China’s fine art traditions, practices, and imagery have long been linked to significant political and cultural movements in that country’s history. From 1911 to 2017, there have been periods of the Republic of China, High Socialism, and Reform, respectively — each of which were witnessed by prolific artist Dong Yifang (1925-2006).

Opening August 28 and on view through October 7 at Purdue University Galleries in West Lafayette, Indiana, is an exciting visual survey of the life’s work of Chinese ink painter Dong Yifang. Through three distinct periods of Chinese history in the 20th century, Yifang both found and evolved his artistic voice, and explored each period in depth through ink, oil, and watercolor paintings.

“Dong began his artistic practice in the 1930s by developing a solid foundation in traditional Chinese painting through his studies with teacher and painter Qin Zhongwen,” the university writes. “At the Beijing College of Art, from 1942-1945, Dong learned oil painting from Wei Tianlin (1898-1977), an impressionist who had studied in Japan. In 1946, Dong studied watercolor painting at Fu Jen University and worked with Gustav Ecke at Beijing College of Art. Through these experiences, Dong Yifang became skilled in both Western and traditional Chinese painting techniques. Early in his career, Dong’s work reflected his studies and understanding of traditional artistic practices; his paintings also revealed a love for the landscape. During the period of High Socialism, Dong struggled with the limitations that resulted from the politicization of art, as socialist realism became the official art style of the People’s Republic of China. Finally, during the period of Reform (1977-present), modern Western art was reintroduced, and Dong Yifang found the freedom he needed to continue his artistic development. In the 1990s, Dong established a method of painting by building upon the techniques of traditional Chinese ink painting and incorporating Western-influenced naturalism. His final works reveal not only a unique understanding of material, light, space, and form, but a thought-provoking commentary on the artist’s never-ending search for mastery of craft and originality of voice within a world of political and social change.

“‘Dong Yifang: Painting Through a Century of Change in China’ will feature ink paintings and sketches by Dong Yifang, supplemented by original art work of Dong’s teachers, colleagues, and students: Qin Zhongwen (1896-1974), Lu Yanshao (1909-1993), Song Wenzhi (1919-2000), Wei Tianlin (1898-1977), and Wang Yani (b. 1975).”

To learn more, visit Purdue University.

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.

Nestled at the base of the Book Cliffs in Eastern Utah lies the small city of Helper, which has — in one way or another — been called home by these 19 female artists.

The Helper Project, a non-profit organization established by several community members and artists in 2016, along with local sponsors, has decided to promote Helper women artists through an opening exhibition called “The Nest” at Amjworks studio this month. The exhibition opens on August 12 and will be on view through September 30, and the represented artists have a special connection to Helper either through family ties, calling Helper their home presently or in the past, or having participated in the Helper Art Workshops. Among the artists included are Anne Morgan-Jespersen, Kathleen Royster, and Anne Kaferle.

“A catalog highlighting the works of all participating artists, including an essay by renowned Utah Art Historian Donna Poulton Ph.D., will be available for purchase during the exhibition,” according to the press materials. “The artist movement has played an integral role in helping the community recognize its own value. Art, whether written, spoken, painted, sculpted, or danced, becomes an historical record. It informs us, and future generations, about cultural diversity, economic conditions, technological advancements and social attitudes present at the time of the creation of the work. The work exhibited here, by these remarkable artists, is destined to become part of the unique historical record of Helper, Utah.”

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.

America’s only complete collection of presidential portraits outside the White House is currently on lavish display at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., as part of an extensive four-phase renovation.

A portrait of former President Barack Obama by acclaimed artist Chuck Close from 2013 is among the artworks on brilliant display at Washington’s National Portrait Gallery. Titled “America’s Presidents,” the temporary exhibition will offer visitors a change to “see an enhanced and extended display of multiple images of all the United States presidents,” the museum reports, “including Charles Willson Peale’s portrait of George Washington, currently on loan from the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The exhibition also features whimsical sculptures of Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, and George H. W. Bush by noted caricaturist Pat Oliphant. Presidents Washington, Andrew Jackson, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt are given expanded attention because of their significant impact on the office. Presidents from FDR to Bill Clinton are featured in a video component of the exhibit.”

