel coordinator, Gabriel Haigazian ([email protected]).

See you in France this fall!

Download the May/June 2019 issue here, or subscribe to Fine Art Connoisseur today so you never miss an issue.

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Featured Artwork: Lisa Kovvuri

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Fine Art Today

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May 1, 2019

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A Poet
24 x 18 in.
Charcoal on paper
Framed
 Available through the artist

Portrait artist Lisa Kovvuri announces the launch of her new series of portraits: Beyond Appearances.

Building on the success of her most recent solo exhibition, The Portrait Experience at the Whistler House Museum of Art, Artist Lisa Kovvuri is taking the genre of portrait painting to a personal level. Beyond representing a likeness, her new series serves as a catalyst for making connections and getting at the heart of what it means to be human. She’s taking a hiatus from painting commissioned portraits to embrace her desire to paint people in a context that can address the emotional and psychological experiences we all share.

“In my new series the focus is on emotional presence more than a person’s identity. The sitters inspire ideas about states of mind and emotional moments we can all recognize. I see these portraits as a kind of mirror of humanity. The models I’ve recruited represent a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures. I’m particularly drawn to people who I don’t typically encounter in my usual circles, people I can learn something from. Painting them bridges a gap for me. It cultivates empathy, and that’s an important personal aspect of my work.“

Although the new portraits strive to go beyond appearances, they depict appearances in a remarkable way. Departing from the more impressionist-leaning approach of her earlier work, these emphasize more sculptural form, texture, intricate detail and attention to surfaces, offering viewers a much more intimate experience of the subject’s presence.

“That feeling of intimacy is important to me. I want people to be able to get up close and engage their senses, to feel free of barriers that may otherwise be there in real life.”

Still in its early stage, the series is expected to culminate in approximately 25 to 30 new works. A Poet, the charcoal piece pictured above, is one of a selection of drawings that have been released and are available now through the artist. Stay tuned for the paintings!

Lisa will begin sharing work for Beyond Appearances in her e-newsletter on May 15. Sign up for her newsletter to follow her progress and be sure to get a first viewing of each piece fresh off the easel. See more of Lisa’s work on her website lisakovvuri.com and by following @lisakovvuri on Instagram.

New York City: Shades of Gray

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Fine Art Today

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May 1, 2019

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Tonalist paintings - FineArtConnoisseur.com — Joseph McGurl, "Lunar Magic on the Hudson River," oil, 12 x 16 in.

“Shades of Gray” is the inaugural exhibition of the American Tonalist Society, presented by the historic Salmagundi Club in NYC, May 3–10, 2019.

The American Tonalist Society was founded in 2016 by four East Coast artists, Daniel Ambrose (FL), Eleinne Basa (NJ), Donald Demers (ME), and Mary Erickson (NC) during a summer artists’ retreat in Port Clyde, Maine. Discussions around the dining room table prompted conversations about the recycling of past ‘isms’ and current progression of art styles. The tonalist movement is now seeing a resurgence, following the popularity of plein air painting in the 19th century and classical realism in the early part of this century.

The tonalist movement focuses on emotion, spirituality, and mood, encompassing luminous atmospheric effects with a minimal palette of neutral hues. Like visual poetry, tonalist paintings evoke a quiet statement of contemplation, mystery, and intrigue.

Signature Membership in the American Tonalist Society recognizes artists working in the tonalist tradition and honors professional standing in the community. In addition to the founders, there are more than 20 artists participating in the exhibition, including Brent Cotton, Donald Jurney, Joseph McGurl, Deborah Paris, Nancy Howe Russell, Karen Vance, and Denise LaRue Mahlke.

David A. Cleveland is the foremost authority on the tonalist movement in America and author of the award-winning A History of American Tonalism. Mr. Cleveland is presenting a lecture on American tonalism, with a Q & A panel discussion, on May 4.

For more details on the ATS, its inaugural exhibition, and scheduled events, visit www.americantonalistsociety.com.

From the editor: We’re proud to announce that Joseph McGurl, Don Demers, and John MacDonald are all part of our Streamline Premium Art Videos collection. Learn more about their video painting workshops here:
• Advanced Landscape Painting – NEW! (by Joseph McGurl)
• Painting Light and Atmosphere (by Joseph McGurl)
• Mastering a Nautical Scene (by Don Demers)
• Poetic Landscapes (by John MacDonald)

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A Feast for the Eyes

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Fine Art Today

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May 1, 2019

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Floris_van_Dijck---Still-Life-with-Fruit-and-Olives — Floris Claesz. van Dyck, Dutch, 1575–1651, “Still Life of Fruit and Olives,” oil on oak panel, Grasset Collection

Rare, private collection of Old Master paintings makes exclusive appearance at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg (Florida)

“A Feast for the Eyes: European Masterpieces from the Grasset Collection” offers a glimpse of life in the 1600s and 1700s, along with many hidden meanings, in an exhibition of 40 paintings.

