The Crocker Art Museum is set to open an intriguing exhibition titled “Art for the People: WPA-Era Paintings from the Dijkstra Collection.”
Fletcher Martin (1904–1979), “Migrant Woman,” 1938, oil on canvas, 20 x 16 in., collection of Sandra and Bram Dijkstra
Between the stock market crash of 1929 and the attack on Pearl Harbor, many American artists sought to make their work more accessible to everyday people, partly by depicting the people themselves, especially laborers, the poor, and the disenfranchised.
The artists’ goals were diverse, but included the desire to highlight a shared American experience during one of the country’s most challenging periods, to reject foreign artistic influences, to document rapidly passing ways of life, and to refine the visual language of protest and demands for social justice.
Some of these objectives were advanced by federally funded projects like the WPA (Works Progress Administration), which effectively transformed artists into “workers” themselves. As there was no prescribed aesthetic, the styles explored in this period ranged from regionalism and “American Scene Painting” to social realism and expressionism.
One of the finest private collections of art from this period is owned by California residents Sandra and Bram Dijkstra, who have been careful to acquire works from the East, Midwest, and West, and especially Californian artists overlooked by other patrons.
“Art for the People: WPA-Era Paintings from the Dijkstra Collection”
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento crockerart.org
Through May 7, 2023
This year’s show of highlights from the Dijkstra Collection has been organized by the Crocker and two other California institutions, each of which will present it at different times and in different forms. The other partners are the Oceanside Museum of Art (exhibiting June 24–November 5) and the Huntington Library, Art Museum & Botanical Gardens (December 2, 2023–March 18, 2024).
The project is accompanied by a scholarly catalogue.
Will Wilson (b. 1957), "Canary Watching," 1994, oil on panel, 14 1/2 x 13 in., as seen in the art collectors profile on Ray and Lori Allen
From the Fine Art Connoisseur March/April 2023 Editor’s Note:
Collecting Art for the Right Reasons
On the cover: Mark Pugh (b. 1979), “An Unsatisfying Ending” (detail), 2021, oil and ink on linen mounted panel, 36 x 24 in.
My favorite issue of the year is the one that highlights real-world collectors of contemporary realist art. This is that issue, and we hope you will enjoy “meeting” the individuals and couples who have so generously opened their doors. These folks now join 87 others we have profiled since 2015, and we are honored and grateful to welcome them to this community.
Why do we do this? First, people need role models, in any walk of life. We play tennis better after watching Naomi Osaka, and we cook more effectively after Bobby Flay demonstrates the recipe. It’s harder with art collecting because there is no single way to do it, and unfortunately the best-known collectors are financiers and movie stars paying millions at auction for a Hirst or a Koons. Good for them, but that’s collecting warehoused-investment-assets with your ears, not art-to-live-with with your eyes. I’m far more intrigued by celebrities who collect items of comparatively low value: just for example, Tom Hanks buys antique typewriters, Angelina Jolie goes for medieval and Renaissance knives, and Claudia Schiffer seeks out mounted beetles, butterflies, and spiders.
Great, but this is a fine art magazine, and besides, buying anything when you’re a hundred-millionaire is not particularly difficult. The real trick is to buy wonderful “unbranded” art on a regular budget, away from the limelight and the art advisers who think about this stuff all day. The folks highlighted in this issue buy art with their eyes and hearts, living with and enjoying it, sometimes enhancing their lives further by getting to know the artists who made it.
The hardest step in this issue’s preparation is asking the collectors to choose just two artworks to illustrate in their profiles. That’s like choosing among your kids, but the collectors do it bravely, and they understand why we ask them to. It’s simple: we can dedicate only two pages to each collector, and if we were to fill them with seven or eight “favorite” images, there wouldn’t be room for the words. Besides, each artwork would look more like a postage stamp than a painting. And so we go smaller (in number) and bigger (in photo size), reminding everyone that these two images don’t represent the whole collection, only evoke it.