“America’s Presidents” is temporarily on view now through September 4 at the museum’s west gallery on the second floor. On September 22, the exhibition reopens at the newly restored and refurbished “America’s President’s Gallery.” Gilbert Stuart’s “Lansdowne” portrait of George Washington will also be reinstalled after September 22 after 18 months of careful conservation and analysis.

To learn more, visit the National Portrait 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.

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: Elena Vladimir Baranoff, “Richard Chartres, Lord Bishop of London.”

For collectors and art enthusiasts looking for the highest-quality portraits, the annual BP Portrait Awards are the gold standard. Selected from nearly 3,000 entries from artists representing over 80 countries, the exhibition (which is on view now through September 4 at London’s National Portrait Gallery) offers a grand prize of £30,000 and near instant celebrity.

Among the accepted works in the 2016 edition of the BP Portrait Awards is a work from the hand of an artist who’s no stranger to the exhibition: Elena Vladimir Baranoff. A champion of traditional Medieval egg tempera painting and techniques, Baranoff is among the “Hall of Fame” portraitists living today. Her absolutely magnificent portrait of Richard Chartres, Lord Bishop of London — painted in 2013 — has earned the first spotlight for Portrait of the Week.

At first encounter, one is immediately struck by the brilliant red robe worn by the Bishop. His gaze, slightly averted and elevated, undoubtedly connotes his role as a Biblical scholar, thinker, and teacher. The softness of the flesh, incredible detail, and overall photographic realism is a direct result of Baranoff’s mastery of egg tempera. Baranoff founded the Egg Tempera Movement — an organization established to promote and preserve this traditional painting method — and the Bishop was a noted supporter of the project.

To learn more, visit the BP Portrait Award 2016.

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 just a few days, The Hockaday Museum of Art will host its third annual exhibition and sale “A Timeless Legacy – Women Artists of Glacier National Park”.  A destination for superior western fine art by leading women artists, this year’s event also includes esteemed speakers from New York City and Wyoming.

Opening events for the third annual “A Timeless Legacy – Women Artists of Glacier National Park” begin on August 12 at the Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell, Montana, which include a fundraising sale and new education seminar on art collecting.

Titled the “Discovery Series”, this year the museum welcomes Salmagundi Club Chairman, Tim Newton, and Kathy Thompson, director of the Buffalo Bill Art Show in Cody, Wyoming.  Newton and Thompson will focus their talks “on the ins and outs of art collecting and how art can enrich the community through private collections, museums, and other sources” a press release notes.  “The program, which includes brunch, will be held August 12 from 10 A.M. to Noon at the Red Lion Hotel in Kalispell.”  Reservations are required and tickets are $25 for members and $35 for non-members.

The exhibition “A Timeless Legacy” will open August 15 and continue through September 23 at the Hockaday Museum.  Featuring 28 participating artists, viewers will encounter a diverse display of exquisite western art by leading women artists.  Subjects include landscape, wildlife, figurative, and more.  “These artists follow in the footsteps of the pioneering women artists who have painted in Glacier Park over the last century” the release continues.  “Featured works reflect the vastness and grandeur of the Park, including landscapes and wildlife, as well as indigenous cultures and early visitors.”

Represented artists include Deborah Berniklau, Shawn Cameron, Stephanie Campos, Nancy Dunlop Cawdrey, Carole Cooke, Sheila Cottrell, Lori Forest, Linda Glover Gooch, Margaret Graziano, Terry Cooke Hall, Ann Hanson, Julie Jeppsen, Jennifer Johnson, Laurie Lee, Krystii Melaine, Darcie Peet, Stacey Peterson, Heide Presse, Elizabeth Robbins, Sandy Scott, Sharon Standridge, Kathryn Stats, Sonya Terpening, Linda Tippetts, Rebecca Tobey, Echo Ukrainetz, Sally Vannoy, and Sarah Woods.

To learn more, visit the Hockaday Museum or A Timeless Legacy exhibition page.

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: Thomas Gainsborough, “The Blue Boy.”

Considered by many to be Thomas Gainsborough’s (1727-1788) most famous painting, “The Blue Boy” is a masterful full-length portrait that has captivated connoisseurs and scholars for centuries. Believed to be a portrait of Jonathan Buttall — the son of a wealthy hardware merchant — the image is not just remarkable for the sitter’s presence, but his lavish costume as well, which flashes from the surface with grandeur, confidence, and status.

