You’re invited to explore the genre of portraiture from a new perspective that considers the modern portrait’s social, political, and economic contexts. Featuring work from the 19th century to the present day, there’s certainly a lot here to enjoy.

511 Gallery in New York City will open “The Portrait: An Open Reading” on October 26. The exhibition is offering audiences a fresh perspective on the genre and how it has changed dramatically over the centuries. In particular, “An Open Reading” also draws attention to “how the means by which a portrait today is expressive is much more than the literal representation of a person’s external appearance,” the gallery says.

Among the highlights of the show are a remarkable 1873 engraving by John Singer Sargent’s teacher Carolus-Duran as well as paintings by 20th-century artists such as Guy Pène du Bois and Edna Reindel. Also included is a drawing by Norman Rockwell and photographs by Jacques Henri Lartigue, Philippe Halsman, and Andres Serrano. Contemporary portraiture is represented by such artists as Nina Katchadourian, Ed Fraga, Lucy Levene, Rebecca Soderholm, Alex Schuchard, and Elizabeth Livingston.

Continuing, 511 writes, “The earliest portraits, classical Greek and Roman, were created to commemorate wealthy and powerful people, either during their reigns or upon their deaths. In Medieval and Renaissance periods, religious persons became the mainstays of the genre. In the 1700s, as a result of industrialization and an emergent middle-class (burghers in the Netherlands, the bourgeoisie in France), commissioned portraits were made by skilled and well-known artists of the families and colleagues of patrons who stemmed from a wide variety of backgrounds and social status.

“None of those reasons for making portraits in the past have ceased, but new motivations and purposes have been added, resulting in a genre capable of creating rich and diverse meanings. Portraiture today is host to a multitude of significations beyond the representation of a person’s external — or even external + internal — likeness. There are, in this show, the formal photographs of Humphrey Bogart and Frank Sinatra by Philippe Halsman that signify the idea of celebrity and its partner, money; but then also one by Andres Serrano that signifies the traditionally morally-accepted ‘type’ of marriage — a portrait in which the coupledom overtakes the individual particularities of the two sitters. ‘War Thoughts’ by the mid-twentieth-century painter Guy Pène du Bois, is a double-portrait that represents death and its idea as much as it does two individuals; while Nina Katchadourian’s photograph ‘Artificial Insemination’ is a ‘stand-in’ for life and human procreation, with no human face or figure in evidence. The collected artworks engage each other and viewers in a curatorial conversation about the varied and changing approaches to portraiture, which then enables the contemplation of the historic periods, economic and political landscapes, artistic pedagogies, and personal relationships at play in each image.”

“The Portrait: An Open Reading” will continue through January 5, 2018. To learn more, visit 511 Gallery.

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.

The renowned Rehs Contemporary Galleries in New York City is soon opening an incredible exhibition of Art Renewal Center Select works of contemporary figurative works. Don’t miss it!

On October 28 from 2-8PM, Rehs Contemporary Gallery in New York City will be hosting an opening reception for “ARC Select 2017: Contemporary Figures” — an exhibition focusing on the stylistic variations of representing the human form in contemporary art. In conjunction with the Art Renewal Center (ARC), “Contemporary Figures unites an impressive and diverse roster around some of the finest and most unique figurative artists producing work today,” the gallery writes. “More than 25 paintings and drawings in all will be on display by — among others — Emanuele Dascanio, Daniel Gerhartz, Vanessa Lemen, Sergio Lopez, Tim Rees, and Marc Scheff.

“Contemporary Figures aims to highlight just a fragment of the expansive genre, while showcasing works that demonstrate immense talent and creativity. From the painstakingly precise, and near photographic charcoal and graphite renderings by Emanuele Dascanio, to the mesmerizing mixed media resin blocks by Marc Scheff, the exhibition displays a range of approaches and techniques in service of the figure. Daniel Gerhartz keeps his attention on the female form, with a strong foundation in the work of nineteenth century masters, most notably French and American Impressionist painters ranging from John Singer Sargent to Alphonse Mucha. Similarly, Sergio Lopez highlights the female form but takes the subject in a vastly different direction — influenced by the Golden Age Illustrators and graffiti writers. Tim Rees stresses compositional beauty, preferring to allow the composition to tell the story — the work is all about technique and using a thoughtful and logical approach to producing an idea. On the other hand, Vanessa Lemen credits her inspiration to moments of personal adversity and resilience — a concept that is further embodied by her organic process and the work itself; seemingly chaotic yet peaceful and elegant. Each artist reveals not only a personal vision of the human figure, but a commentary on what he or she believes is important in our current environment — what is meaningful and what is significant.”

“Contemporary Figures” will be on view through November 17. To learn more, visit Rehs Contemporary Galleries.

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.