Our work on the collector profiles never stops, so it’s already time for us to plan next year’s edition. There are great collections — many still being formed — in every region of this country, and no one person could possibly know all of them. Though our research is well underway and we already have some terrific names in sight, I hereby invite you to send me suggestions or nominations of other collectors. Our criteria are simple: they must be U.S. residents (still living) who have collected, or are continuing to collect, superb contemporary realist art created any time after 1980.
Ideas are welcome from everyone: the collectors themselves, their friends, families, dealers, advisers, curators, etc. Please just send me an e-mail ([email protected]) and I will move it forward. Rest assured that our team is discreet; all communications with collectors will be virtual, and we will not turn up unannounced at their homes to take photos! The individuals selected will have an opportunity to fact-check everything, and in fact they themselves will provide the photos to be illustrated. That said, it’s our editorial team’s decision who goes in, and who doesn’t.
Thank you as always for your incoming suggestions, and please enjoy learning about this year’s fascinating collectors.
What are your thoughts? Share your letter to the Editor below in the comments.
Eric Bowman (b. 1960), "Morning Broken," 2022, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 in.
Western Art On View: “Masters of the American West”
The Autry, Los Angelas masters.theautry.org
Through March 26, 2023
The Autry Museum of the American West is set to host its annual Masters of the American West Art Exhibition & Sale, featuring new pieces created by 64 leading painters and sculptors working in the Western genre. Their subject matter ranges from landscapes, seascapes, and wildlife to figures, portraits, and historical themes. Among the talents participating are Tony Abeyta, Peter Adams, Russell Case, Mick Doellinger, Logan Maxwell Hagege, Doug Hyde, Oreland Joe, Brett Allen Johnson, Jeremy Lipking, Eric Merrell, Dean L. Mitchell, Terri Kelly Moyers, Daniel W. Pinkham, Kyle Polzin, Grant Redden, Mater Romero, Billy Schenck, and Preston Singletary.
Since Masters of the American West launched in 1998, its proceeds have provided essential support for the Autry’s educational programs, exhibitions, and more than 100 public events annually. As its name suggests, the museum is dedicated to exploring the stories, experiences, and perceptions of the diverse peoples of the West. Its collection of more than 500,000 artworks and artifacts encompasses the Southwest Museum of the American Indian Collection, one of the finest holdings of Native American material in the U.S. Co-founded in 1988 by Jackie and Gene Autry and Joanne and Monte Hale, the Autry merged in 2002 with Women of the West, an organization highlighting the impact of women’s experiences.
After years of collaborative provenance research, Ronald S. Lauder and the Beran family heirs have announced a restitution agreement for the portrait painting “The Black Feather Hat” by Gustav Klimt.
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), “The Black Feather Hat,” 1910, oil on canvas; 31 1/8 inches x 24 13/16 inches
From the official statement on the restitution:
This agreement, which includes the restitution and reacquisition of the painting from the Beran heirs, is the result of several years of collaboration during which Mr. Lauder and the Beran heirs have worked with the assistance of expert researchers to advance a new understanding of the painting’s provenance.
Depicting a pensive female sitter adorned with a wide-brimmed hat, “The Black Feather Hat” is first documented as being owned by Irene Beran (1886-1979) in 1928, though it entered the family collection years earlier through her father-in-law Alois Beran. Recent research has confirmed that the painting remained in Irene’s possession in Brno, now part of the Czech Republic, through at least 1934. Its whereabouts from that time until the late 1950s, however, remain unclear.
In 1957, the painting reemerged as part of an exhibition in Stuttgart organized by Württemberg Art Association, Stuttgart, and Friedrich Welz, Salzburg. The work was exhibited extensively throughout the 1960s prior to its acquisition in 1973 in Austria. Since becoming part of Mr. Lauder’s collection, “The Black Feather Hat” has been featured in numerous exhibitions and publications. It was on view most recently from 2019 through 2020 at Neue Galerie New York* in a special exhibition of Austrian masterworks.
