Featuring a stunning array of recent works by emerging artists, One Art Space in New York City is poised to open a compelling group show.

Featuring Jennifer Young, Nick Gebhart, Thurston Belmer, Ryan M. Schroeder, Bruno Perillo, and Marshall Jones, “Behind Narrative” is a fascinating group exhibition set to offer an amazing combination of figurative, realist, and mannerist paintings. Opening on November 10 at One Art Space in New York City, “Behind Narrative” explores contemporary elements of urban identity in one of America’s largest cities.

“Behind Narrative” will be on view through November 13. To learn more, visit One Art Space.

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Founded nearly 25 years ago by painter Daniel Graves, the Florence Academy has grown into one of the world’s preeminent ateliers by continuing to teach and advance classical realism. The school was overjoyed to recently announce the opening of its lavish new complex.

For the past 25 years, the Florence Academy has built itself into a top-tier atelier, but less could be said for their studio spaces, which became increasingly cramped as its classes continued to grow. As a result, students and studio spaces were dispersed in several buildings across Florence, hindering effective collaboration and critique — key cogs for a successful studio program.

The narrative has made a change as of Saturday, October 29, when the doors of the academy’s stunning new 35,000-square-foot complex were officially opened. Importantly, all of the academy’s studios are now under one roof. Further, many of the studios themselves have grown in size, not only providing more room for their large class sizes, but allowing for additional program expansion.

Constructed during the mid-19th century, the program’s building laid vacant and in a state of near-ruin for decades. Fine Art Connoisseur’s Publisher, Eric Rhoads, who spoke during the building’s inauguration dinner, suggested, “A building once vibrant and thriving with an important purpose, and which later crumbled and had no purpose, is brought to life again. It’s much like interest in classical realism, which was thriving, then died, and has now come back to life.”

Continuing, the academy wrote, “The Florence Academy currently has 100 students under one roof, and is one of the few classical academies offering full accreditation, resulting in the ability to get student loans. It is also working toward graduate programs for MFAs, which it plans to offer in the near future.”

From all of us at Fine Art Connoisseur, we congratulate the Florence Academy on their stunning new complex! To learn more, visit the Florence Academy.

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The Grenning Gallery is overjoyed to be presenting a number of breathtaking works during its Russian-American Alliance Exhibition this month. Initially formed several years ago, the artist group has continued to blossom, and their show is worth your attention.

It was during an invitational plein air painting trip to Russia that several artists from the United States and the host nation formed an alliance — and the art world has benefitted ever since. The budding relationship between the painters has recently resulted in group exhibitions, the latest of which is currently on view at the Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor, New York.

Spearheaded by Ben Fenke, the current exhibition will feature works by the artists during their latest foray to Maine and Sag Harbor. “Most of these painters have never been to the United States, so we expect very fresh eyes!” the gallery writes. “They all met a few years ago, when Russia sponsored a group of painters living in Italy to paint in the hometown of Levitan, arguably the most famous 19th century Russian landscape painter. The Grenning Gallery is fortunate to be hosting four of Russia’s most notable painters for the outdoor painting excursion this month to Mount Desert Island, Deer Island Maine and Sag Harbor. Their trip culminates in this exhibition of some of the finest works done in nature.”

Artists included in the show are Russians Olga Karpacheva, Viktor Butko, Irina Rybakova, and Oleg Zhuravlev and Americans Carl Bretzke, Stapleton Kearns, Leo Mancini Hresko, Tim McGuire, and Jesse Powell.

“Russian-American Painting Alliance” opened on November 5 and will remain on view through December 4. To learn more, visit The Grenning Gallery.

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Frederic Leighton’s “Flaming June” — a sun-drenched, sleeping female wrapped in orange draperies — is one of the most memorable and reproduced images in the history of British art. The work’s fascinating story, from its creation to international fame, is detailed during this exhibition.

Although the subject is imaged deep within a serene sleep, set against the calm waters of a Mediterranean seascape, Frederic Leighton’s “Flaming June” has made energetic waves since its production in 1895. One of the preeminent artists of the 19th century in Britain, Frederic Leighton was a key member of the Royal Academy and even earned the title of president from 1878 to 1896.

Although Leighton would create a number of stunning works — both in oil and in bronze — “Flaming June” is perhaps his masterpiece and most iconic. The story of this magnificent work is the subject of an exhibition currently on view at the Leighton House Museum. Significantly, this will be a rare moment when the painting returns to its home from the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico, where it has been since 1963.

Following the work’s critical reception at the Royal Academy, its disappearance in the 20th century, and its path to Puerto Rico, the exhibition also juxtaposes “Flaming June” with other pictures produced for Academy in 1895. Among the other stunning works on view are “The Maid with Golden Hair,” “Twixt Hope and Fear,” and “Candida.” Via the museum, “The re-gathering of these pictures places ‘Flaming June’ back into the context of its original exhibition, providing a compelling starting-point for exploring its history. Leighton was already unwell with the heart condition that would kill him at the time he made this last Academy submission. The assembled pictures represent his last statement as an artist and allow a reappraisal of his achievements, relating these five works back to the career that led up to their production and understanding the legacy of a creative life that was close to its end.”

