The complete roster of artists at this stunning gallery are proud to showcase their passion for California. Sixteen talented painters headline this can’t-miss group exhibition. When and where?

The Holton Studio Gallery is overjoyed to be presenting the works of its entire roster of 16 brilliant painters. “Beloved California: Sixteen Painters with a Passion for Place” will be the inaugural show at the gallery’s new location in Berkeley, California.

Opening November 12 and on view through December 30, “Beloved California” will showcase an eclectic range of West Coast views, including rolling vineyards, rocky coasts, and the towering Sierra Mountains. The artists included in the show are Kevin Brown, Sharon Calahan, Bill Cone, Kevin Courter, Christin Coy, Mark Farina, Robert Flanary, Paul Kratter, Richard Lindenberg, James McGrew, Terry Miura, Robin Moore, Ernesto Nemesio, Carol Peek, Paul Roehl, and Erik Tiemens.

To learn more, visit The Holton Studio 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: Michael Gaskell, “Harry.”
 
The mark of a skilled portraitist is the ability to capture a sitter’s presence to the degree that they seem to occupy the room. Significantly, this quality is much more than the sum of pigment, binder, and — in this week’s case — a wooden panel. Indeed, it seems impossible to adequately describe the ways in which a talented artist captures an individual’s essence, personality, or soul — all elements seemingly invisible. Michael Gaskell’s 2010 portrait titled “Harry” is one such example, the striking visage of a young man that grips the viewer with intensity. The picture’s story is noteworthy as well.
 
The tale of Gaskell’s 2010 portrait “Harry” is a fascinating one, not typically encountered in portraiture — but the result is unmistakably profound and extraordinary. Emerging from a completely darkened background is the black youth “Harry,” who gazes towards the viewer’s left with an expression of stern confidence and determined vision. Amazingly, Gaskell became acquainted with his subject through the portraiture process, not having known “Harry” before its execution. Gaskell recalls having seen the young man in a grocery store and — compelled by unknown forces — was struck by his visage and presence. Through the picture’s process, Gaskell came to intimately know Harry’s visage and personality, and the resulting portrait is compelling.
 
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In this ongoing series for Fine Art Today, we take a longer look at the history and features of a soon-to-be-available artwork of note. This week: Eustache le Sueur, “The Deposition.”
 
Primarily known for his religious paintings, Eustache le Sueur (1617-1655) was also an important founder of the French Academy of Painting. Born in Paris in 1617, Sueur was raised in an artistic family. His father, Cathelin, was a popular wood turner and sculptor. Sueur’s talent was immediately recognizable at a young age, and he was accepted into the guild of master painters.
 
Often executed with precision and brilliant color, Sueur’s religious subjects were copied frequently by engravers. A student under Simon Vouet during his formative years, Sueur would later adopt the style of Nicolas Poussin. The Getty Museum suggests, “Sueur became interested in the psychological aspect of his subjects and developed a new classicism of composition and modeling while retaining his characteristic delicate, refined colors and tenderness.” Delacroix once remarked, “A single figure by him is a perfect harmony of line and effect, and when many figures are assembled in one picture, everything is brought into harmony.”
 
Heading to auction via Bonhams’ Old Master Paintings sale on November 2 is a gorgeous canonical Biblical scene by Sueur. In his typical style, Sueur’s “Deposition” has a tenderness, softness, and elegance despite the grave subject. A deceased Christ is presented to the viewer just after his removal from the cross. Joseph of Arimathea supports Christ’s torso as the Virgin — located at center and in blue — tearfully gazes at her son. The youthful John, shown in his canonical red and green robes, consoles the mournful mother. Kneeling and kissing Christ’s feet is not Nicodemus, however, but a female figure presumed here to be Mary Magdalene.
 
Auction estimates are between $18,000 and $24,000. To learn more, visit Bonhams.
 
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What was childhood like for the well-to-do between 1842 and 1855 in Madrid and Seville? The Museo del Prado recently unveiled a special display of eight brilliant portraits that offer both answers and stunning beauty.