Just a few weeks ago, we detailed the exciting news of Wausau, Wisconsin’s newest addition: the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art. Its grand opening was hosted on October 7 with acclaimed artist Alyssa Monks, who helped announce the artists selected for the 2017 National Juried Art Exhibition.

Wisconsin is officially the home of a new art museum: the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, which will aim to “unleash the region’s creative energy and engage a broad and diverse audience in conversation about how art connects us, allowing us to grow and thrive as a community,” as the museum’s website asserts.

The museum ceremoniously opened its doors on October 7 with an exciting event that welcomed established artist Alyssa Monks and featured newly selected artists for the 2017 National Juried Art Exhibition. Best of Show — a $10,000 prize — was awarded by Monks to artist Candice Chovanec for her magnetic piece titled “My Mother and Her Daughter.” Second Place was awarded to Joseph Castle for his sculpture “Meet Me on the Mountain.” Third Place was grabbed by Esteban Ocampo Firaldo for his “Self Portrait as an Artist.” Fine Art Connoisseur also presented Candice Chovanec with an Award of Excellence.

Honorable mentions included Carmelo Blandino’s “Love Is”; Michael Kenneth Depue’s “New Guinea TV”; and Erin McGee Ferrell’s “Petri Dish #3.” To learn more, visit the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art.

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.

More than 1,200 people from around the world, including top contemporary and traditional wildlife artists and collectors, came to Jackson, Wyoming, to attend the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s (NMWA) 30th Annual Western Visions Show & Sale events in September. Recap, winners, and totals are here!

Throughout the week, the NMWA showcased a combination of well-established, top-selling artists and emerging talents who are the next generation of leading wildlife artists. Western Visions is a cornerstone of the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival.

This year’s event had total revenue estimated at more than $650,000. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Museum and Western Visions, all 114 participating artists have work in the permanent collection of the museum. Of those 114 artists, 10 were also in the original Western Visions Show & Sale in 1988; those artists are Clyde Aspevig, Kenneth Bunn, Ken Carlson, Michael Coleman, Daniel Smith, Tucker Smith, Lee Stroncek, Skip Whitcomb, Jim Wilcox, and Wayne Wolfe.

This year a highlight of the exhibition was a presentation by three outstanding sculptors moderated by sculptor Walter Matia. After his presentation of the history of animal sculpture through the ages, further presentations were made by Randal Dutra and Steve Kestrel.

“We’re so happy everyone joined us for this 30th-anniversary Western Visions,” says Kavar Kerr, Western Visions co-chair. “It was a wonderful event, and we are thankful for those who attended to celebrate these fantastic artists.”

There were also several artists who grabbed awards this year. Artist Edward Fraughton won this year’s Red Smith Award, the artists’ choice honor, for his piece “American Monarch,” which included an award from Fine Art Connoisseur. Western Visions guests voted for John Seery-Lester’s piece as People’s Choice for “The Stage Is Set.” Painter Kathryn Turner won the Trustee’s Purchase Award for her Sandhill crane painting “Sky,” which was acquired into the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s collection. Bill Sawczuk won the Bob Kuhn Sketch Award for his sketch entitled “A Fine Specimen.”

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.

A nonprofit publisher recently announced the first monograph to document award-winning artist Kim Keever’s dazzling work. Just as exciting are plans to donate at least 500 copies to public high school students.

Kim Keever, who has been referred to as a “hydroponic Jackson Pollock,” is a former engineer who traded his career at NASA for a life of art. His artwork is held in collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and dozens more. Over the course of his illustrious career, Keever has collaborated with incredible artists like harpist Joanna Newsom and director Paul Thomas Anderson.

Focusing largely on Keever’s most recent series, “Abstracts,” the upcoming monograph titled “Water Colors” includes more than 150 high-resolution reproductions of his expressionistic photographs, which capture the diffusion of liquid and the interplay between water and light. His artwork displays what at first appear to be vast, sublime landscape paintings, but are in fact photographs of paint dropped into a 200-gallon tank of water at his East Village home.

The New York-based publisher is turning to Kickstarter to raise funding for the book’s publication and to give books to students. The 200-page volume will be available as both a softcover edition and a limited-edition hardcover. Each hardcover volume, packaged in a handmade clamshell case, will be signed and numbered by the artist and will include a high-quality print. 150 limited-edition books will be released, and both the limited edition and softcover editions will be printed in Italy. The book will include a foreword by digital designer and architect Evan Douglis, a complete exhibition history of the artist, and original essays by artists Hovey Brock and David Molesky.

A major component of the team’s mission is to promote the importance of art programs in public school. To this end, the publisher has partnered with Minneapolis-based non-profit Project Success to donate at least 500 softcover copies of the monograph to public high school students.