“Flaming June: The Making of an Icon” will be on view through April 2. To learn more, visit the Leighton House Museum.

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Commissioned in 1849 as part of a series of three panels to hang in the Refreshment Room in the House of Lords, London, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer’s “The Monarch of the Glen” is as beautiful and majestic as paintings come — and it’s currently on view at Christie’s, New York.

It is one of the most celebrated British paintings of the 19th century, and any opportunity to view — let alone own — Sir Edwin Henry Landseer’s iconic “The Monarch of the Glen” is one collectors and connoisseurs are sure to note.

It is available via Christie’s, New York, and the auction house writes that the work is “a testament to Landseer’s powers as a great Romantic artist. The artist’s most famous work, it has become an iconic image of the Scottish Highlands: an animal of sublime power and beauty is posed before a misty mountain landscape, monarch of all he surveys. Attention is focused on the body, head and antlers of the stag, which is brought up close to the picture plane. It is a portrait of a specific animal realized with all Landseer’s deep knowledge of anatomy and his tactile feeling for the textures of muscle, bone and fur. No-one could match such verisimilitude, or charge a deer with such energy and vitality.”

To learn more, visit Christie’s.

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It’s been one of the most highly anticipated solo exhibitions of 2016, featuring the recent works by contemporary star Brad Kunkle, who explores narratives of being visible and invisible in oil, linen, gold, and silver. We’re just about at a loss for words for how beautiful it is.

What can we say? There’s a reason Brad Kunkle is one of the most sought-after and talked-about artists working today. Juxtaposing brilliantly modeled figures with abstracted and gilded spaces, the epic visual journey encountered in his work is but one element that continually captivates collectors and art enthusiasts. Opening November 12 at Culver City, California’s Arcadia Contemporary, “In/Visible” will also give image to compelling narratives. “While some of us struggle to be visible, others wish to be invisible,” writes Kunkle, “and we have all most likely experienced the desire to be either/or in a single day … perhaps even both at once. Where is the place of balance that remains fertile enough to nourish our souls, and noticed enough to be seeded and harvested by others? Social media has given us a new way to explore the threshold of being visible to the world, yet remain physically unseen behind the electronic veil. These paintings are born from our human desire to be in, visible, and at times, invisible in this over-technologized world.”

“In/Visible” opens on November 12 and will continue through December 3. To learn more, visit Arcadia Contemporary.

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Anglin Smith Fine Art in Charleston, South Carolina, seems to be the perfect venue for painter Bill Jameson’s latest solo exhibition. In what is described as a gallery for contemporary realism and color, Jameson’s stunning landscapes are right at home.

A number of outstanding works by painter Bill Jameson will soon grace the walls of Charleston, South Carolina’s Anglin Smith Fine Art. Jameson has studied in Florida, New York, and Mexico, and his love for nature led him to the historic village of Saluda in the mountainous region of Western North Carolina. Among the rolling hills of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, Jameson masterfully captures “the warm or cool colors heralding the arrival of each season in the Appalachian Mountains.”

Continuing, Jameson writes, “By exploring my subject matter in detail, the process reveals the mystery and profound power of nature. The effect is a literal and sentimental interpretation of nature; each painting is a reflection of the relationship between man and nature; painter and observer.”

“Appalachian Textures” opens on December 2 and will be on view through December 16. To learn more, visit Anglin Smith Fine Art.

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The New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut is currently showcasing over 80 paintings by more than 30 American artists whose works and careers were championed by Boston-based collectors Ernst and Gail van Metzsch.

“As We See It” is an outstanding look into the aesthetic preferences of collectors Ernst and Gail von Metzsch. Having spent nearly 40 years collecting art, the Boston-based couple has built a robust collection of stunning works, many of which are on view now at the New Britain Museum of American Art.

Featuring more than 80 paintings by 30 artists, the exhibition features local, national, and international stars, including — among many others — George Nick, Paul Rahilly, Janet Monafo, Steve Hawley, Ben Aronson, and Ed Stitt. “Today, the collection reflects a multitude of styles and subjects best described as ‘contemporary realism,’ and includes naturalistic landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and interiors, as well as colorful, evocative abstractions,” the museum reports.

“During the early phases of developing their collection, Gail and Ernst began acquiring urban scenes, and gradually expanded to seascapes and more broadly to local artists whose work greatly interested them. Rather than collecting encyclopedically, the couple acquired the work of select artists in-depth, a practice that reflects their dedication to nurturing and developing personal relationships with artists through their focused support. Invested and interested in artists, their lives, and the worlds around them, as well as the technical issues and processes that inform their work, Gail and Ernst von Metzsch have amassed their collection through active and ongoing conversations with artists and also with curators, gallerists, and fellow collectors whom they admire and with whom they share a dialogue.”

“As We See It: The Collection of Gail and Ernst von Metzsch” opened on October 21 and will remain on view through January 8. To learn more, visit The New Britain Museum of American 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.