From the museum:

The exhibition features 40 Old Master paintings by artists from the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and Germany — including Jan Brueghel the Elder and Canaletto, represented below with an iconic view of Venice. The works span from 1600 to 1750. The collection is on loan from the Grasset family of Spain, whose patriarch, Juan Manuel Grasset, assembled this group of masterpieces over the last five decades.

Old Master Paintings - FineArtConnoisseur.com — Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal), Italian, 1697–1768, “The Grand Canal, Venice,” oil on canvas, Grasset Collection

The St. Petersburg exhibition is the last time the works are expected to be shown together.
This group of paintings has been exhibited publicly only once, at the San Diego Museum of
Art in 2016. This once-in-a-lifetime collection features some of the most beautiful still life, landscape, and banquet scenes of the “Golden Age.” The works reflect the growing power of the middle class in this time period, the impact of maritime trade, the desire to capture images of luxury and abundance in art, and the emergence of the art market, along with a number of subtle “hidden” symbolic meanings to be discovered.

Still life paintings - FineArtConnoisseur.com — Jan Davidsz. De Heem, Dutch, 1606–1683/4, “A Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase in a Stone Niche,” oil on oak panel, Grasset Collection

The exhibition begins with exotic floral pieces that reflect with precision and detail the expanding trade and scientific curiosity that defined the era. This opulence is also displayed in the exhibition’s splendid banquet pieces, such as the magnificent “Still Life of Fruit and Olives” by Floris Claesz. van Dyck (1575–1651), featuring cheeses, wine, and exotic fruits in a precious Chinese porcelain bowl that had been brought over long, treacherous sea routes.

“A Feast for the Eyes” also includes seascapes celebrating maritime life and trade, most notably “The Grand Canal,” an exquisite vista of Venice, Italy, at its most glorious by Canaletto (1697–1768). (Many of the scenes like the one in “The Grand Canal” were painted as mementos for wealthy tourists.)

The exhibition also features a number of fascinating genre scenes, such as the piece that beautifully evokes day-to-day life centuries ago titled “Winter Landscape with Elegant Skaters” (1616) by Esaias van den Velde (1587–1630).

As for “hidden” symbolic meanings, discerning visitors will spot such touches as a mouse and dead songbirds in “Still Life of Grapes and Peaches on a Porcelain Bowl” by Peter Binoit (1590–1632), symbolizing how wealth and success can be fleeting.

Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625), Flemish, “A Wooded River Landscape, with a Fish Market and Fishing Boats,” oil on copper, Grasset Collection

And in a work by Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625), “A Wooded River Landscape, with a Fish Market and Fishing Boats” (1610), a windmill in the distance has several meanings, symbolizing power and prosperity but also as a reference to religion and the crucifixion.

“We are enormously grateful to the Grasset family for their generosity in sharing their private collection,” said Kristen A. Shepherd, Executive Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg. “This exhibition is truly a gift — in particular, a gift to young people in our community whose first impression of so-called ‘Old Masters’ will be these delightfully fresh and lively masterpieces. The Grasset Collection also gives our visitors the opportunity to study and appreciate masterworks rarely seen.”

“A Feast for the Eyes” is on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg (Florida),
through July 28, 2019, and will not travel to other venues.

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Featured Artwork: Lyn Boyer presented by the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art

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Fine Art Today

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April 30, 2019

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Our Better Angels by Lyn Boyer
30 x 40 in.
Oil on linen on panel

Grand Canyon Association is pleased to announce the 11th Annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Art at Grand Canyon National Park.

In honor of the 100 year anniversary of Grand Canyon National Park, this year’s Celebration of Art will recognize the achievements of contemporary artists who successfully interpret the canyon, both in plein air and studio work.

Since its inception in 2009, Celebration of Art has invited participating artists to paint “en plein air” for a week at Grand Canyon. The works produced during this time are shown alongside studio-produced pieces at the historic Kolb Studio in an exhibition and sale that extends for four months.

Celebration of Art is a wonderful tradition at Grand Canyon National Park, providing a vibrant experience for visitors, a venue for artists inspired by the canyon, and a successful fundraiser to benefit arts programming and a dedicated art venue at the South Rim. Art plays a critical role in the appreciation of our national parks, and this event helps to keep the artistic tradition part of the Grand Canyon experience.

Following in the footsteps of the many artists that have painted the Grand Canyon over the past 160 years, this year’s CoA artists will face the challenges that capturing the canyon presents. Its vastness, ever shifting light and shadows, unpredictable weather, and unique perspective has frustrated many an artist.