After being exhibited continually during the early 19th century, “The Blue Boy” developed a life of its own, becoming a popular reproduction in print and inviting public adoration. In 1919, the picture inspired German film producer Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau to create his debut film, “The Boy in Blue.”

An outcry in Britain resulted from the painting’s being sold to an American in 1921 for a then-world-record $640,000 — nearly $9 million on today’s market. Legend suggests that the exhibition of the painting at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., moved Robert Rauschenberg toward painting.

Today the painting is housed at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. To learn more about this magnificent work, visit the library 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.

Art historians, collectors, and enthusiasts will soon have a new treasure trove to work with via the Wildenstein Plattner Institute. You don’t want to overlook this!

The Wildenstein Plattner Institute (WPI) recently announced that it will make available more than a century’s worth of documentation, featuring materials such as stock books from galleries, artists’ correspondence, and annotated sale catalogues. The materials will be digitized to develop online catalogue raisonnés for Impressionists such as Edouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Claude Monet.

Elizabeth Gorayeb, the WPI’s executive director, suggests, “The exciting thing about the archive is that there are materials here that were long thought to have been destroyed, and others that have not been available to the public at large, so this is an important development for art historians, dealers, and provenance researchers.” Gorayeb also said the archives at WPI contain records from legendary Paris art dealer Ambroise Vollard, who worked with artists such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Paul Cézanne.

Via the WPI’s webpage, the nonprofit organization adds “[The WPI] will create a comprehensive inventory of the archives, with a digital finding aid that will be available on our website. The WPI is also developing a database of digitized archival material and online catalogue raisonnés that will provide the most up-to-date information on the oeuvre of significant artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.”

To learn more, visit WPI.

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.

Have you seen the drawings by artist Maria Kreyn? If you haven’t, there will be a great opportunity at Paul Booth Gallery in New York City in just a few weeks. Details here!

Paul Booth Gallery will open “May You Live in Interesting Times” on August 19; it’s a solo exhibition of recent drawings by artist Maria Kreyn. On view through September 9, the exhibition showcases Kreyn’s dynamic compositions in graphite and charcoal that explore themes of humanity with intense emotional depth. “The exhibition takes its name from a purported Chinese curse,” the gallery writes, “and while the works examine darkness, they do not dwell in the negative. [Kreyn’s] expressive use of light and shadow describe the passage of time, and repeatedly touch on the commonalities of the great themes of the human condition.

“Kreyn’s imagery often mines traditional western art historical iconography, as well as industrial and wartime photography. Her compositions are montages that seem to celebrate contradiction and the unpredictable nature of the future.

“The cumulative effect is that of a recording of history, a documentary, personal or otherwise, depicted in a non-linear, existentialist manner. In ‘Hands,’ a drawing that depicts a set of Dürer-like hands covered with pigment, the use of charcoal itself becomes of a metaphor for the very act of creation, i.e., the work of being an artist is sullying in and of itself, and getting dirty is vital to the creative process. In this image, charcoal dust seems to be a metaphor for both drawing and for quite viscerally being the very stuff of life.

“In ‘Pilgrims,’ she depicts three reclining figures in foreshortened views that recall Mantegna’s ‘Lamentation of Christ.’ Their lower legs each give off cast shadows that seem to depict perspective on a consistent ground plane where the three figures lie exhausted, resting, recuperating. Our eye level as a viewer is on the same ground plane. The result is that the scene becomes a commonality. Their journey is ours, too, Kreyn seems to say.

“Nautical themes are common in Kreyn’s work, and the piece ‘Elections, What Goes Up’ seems to evoke The Odyssey and its famous captain and charismatic leader Ulysses. But in Kreyn’s more Expressionist image, the narrative is more contemporary (20th century uniforms) and secular. The central figure, to which all hands are reaching up from the lower deck, has no supernatural powers to save the day, no Athena to bail him out of trouble or shore up his character flaws. He is a leader who is joined in suffering with his fellow sailors, in their moment of confusion and despair as they face the storm together.”

To learn more, visit Booth 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.