Stanek Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is currently hosting an incredible group exhibition dedicated to one of the most important mentors of representational art of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Princess Diana of Wales, William Jefferson Clinton, and Pope John Paul II are only a few of the esteemed clients who sought the talents of celebrated artist Nelson Shanks (1937-2015). Shanks was — in addition to his artistry — a recognized art historian, teacher, connoisseur, and collector of fine arts.

At 18, Shanks began his tenure at New York’s famed Art Students League, where he caught the eye of John Koch, who took on the young artist as a private student, mentoring and encouraging him. Earning quick success with his immense talent and dedication, Shanks studied in Florence with Pietro Annigoni at the Accademia de Belle Arti before teaching himself in Memphis, Chicago, and Pennsylvania for nearly three decades.

On view now through October 28 at Stanek Gallery is a significant exhibition titled “Nelson Shanks and His Influence: Past, Present & Future,” which — as the name suggests — celebrates the remarkable impact of Shanks’ life and career upon generations of artists. Among others, represented artists include—among others—Alisyn Blake, Kerry Dunn, Jarred Fisher, Robin Frey, Shira Friedman, Katya Held, Natalie Italiano, Peter Kelsey, Darren Kingsley, JaFang Lu, Daniel Mahlman, Diane Rappisi, Kate Savage, Alexander Shanks, and Leona Shanks.

In conjunction with the exhibition, JaFang Lu and Dan Thompson will host a live painting and drawing demonstration between 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, October 14. Interested parties can register here. To learn more, visit Stanek 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.

New subjects from his hometown of Taipei, Taiwan, abound in Hsin-Yao Tseng’s current solo exhibition at InSight Gallery. Where has the burgeoning star taken his signature style this time?

Twenty-seven new outstanding paintings by Hsin-Yao Tseng feature during a Fall Focus show at InSight Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas. Opened on September 1, the show includes about 16 miniature sunsets as well.

“Hsin-Yao’s technique in oil is brilliant and sure; he paints in a romantic, expressive manner that honors the Western tradition while signaling an edgy, contemporary complexity,” states the artist’s bio. “Hsin-Yao has a curiosity and energy that propel him toward experimentation and innovation; accordingly, he works in a range of genres: from lush evocations of San Francisco and other cities to expressive portraits and finally to lustrous interiors and exteriors in which multiple figures enact a story. While his technical mastery is superb, it is never arid or facile. Hsin-Yao’s prose testifies to the fact that he is ambitious in the best sense; he is eager to push his art beyond what’s immediate and popular toward the timeless and real. His dedication and interest in the arts is apparent from over ten years of hard work and academic studies.”

Learn more by visiting InSight 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.

An artistic celebration of all things Tennessee is the goal of a current solo exhibition at the Parthenon Museum of Nashville this fall. Featuring the work of internationally awarded Nashville native Camille Engel, “My Tennessee Home” is a fantastic display of original contemporary realism.

On view September 9 through December 31, “My Tennessee Home” is a great opportunity for Southeast residents to view the works by a highly celebrated contemporary realist painter. The paintings showcased in the exhibition were the result of nearly three years of work on the part of Engel, who presents unique and surprising depictions of state symbols such as the state beverage, cultivated and wild flowers, fruit, wild animals, insects, and more in both oil and encaustic mediums.

Alongside the brilliant works by Engel, the exhibition also includes original artworks by the 12 winners of the “My Tennessee Home Student Art Competition.” Winning student artists, grades 1 to 12, from across Middle Tennessee were chosen by Engel and artists Jan Batts and Sandra Vanderpool.

To learn more, visit the Parthenon Museum of Nashville.

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.

Young love is ephemeral, spellbinding, enchanting, and maddening, and that is what painter Fatima Ronquillo finds inspirational in her latest body of work, on view here.

Drawing upon the tradition of classical portraiture, idyllic Rococo-style settings, classicism, and mythology, there’s no shortage of stimulating content during Fatima Ronquillo’s upcoming solo exhibition, “Mad Enchantment,” at Meyer Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Opening on September 15 and continuing through September 29, “Mad Enchantment” is a “continuation of the flora and fauna and blind love themes that I’ve been working on the past couple of years,” the artist suggests. “But this time there is a bit more magic. There is a mad enchantment that possesses the heart and mind when confronted by the possibilities glimpsed through visions of beauty and love.”

The gallery adds, “The seducing beauty of springtime sets the scene for Ronquillo’s dramas, while her imagined characters’ blind desires and innocent infatuations weave stories of forsaken love in idyllic Rococo-style settings. The artist’s classical references extend to mythological subjects, such as Diana, Cupid, or Bacchus, adding to the magical realism of her work. Symbolism including animals, sheer blindfolds, and physical wounds of love contribute to each composition’s underlying narrative while retaining enough mystery to intrigue the viewer. Spring’s transient blooms fill Ronquillo’s paintings as symbols of natural beauty, the object of our fleeting desires.”