“When I went to school we had art, and it was a joyous time in my life and most of the other kids’ — and now, as I understand it, it’s not so typical that schools still have art,” says Keever. “This project will bring art books to students who would really love to see the work, and hopefully it will encourage them in their lives.”

The Kickstarter campaign  began yesterday and will run for 30 days. Campaign rewards include the 150 hardcover, limited-edition copies of the monograph at the discounted Kickstarter price of $750, and the softcover edition at the discounted price of $50.

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.

In this occasional series, Fine Art Today delves into the world of portraiture, highlighting historical and contemporary examples of superb quality and skill. This week we look at one artist’s attempt to make an accurate group portrait even more so. How?

Via Troika Gallery in Easton, Maryland:

After spending the summer on a sojourn honoring art from the Civil War, Anna Ella Carroll is coming home to celebrate her birthday, which is August 29. Anna Ella Carroll is the centerpiece of a painting created by renowned portrait artist Laura Era (after F.B. Carpenter). After being exhibited at the Carroll County Arts Center in Westminster for most of the summer (Carroll County is named after Anna Ella Carroll’s family), the painting has recently returned to the Eastern Shore. You can see the painting and give birthday wishes to Anna Ella Carroll at Troika Gallery in downtown Easton.

The Carroll County Arts Council invited artists to submit work for a summer exhibit that ran from June 13-August 16, 2013, in observance of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The works of art were viewed by thousands of people who were in the area to see re-enactments of the Battles of Gettysburg and Pickett’s Charge.

Born August 29, 1815, in Somerset County, Anna Ella Carroll later lived in Dorchester County. Carroll was an intriguing and atypical 19th century woman who emerged from the male-dominated realm of war, politics, and diplomacy. As a key military strategist, Presidential advisor, and “unofficial” member of Abraham Lincoln’s Cabinet, Carroll was probably the most powerful woman in America during the Civil War. Yet, her accomplishments are virtually unknown. When Carroll died in 1894, deprived of honor, title, pension, and acknowledgement, her life story was already considered a model for the Women’s Suffrage Movement. A modern biographer described Carroll as “hands down, the most important political woman of the 19th century.”

Carroll was a war spy, politician, Unionist writer, pamphleteer, author and legal expert. She is credited with helping to prevent Maryland’s secession from the Union. President Lincoln sent her, accompanied by an army officer, to observe and report on the War on the western front. Her reports resulted in major military strategies that eventually doomed the Confederacy and ended the intervention of the European nations on the behalf of the South.

Carroll is credited with changing the direction of the Civil War by devising the crucial Tennessee River Plan. Fearing that Union generals and soldiers would not follow a plan devised by a woman civilian, Lincoln and his Cabinet kept Carroll’s authorship a secret. Carroll also presented legal arguments and opinions as to why Lincoln could issue the Emancipation Proclamation and detailed his war powers authority.

Evidence exists that Lincoln had intended to honor Carroll after the war with a title and pension equal to that of a Major General. However, after Lincoln was assassinated, Carroll’s male counterparts, assisted by General Grant himself, conspired to take credit for her successes and totally erase her from history.

In 2010, Era was commissioned to paint a stylized version of Francis Bicknell Carpenter’s famous 1864 painting, “The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln.” Carpenter’s painting hangs over the west staircase in the Senate wing of the U.S. Capitol. It prominently depicts an empty chair draped with a red shawl, along with maps and notes similar to those Carroll carried. Many historians feel it was Carpenter’s way of acknowledging Carroll as the unrecognized member of the Cabinet.

Era painstakingly recreated the painting, placing Anna in her rightful chair with Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet. The new painting with the addition of Miss Carroll is titled “Maryland’s Version of First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation.”

Susan Williamson from the Carroll County Arts Council says, “Visitors to the exhibit were intrigued and enlightened by Anna’s story and the masterful recreation of the painting.”

A separate portrait of Abraham Lincoln titled “My Favorite President,” also by Laura Era, created a full complement of these historical figures during this critical time in American history.

Era says, “I am pleased that ‘Anna and the boys’ have returned to my Easton gallery, but the ultimate goal is to have the painting hang in a museum or public building where as many people as possible can view it and learn about the life and significance of Anna Ella Carroll.”

This historic painting is currently displayed at Troika Gallery. For information about prints or to see step-by-step progress photographs of the painting being made, visit Anna Ella Caroll.

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.

Friends of Florence recently announced that six seminal artworks from the Italian Renaissance — meticulously restored with their support — are currently featured in a major exhibition here.

Hosted at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy, “The Cinquecento in Florence from Michelangelo and Pontormo to Giambologna” is a significant exhibition featuring 70 paintings and sculptures — among them several important works that were recently restored.