Colorado artist Lyn Boyer, one of this year’s participating artists, has met and overcome these challenges. In her first year (2017) she won the Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine’s Collectors’ Choice Award and in 2018 was awarded the Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine’s Best of Show—Studio Painting. Of her studio painting for this year’s event featured here, Our Better Angels, Boyer reflects:

“For me the Grand Canyon brings peace because it also offers perspective. It beckons us to step back and see the whole. It reminds us that things are ever changing. That light fades – but in the cycle of all things it returns. Down through time the sky and the Canyon have conversed, sometimes in whispers, at times as a symphony and other times fearfully as Indra hurls bolts of fire from the sky. But for now, for our moment in time, we can watch the day washed in light give way to a last glow, which gives way to stars, to rest and then dawn again. It calls to our better angels.”

During the week of September 7-14, 2019, visitors will have the opportunity to watch the 23 painters, including Boyer, create artwork along the South Rim as they interpret the amazing land forms and vibrant colors of this vast landscape. In addition, there will be free artist demonstrations scheduled at various locations at the South Rim throughout out the week.

On Saturday September 14 from 8 to 10 am the artists will be participating in a Quick Draw along the South Rim from Verkamp’s to Kolb Studio, with an auction of their work at 11:00 a.m. at Bright Angel Trailhead.

The Celebration of Art exhibit and sale opens at 11:00 a.m. on September 15, 2019, and will be open daily through January 20, 2020, at the historic Kolb Studio at the South Rim of Grand Canyon. Admission is free and open to the public.

Please visit grandcanyon.org or contact Kathy Duley at [email protected]
or 480-277-0458 for more information.

May 3: Governor’s Art Show & Sale

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Fine Art Today

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April 30, 2019

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Art shows and auctions - FineArtConnoisseur.com — Jeremy Manyik, “Distant Gaze,” oil, 9 x 12 in.

Tickets are now on sale for the 2019 Colorado Governor’s Art Show & Sale Opening Night Gala. Meet artists and get exclusive access to fine art Friday, May 3, at the Loveland Museum.

Meet 56 of Colorado’s top fine artists and be among the first to see and buy their new art pieces. Gala tickets can be purchased on the Governor’s Art Show and Sale website for $75 per person.

The gala is the only opportunity during the show to meet and mingle with the artists, providing attendees a unique opportunity to learn more about each piece, including the inspiration behind it, the technique and more. Tickets to this exclusive event include hors d’oeuvres and drinks.

The Governor’s Art Show will bring together 56 of the state’s most talented artists and Legacy Artist Ron Hicks for a monthlong exhibit at the Loveland Museum. On May 4 the show will open its doors to the public and run through June 2. The art show has established itself as one of the top two art shows in the state and is among the many reasons Loveland is at the heart of the arts in Colorado.

“This show and the gala are perfect opportunities to celebrate the best of Colorado fine art,” said John Kinkade, Governor’s Art Show committee member. “The opening gala provides fine art lovers and buyers with a unique opportunity to connect with some of their favorite artists and discover new artists and artwork to add to their collections.”

The monthlong exhibit will be held at the Loveland Museum/Gallery, an event co-sponsor. Exhibit admission is $7; free for museum members. A Plein Air Festival will be hosted on Saturday, June 1, at the Rialto Theater. The live auction will begin at 4 p.m.

The Governor’s Art Show, with its theme “Art with Heart,” is presented by Loveland and Thompson Valley Rotary Clubs and endorsed by the governor of Colorado. Net proceeds will benefit Rotary-sponsored charitable projects and causes. One-third of net proceeds will go to the Thompson Education Foundation’s Homeless Assistance Fund, and additional funds will go toward scholarships for local art students.

To find more information on Governor’s Arts Show events, and to purchase tickets, please visit governorsartshow.org.

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Annapolis, Maryland: Marine Art on View

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Fine Art Today

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April 30, 2019

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Maritime and seascape paintings - FineArtConnoisseur.com — Richard Loud, “Belle J Neal, Clipper Fishing Schooner, 1880,” oil on canvas, 19 x 30 in.

Artist Patrick O’Brien has invited a select group of painters from the American Society of Marine Artists to participate in the Annapolis Invitational Marine Art Exhibition. This show is in cooperation with the National Maritime Historical Society and features members of the American Society of Marine Artists.

The artists in this art exhibition combine their extensive nautical experience with their knowledge of color and light to create compelling images of maritime scenes from the past and present. These artists are the best in the country at bringing our maritime heritage to life. Artists include John Stobart and Patrick O’Brien, and others.