To learn more, visit Meyer 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 North Shore Arts Association will soon be hosting an important selling retrospective exhibition surrounding Charles Movalli, featuring over 95 pieces of his work.

On September 17, the North Shore Arts Association in Gloucester, Massachusetts, will open a selling retrospective exhibition on artist Charles Movalli. Curated by his wife and artist Dale Ratcliff Movalli, the exhibition tells a brilliant story of how Movalli relished his reputation as an avant-garde painter and man of letters.

In an article titled “Charles Movalli — A Versatile Brush,” author Judith A. Curtis suggests, “Others viewed him as a bridge between traditionalism and the modernists, not only on Cape Ann and the North Shore, but across the country, and as far afield as Europe. Charles Movalli touched the lives of everyone who knew him; through his art, his vision, his writing — he authored numerous how to art books and eighty plus articles for American Artist — not to mention his dry wit and skill as a raconteur.

“From Renaissance man to Frank Lloyd Wright aficionado, the genius that was Charles Movalli pulled inspiration seemingly from the ether, inspiring and guiding countless students through his teaching, writing, and unflagging enthusiasm. He was quick to espouse the virtues of traditional art, championed by many of the Cape Ann painters, but was quick to step outside the box — eschewing the obvious to explore the esoteric— holding as his own mentor one whom he called America’s greatest artist — architect Frank Lloyd Wright!”

The exhibition will continue through October 28 with a preview reception on September 15. To learn more, visit the North Shore Arts Association.

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.

Leave it to Fine Art Connoisseur publisher Eric Rhoads to offer his readers once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to travel the world to incredible locations, learning about distant times and cultures through magnificent works of art. One of the most ambitious and amazing trips he’s planned yet kicks off tomorrow!

The recent political turmoil between the United States and Russia is of no concern to an amazing group of 50 collectors and artists who will gather in Moscow tomorrow for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The trip has stemmed from numerous requests to return since a similar tour in 2010.

“It was one of our most memorable trips ever because of our ability to go places tourists and even art connoisseurs would ordinarily never have access to,” says Rhoads. “For the first time, our annual cruise is not a cruise at all. There is so much deep and rich culture in both Moscow and St. Petersburg that we decided to do a land-based trip, with five days in each city and a high-speed train between.

“Peter Trippi, editor of Fine Art Connoisseur magazine, and I have deep art connections and friendships in this magical place, home to some of the most important art in the world. Friends and acquaintances include the heads of the top art academies in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the director of the Hermitage Museum, and many prominent artists, some of whom are world famous.

“Of course, one cannot go to Russia without seeing its amazing palaces, churches, and other tourist locations, so we’re incorporating those into our art-heavy itinerary; that is why we’re spending five days in each city.”

Of course, Fine Art Today will keep you updated on their travels in Russia between September 10 and 20, so stay tuned! To learn more about this trip and how you can become part of a future trip, visit Russian Art Trip or Fine Art Cruise.

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.

Seeing the wilderness of Northern Wisconsin and the Boundary Waters of Minnesota is an unforgettable experience, captured through the magical paintings of Breehan James during this tantalizing solo show. Where?

Tory Folliard Gallery in Milwaukee will soon unleash a fantastic solo exhibition on the world. Opening September 15 and on view through October 14, “A Hunter’s Heart, A Fisherman’s View” is a vibrant showcase of new works by artist Breehan James, who delights in capturing the mystical forests found in Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. Through her use of bold lines and saturated color, James’ paintings have a crispness that echoes the untouched subjects she depicts.

To learn more, visit Tory Folliard 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.

Collectors and connoisseurs alike are enthusiastic about this weekend’s events in Indianapolis. Are you in the know?

This weekend the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, Indiana, will host the widely anticipated Quest for the West Art Show and Sale, featuring some 50 artists showcasing more than 200 recent works not exhibited previously. 2017 is the event’s 12th year, and the exhibition of works will continue through October 8.

“We’re thrilled by the popularity of the Quest show among artists, collectors, and museum visitors who come to the Eiteljorg specifically to see the best contemporary Western art,” Eiteljorg President and CEO John Vanausdall said. “Our museum’s Western Art Society was visionary in advocating for creating Quest in 2006 to bring compelling new works to the Eiteljorg each year. To see what Quest has become on a national scale and what it means to our museum is something special.”

New in 2017 is a miniature art sale to be hosted on Friday, September 8. The Eiteljorg developed the first-ever Quest Miniature Art Sale to serve beginning art collectors who seek affordably priced works and experienced collectors who no longer have room for large paintings or sculptures and want pieces that take up less space. To be entered into the Quest Miniature Art Sale, paintings must be no larger than 12-by-12 inches and sculptures no taller than 8 inches. Buyers purchasing miniatures at that sale can pick them up that night. At last year’s event, nearly $1 million in art was sold. The museum keeps a percentage of art sales to support its operations and to acquire the Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Award artwork.

To learn more, visit the Eiteljorg Museum.

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.