On view through October 2017 at Madrid’s Museo Nacional del Prado, “Childhood Unveiled” is a tantalizing display of artistic talent, historical fashion, and the nature of being young and wealthy between 1842 and 1855.

Antonio María Esquivel y Suárez de Urbina, “Raimundo Roberto and Fernando José,” 1855, oil on canvas, 145 x 103 cm. (c) Museo Nacional del Prado 2016

Carefully curated from the museum’s impressive collection of Spanish Romantic portraiture, “Childhood Unveiled” is a look into the reign of Isabel II “with the aim of emphasizing two of the most important centers for Romantic art in Spain: Madrid and Seville,” the museum writes. “These eight portraits reveal different interpretations of childhood, a theme that became particularly popular among Romantic painters in a reflection of their clients’ new interests. The display of this selection will also allow for the first public presentation of an almost unknown work by Esquivel that has recently been added to the Museum’s collection.”

To learn more, visit the Museo Nacional del Prado.

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.

Unveiled some 600 years ago at Saint Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent, “The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb” by the Van Eyck brothers is one of the most stunning paintings to have survived from the European Renaissance. Having been split into pieces and stolen several times, the masterpiece has recently been the subject of a major conservation effort, which continues to this day.
 
Measuring nearly 15 by 10 feet, the size of Hubert and Jan Van Eyck’s altarpiece “The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb” is but one small element of what makes a lasting impression upon viewers. Painted in 1432 and popularly known as “The Ghent Altarpiece,” the massive painting is without debate one of the most important and extraordinary paintings to have survived since the Renaissance. Executed masterfully in the then-cutting-edge medium of oil paint, the painting displays a number of Biblical episodes in near life-size and in strongly saturated hues. Twelve panels composed the original work, which boasts several hinged doors to allow opening and closing.
 

Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, “The Ghent Altarpiece (detail of God the Father),” 1432
oil on panel, 15 x 10 ft. (c) Saint Bavo’s Cathedral 2016

 
Unfortunately, the painting’s importance and beauty has also made it a target for thievery. In fact, the altarpiece has been split into separate parts several times. What is more, parts of the painting were stolen by both Napoleon and the Nazis. On the eve of the Second World War, in 1934, two of the work’s 12 panels were stolen — presumably by the Nazis. Sadly, only one of these has been recovered. Earlier, the painting had to be hidden during the Reformation, as attacking Protestants would have defaced if not destroyed it. Nearly 200 years later, the panels were in the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte, who had seized them during his conquests of Europe. They were returned following Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo.
 

Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, “The Ghent Altarpiece (detail from outter panel),” 1432
oil on panel, 15 x 10 ft. (c) Saint Bavo’s Cathedral 2016

 
Fortunately, the altarpiece —11 of its 12 panels — have survived the epic journey relatively unscathed, having finally been reunited, restored, and cleaned. The altarpiece has been the subject of a massive international conservation effort, begun in 2012, which focused exclusively on the exterior panels — which had naturally suffered the most wear. It was recently announced that restorers have finally begun to work on the interior panels, marking an important turning point in this epic journey.
 
To learn more, visit ArtDaily.
 
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.
 

“For me, painting is when the harmony of colors on the canvas makes the per capita effect similar to the action of the musical chord…” These words, once spoken by artist Nikita Fedosov, encapsulate his work perfectly. One Virginia gallery is overjoyed to soon present over 60 works by this Russian legend.
 
In 2005, a survey was taken among prominent members of the Russian Realist art community in which they were asked to name the three most talented 20th-century Russian artists. Nikita Fedosov’s name ended up number two on the list, and visitors to Charles City, Virginia’s Lazare Gallery will soon have an extraordinary opportunity to understand why.
 
Known principally for his plein air landscapes, Fedosov is considered by many to be a Russian legend, with many of his contemporaries attesting to his genius. Yury Kugach once declared, “His graduation project already put Fedosov in league with our best artists. He was able to express everything in this painting, immediately and ably. This is a painting of life and beauty. One could never produce such a painting apathetically; every drop of paint in it emanates love.”
 
Over 60 original works by Fedosov will be on view at Lazare Gallery on October 23. To learn more, visit Lazare Gallery.
 
