A stunning array of works by the best painters of the Hudson River School compose a wonderful exhibition in our nation’s Midwest. Hurry up, however, as it’s only on view for a few more weeks! Details here!

The Wichita Art Museum in Kansas has an amazing exhibition on view through April 30. Titled “The Poetry of Nature,” the show features an impressive number of masterpieces from the Hudson River School of artists, including paintings by (among others) Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, John Kensett, and Albert Bierstadt. The paintings are on loan from the New York Historical Society and “reflect some of the prized examples from this landmark moment in American art,” the museum writes.

“The Hudson River School is pivotal in American cultural history, because the art represents the first formulation of a specifically American artistic expression. The group rose to eminence during the first half of the 19th century, as this circle of artists — together with like-minded poets and writers — forged a self-consciously American landscape vision and literary voice. They were grounded in the natural world as a resource for spiritual renewal and as an expression of cultural and national identity. The pristine, virgin forest — wild and untamed by civilization — served as a rich metaphor for American democracy and the New World. As the school emerged and rose to prominence, the Hudson River along with the Catskill, Adirondack, and White mountains provided the early subjects for their ambitious landscape paintings.”

To learn more, visit The Wichita Art Museum.

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A body of fine drawings by Dan Thompson will beautify the walls of this Southern institution this spring. Find out when and where here!

The Southern Atelier: A Center of Fine Art in Sarasota, Florida, will soon open a can’t-miss solo exhibition of recent drawings by Dan Thompson. Beginning tomorrow, March 31, and running through April, the show will encourage viewers to “see with your own eyes an artist’s dialogue and communication with his sitter in expressive, original, figurative drawings,” the center says. “This will be the first time a collection of Dan Thompson’s art works will be on display in Sarasota, Florida.”

An opening reception will be hosted at the center tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. “The evening of creative energy will also include a Literary Arts reflection, a spoken word performance, live music, refreshments and drinks,” the center continues. “We will also be discussing the answers to what makes collecting fine art worthwhile in today’s era.”

To learn more, visit the center here.

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Contemporary painter Daniel Sprick is currently showcasing a number of recent works in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Ranging from extraordinarily realistic portraits to haunting still lifes and beyond, there’s something here for every fine art connoisseur.

The artworks of Daniel Sprick represent some of the best contemporary realism and imaginative realism have to offer. Blending modern psychological and human experiences with traditional techniques, Sprick is on the cutting edge of fine art in the 21st century.

Featuring stunning new works at Peters Projects in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the show offers a range of interesting subjects, including hyper-realistic portraiture, still life, and urban landscape. Via the gallery, “There is a tension at play in his work as he explores the dichotomy between realism and abstraction, beauty and grit, tradition and experiment, planned and improvised. He exhibits extraordinary attention to detail, but then by leaving an unfinished edge or a sweeping gestural brushstroke, he reminds us that these are, after all, still paintings.”

“Daniel Sprick: Recent Works” opened on March 24 and will be on view through May 13. To learn more, visit Gerald Peters Gallery.

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An established Santa Fe gallery has recently mounted a riveting retrospective highlighting the incredible life and career of Robert Daughters (1929-2013). Travel through the decades via the creative vision of this accomplished painter.

Meyer Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is proud to be presenting a collection of special paintings by the late Robert Daughters (1929-2013) in hopes that it will eventually lead to a larger, more comprehensive museum retrospective. Intending to span the artist’s entire career, the gallery is currently seeking to borrow and/or purchase Daughters’ works to move closer to its goal.

Via the gallery, “In the gallery’s continuing effort to honor and represent Robert Daughters, we employ your help. The gallery has always wanted to curate a museum show for the artist. It would be an honor and privilege to head such an effort. An exhibition of this sort would require access to many of the pieces Meyer Gallery sold over the years. This is where we need your assistance. If possible, please send an image of any Robert Daughters original artwork from your collection to the gallery’s e-mail to be considered for the future museum exhibition.

“And to our collectors who are downsizing and need to sell their artwork, Meyer Gallery is your best choice for Robert Daughters resale. We continue to maintain brisk sales for the artist’s secondary market works. Opening 52 years ago in Park City, and with the Santa Fe gallery celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2017 — a combined 82 years as art specialists — Meyer Gallery is the destination for discerning collectors.”

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.

Sometimes we hear about interesting, but surprisingly common, artistic tandems of husband and wife. Together, they have embarked on a creative journey, critiquing one another and, on occasion, exhibiting together. Less common, however, are artistic siblings — the focus of this exhibition in Colorado.

The Great Basin Studio in Denver, Colorado, recently opened a fascinating joint exhibition showcasing the brilliant landscapes of siblings Kim Matthews Wheaton and William Matthews. Titled “Sister & Brother,” the show features landscapes by both artists, offering viewers a tantalizing comparison between two artists who share much more than artistic talent.

The works of Kim Matthews Wheaton are interesting displays of shape in the landscape, whether natural or manmade. Bold forms of light, shadow, and color interweave, overlap, and fade into distant horizons. The depth of field is a bit smaller in the works of William Matthews. Tall mountains stretch skyward from low horizons, with minute details in foliage and topography.

“Sister & Brother” opened on March 24 and will hang through May 12. To learn more, visit the Great Basin Studio.

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Earth’s atmosphere has such an infinite array of effects on light, diffusing and refracting it to produce vivid colors and muted tones. One contemporary landscape painter is poised to showcase his creative interpretations of fog and mist during a solo show that thrusts gray into a gorgeous spotlight.