On view through January 21, 2018, the exhibition was organized to illuminate what Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) called “the modern manner” juxtaposed with the dictates of the Counter-Reformation. Of the major works included in the show, recently restored masterpieces on view include Pontormo’s iconic “Deposition” from the Church of Santa Felicita; Agnolo Bronzino’s “Immaculate Conception” from the Church of Santa Maria Regina della Pace; Michelangelo’s “River God”; Giambologna’s bronze “Crucifix” from the Basilica of Santissima Annuziata; and two paintings by Alessandro Allori from the Basilica of Santo Spirito.

Via Friends of Florence, “Restoration of the Capponi Chapel and all the works in it, including Pontormo’s majestic altarpiece depicting the Deposition from the Cross, began in March 2017, and was enabled by a major donation to Friends of Florence from Kathe and John Dyson. The comprehensive restoration project, approved by the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la Città Metropolitana di Firenze e le province di Pistoia e Prato, was entrusted to the restorer Daniele Rossi and closely monitored by Daniele Rapino, the Soprintendenza officer with responsibility for the Santo Spirito neighborhood.”

Simonetta Brandolini d’Adda, co-founder and president of Friends of Florence, suggested, “Having these six works featured in this historic presentation of Florentine masters is a dream come true. Whereas a key focus of the work we do is to restore and safeguard irreplaceable Tuscan treasures, our twin goal is to make them available to the public both where they are regularly installed and through loans to venerable institutions like the Palazzo Strozzi. We remain eternally grateful to our devoted supporters, many of whom are based in the U.S., and the teams of specialists at Florence’s esteemed restoration laboratories.”

“Pontormo’s Santa Felicita ‘Deposition’ is an absolute masterpiece in the history of art and is going to be one of the most important works loaned to Palazzo Strozzi for its ‘Cinquecento in Florence’ exhibition,” added Arturo Galansino, director general of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi. “The Friends of Florence’s outstanding contribution to its restoration, with the crucial cooperation of the Soprintendenza Belle Arti e Archeologia di Firenze, Prato e Pistoia, returned the painting to its pristine splendor and allows Palazzo Strozzi’s visitors to admire it in the context of a unique exhibition.”

To learn more, visit here.

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.

Harvard University’s Fogg Museum will soon be hosting a lecture and seminar surrounding the traditional use of natural graphite drawing materials by artists from the 16th to 19th centuries. Who’s their expert guest?

Artist and scholar Timothy David Mayhew will be lecturing on the fascinating topic of natural graphite materials and techniques, circa 1500-1800, during an October 26 presentation at the Fogg Museum. Geared toward conservators, curators, scientists, and art historians, the talk will focus on the technical aspects of historical graphite and drawing media.

“Natural graphite was implemented for drawing and writing in the mid-1500s,” Mayhew said. “While much has been written on the history of graphite, most of it focuses on the history and development of the modern wood-encased fabricated graphite pencils most widely used for writing. Less well known is the way that natural graphite was used by artists for over three centuries, both before and after the development of modern fabricated graphite pencils. This presentation covers natural graphite’s geological formation, its unique working properties, field emission scanning electron microscopic images, and importantly it will document how it was used by artists from the 16th to 19th centuries organized century-by-century with historical references and images of extant drawings.”

To learn more, visit Harvard Art Museums.

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.

By now, you’ve probably become familiar with the name Joel Daniel Phillips — he’s a remarkably talented draughtsman with a penchant for engaging narrative and hyper-realism who recently relocated from the Bay Area to Tulsa, Oklahoma. His newest body of work is currently on view. What’s the story?

The newest body of work from Joel Daniel Phillips — 25 drawings in all — is part of a current solo exhibition at Tinney Contemporary in Nashville, Tennessee. At the beginning of 2017, Phillips relocated from San Francisco, California, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and his new series of works was spawned by his “search for an understanding of new surroundings,” he says.

Titled “Welcome to the Orange West,” this series of drawings “examine the historical and cultural events that shaped Westward Expansion in the United States at the turn of the 20th Century,” the artist says. “Through the lens of abandoned and decaying advertising littering the landscape along Route 66, the exhibition focuses on the sociological factors surrounding Manifest Destiny. Contrasted with renderings of historical moments central to the formation of the American West, the works explore the ways in which the United States has been shaped by, for better and worse, a deeply nostalgic relationship with Westward Expansion and the idea of power.

“Most particularly, the drawings speak to the juxtaposition between history and nostalgia. We are in the midst of a cultural moment that sees many Americans hoping to return the country to their own individual understanding of its past; ‘Welcome to the Orange West’ is an exploration of that past, and how our fascination with its glamour continues to shape decisions that affect our future.”

The exhibition will continue now through November 11. To learn more, visit Tinney Contemporary Gallery.

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.