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Sharply rendered with precision and verisimilitude, San Francisco receives a unique look from painter Juan Escauriaza during this magnetic solo exhibition. Where and for how long?

Through October at San Francisco’s CK Contemporary gallery is a wonderful solo exhibition that showcases the creative vision of painter Juan Escauriaza. Featuring tightly cropped views of The City by the Bay, Escauriaza’s pictures are rendered with precision, sharp edges, and vivid color.

Juan Escauriaza, “Patriot,” 2015, acrylic on linen, 51 x 63 3/4 in. (c) CK Contemporary 2016

Although this show in particular focuses on San Francisco, Escauriaza has often turned his artistic lens on the American landscape. CK Contemporary writes, “He visits the US frequently and studies his surroundings, sizing up his chosen milieu for subject matter. Inevitably, he is drawn to those elements of the landscape that many of us pass by without registering a second glance. By way of acrylic brushed on linen with masterful prowess, Escauriaza reminds his viewers of the poetry of place and the beauty of the prosaic.”

To learn more, visit CK Contemporary.

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.

Houston, Texas, is the only city in the United States where you’ll be able to catch this significant international survey of Edgar Degas, featuring some 200 works by the artist.

On view through January 16 at Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts, “Degas: A New Vision” is the first significant survey of the Impressionist’s work in the United States in nearly 30 years. As the museum correctly suggests, the artist’s reputation has often surrounded his lush imagery of ballet dancers as they practice, dress, and warm up for a performance. However, Degas produced a wealth of imagery with a variety of subject matter, all of which is considered in the exhibition.

“Degas: A New Vision” brings together some 200 works by the artist, showcasing not just his painting, but printmaking, photographic, drawing, and sculptural endeavors as well. Via the museum, “Not since the landmark international retrospective Degas in 1988 has the artist’s career been fully assessed. That exhibition led to a revival of interest in Degas, with dozens of shows focusing on individual subjects of his work—the bathers, the dancers, the jockeys, the portraits—or his influence on other artists. ‘Degas: A New Vision’ benefits from that scholarship, puts Degas back together again, and offers an opportunity to see the artist anew.”

To learn more, visit the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.

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.

Acclaimed artists Ron and Echo Ukrainetz are currently showcasing an compelling visual interpretation of the unique history of Montana during “Double Visions” at the Hockaday Museum of Art.

On display at the Hockaday Museum of Art through November 5, “Double Visions” is an extraordinary look into the early history of one of our country’s most beautiful states. Featuring the works of Ron and Echo Ukrainetz, the exhibition presents the colorful history of Montana through six themes: Lewis and Clark, Hunting and Fishing, Cultural Conflicts, Farming and Ranching, Transportation, and Entertainment.

Via the museum, “Depicting landscapes, historical figures, wildlife, and lifestyles, Ron and Echo tell Montana’s early stories through imagery and wall text. The show features Ron’s incredibly lifelike acrylics on engraved Claybord, a technique called ‘polychromatic engraving’ that is so photo-real that it mimics the depth of field that can be achieved with a camera lens. Ron is also including many vibrantly colored oil paintings to complement his wife Echo’s unique and sought-after batik paintings.”

Echo Ukrainetz, “Joe Black Fox Takes a Break,” 22 1/2 x 20 in. (c) Hockaday Museum of Art 2016

Continuing, “Echo Ukrainetz is a native Montanan and has been interested in art since her early days in school practicing drawing and design. Over the years of trial, error and experimentation, Echo has mastered the difficult practice of manipulating wax and dye to create intricate batik paintings. Batik is an artistic process of alternating applications of wax resist and colorful dyes on high quality cloth. The sequence of dye application, drying, and wax application results in imparting colors in target areas, and is repeated until the entire piece is covered with wax. A single batik can have well over 30 applications of dye and wax. Echo is inspired by portraits, both contemporary and traditional, and her work has been accepted into fine art auctions offered by numerous Montana museums and is represented by galleries throughout the United States.”

To learn more, visit the Hockaday Museum of 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.