From April 7 through April 28, Robert Lange Studios in Charleston, South Carolina, will present a body of recent works by contemporary landscape master Brett Scheifflee. Titled “For the Love of Gray,” the exhibition is Scheifflee’s painterly exploration of the unique qualities of fog and mist at various times of day. Principally captured in the artist’s former home, an area including the Barrier Islands and Lowcountry marshes, this body of work is not only a representation of the artist’s ability to meticulously render the details of the landscape in which he is immersed, but to do so with a rather limited palette.

“Like everything we make, desire precedes existence. It seems a love of the soft and subtle must have occupied the thoughts of artists for many, many years and we should be thankful it did, as we now have oil paints,” Scheifflee suggests. “There is no better medium a painter can turn to when they want to convey the subtleties of light, whether it’s the waking beauty of a foggy landscape, or northern light trickling in through an old Dutch house to find a pearl earring.”

The gallery adds, “Visitors to the exhibition are given a glimpse into the artist’s world and are provided with paintings that visually communicate the conjured emotions of Scheifflee’s explorative life. The featured paintings with their quiet and subdued palette, draw the viewer to take a closer look.”

To learn more, visit Robert Lange Studios.

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.

Several of the nation’s top representational artists are headed to this New York City gallery next month for a stunning group exhibition. All artistic sprits are welcome during “Spiritu Vivae.” Who’s included and where?

“Spiritu Vivae” will surely be a fantastic exhibition when it opens at New York City’s Dacia Gallery today, March 30. Featuring the works of Erin Anderson, Patt Baldino, Ryan Chapman, Paula Craioveanu, Kristy Gordon, Lisa Ficarelli-Halpern, Travis Little, Sari Mallow, Iliya Mirochnik, Michael O’Sullivan, William Reed, Kerry Simmons, Dori Spector, and Leah Yerpe, the show is a tour de force of representational talent.

Via the gallery, “This exhibition embodies an eclectic mix of contemporary artists that focus on representational art through painting and drawing. The collection contains a mosaic of work through a life-long study of anatomy, depth, color and light through the unique vision of each artist. From renowned representational artists Erin Anderson and Travis Little to classically influenced Ilya Mirochnik and rising stars Paula Craioveanu and Kerry Simmons. Fusing together an achievement of what is currently being created in representational art at the peak of a new movement by inspiring artists.”

“Spiritu Vivae” opens on March 30 and will continue through April 28. To learn, more visit Dacia Gallery.

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It was an atmosphere unlike any other as many attended RJD Gallery’s highly anticipated reopening after its devastating December 2016 fire. Just in case you missed it, we’ve got you covered.

Hundreds attended the grand re-opening of RJD Gallery in Bridgehampton, New York, this past Saturday evening, March 25. The opening marked a major point of celebration for the gallery’s owners and roster of esteemed artists as their original Sag Harbor location was destroyed by fire in December 2016.

It’s amazing to think about where the gallery was just a few months ago and seeing it now. By January, the gallery was already meeting with its insurance company, continuing remote operations for the inventory that survived, searching for a new location, and beginning to plan to breakground. Speaking to the Sag Harbor Express, gallery owner Richard J. Demato suggested, “It is a rebirth and a revival. We had to make a decision. Do we stop or do we go? We made that decision the same day of the fire. We went and sought new spaces; we worked out of my home for a while; we aggressively went out and went after new art. We had to.”

Continuing, Demato reported, “The space is much more serene because it’s much larger. It’s nice and clean and bright. We always loved sculpture, but never had the room. Also, in most of the galleries out here, you can’t step back from the piece enough. It gives it a better perspective and you feel more comfortable making the purchase because you’re more aware of the art rather than the small space. Several people have told me there’s more of a museum feeling here.”

To learn more, visit RJD Gallery.

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In this ongoing series, Fine Art Today delves into the world of portraiture, highlighting historical and contemporary examples of superb quality and skill. This week we join a chorus of celebration in honor of Rodin’s centenary.

Many — indeed most — consider Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) the father of modern sculpture. As the art world celebrates Rodin’s legacy this year, we’ve decided to join the festivities by detailing one of his most famous works, “The Burghers of Calais”.

Completed between 1884 and 1889, “The Burghers of Calais” is a powerful public monument in bronze featuring six portraits of French prisoners from the city of Calais. Calais was a besieged city during the Hundred Years’ War between England and France. Fascinated by the conflict, Rodin closely followed the account of French chronicler Jean Froissart (1333-after 1400), who describes — among many other details — the moment when six principal citizens of Calais were ordered to come out of the city with bare heads and feet, ropes around their necks, and the keys of the town and castle in their hands.

Rodin has sculpted the individuals, in various states of emotional distress, with incredible expressiveness. The sculptor’s roughly hewn surfaces powerfully echo the intensity of the moment and lend themselves beautifully to the subjects’ gripping expressions. Led by Eustache de Saint-Pierre (the bearded man in the middle of the group), each member seems to be contemplating his imminent death, unaware that their lives will ultimately be saved by the intercession of the English queen, Philippa.

Via the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, “the arrangement of the group, with its unorthodox massing and subtle internal rhythms, was not easily settled, and the completed monument, cast in bronze by the LeBlanc-Bardedienne foundry, was not unveiled in Calais until 1895.”

To learn more, visit the Rodin 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.