The Beran heirs, through their legal counsel Lansky, Ganzger, Goeth, Frankl & Partner, express their gratitude for Mr. Lauder’s generosity of spirit. In so doing, they recall how their grandmother Irene who, until the horrors of the Nazi period so utterly changed the course of her life, was herself an enthusiastic supporter of the arts in her hometown of Brno by exhibiting items from her collection of contemporary Austrian and German artists. The family is confident that Irene would be delighted to know that “The Black Feather Hat” found a home in New York, a city that had, at an important juncture in her refugee life, also been Irene’s home.
Added Mr. Lauder, “Together with the Beran family, we have worked arduously to uncover the full history of this artwork and trace its trajectory through time. While our joint research leaves gaps remaining, I have long championed the importance of restitution. In the spirit of the Washington Conference Principles, I felt it was of utmost importance to arrive at a just and fair solution that recognizes the family’s history with this painting.”
Gustav Klimt is considered one of the most innovative artists of the early 20th century. In 1897, he became one of the founding members of the Vienna Secession, which advocated for a break from the traditional artistic styles of the era. “The Black Feather Hat” marks a departure from Klimt’s now iconic gold leaf and highly decorative paintings, which he had been creating in the early 1900s, and demonstrates his growing interest in Expressionism, reinforced by his budding friendship with the young artist Egon Schiele.
The portrait of the unidentified female sitter is rendered in a monochromatic palette of pinks and light browns and offset by the fashionable black hat that sits atop her auburn hair. The work is central to the public’s understanding of Klimt’s oeuvre and his legacy.
*Related: “The Ronald S. Lauder Collection” On View through March 20, 2023
Ronald S. Lauder, 2022. Photo by Shahar Azran
From the gallery:
Neue Galerie New York culminates its twentieth anniversary season with the opening of “The Ronald S. Lauder Collection,” a major exhibition featuring approximately 500 works from the collection of the museum’s co-founder and President, many of which have never been on public display.
Gustav Klimt, “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I,” 1907, oil, gold, and silver on canvas, Neue Galerie New York. Acquired through the generosity of Ronald S. Lauder, the heirs of the Estates of Ferdinand and Adele Bloch-Bauer, and the Estée Lauder Fund
Developed over the course of 65 years, the Lauder Collection is defined by an absolute dedication to the art of beauty, quality, and rarity. Only on one other occasion has the public had the opportunity to explore the collection comprehensively, in a special exhibition organized in honor of the museum’s tenth anniversary.
Bernardo Daddi, “Madonna and Child with Four Angels,” Central Predella panel from the San Giorgio a Ruballa Alterpiece, 1348, tempera and gold on panel, private collection
Now, for its twentieth anniversary year, the Neue Galerie reveals the continued evolution of the Lauder Collection, including masterworks of Greek and Roman sculpture, Italian thirteenth and fourteenth-century gold-ground paintings, objects for a Kunstkammer, and Austrian and German painting, sculpture, and decorative arts from the early twentieth century.
With a focus on important additions to the core collection, as well as new areas of inquiry, the exhibition conveys the collector’s commitment to excellence across a broad spectrum of art. Displayed throughout the museum’s two gallery floors, the exhibition situates these works in domestically scaled settings similar to how they appear in Lauder’s own home.
Realism Art on View > Andrea Kowch: Mysterious Realms
Museum of Art – DeLand DeLand, Florida moartdeland.org
Through April 9, 2023
Andrea Kowch, (b. 1986), “Steadfast,” 2019, acrylic on canvas, 16 x 12 in., private collection
Florida’s Museum of Art – DeLand is now showing the solo exhibition “Andrea Kowch: Mysterious Realms,” which features more than 60 paintings and works on paper. This marks a rare opportunity to see Kowch’s art in depth because most of her works are sold even before she completes them. The show has been organized by curator Tariq Gibran and its catalogue’s lead essay penned by one of the artist’s most enthusiastic collectors, Steven Alan Bennett.
Born in Detroit, Kowch earned her B.F.A. summa cum laude at that city’s College for Creative Studies, where she has since taught as an adjunct professor. She has won renown for meticulously composed and painted scenes of figures — usually young women — in familiar yet dreamlike settings that suggest a story is unfolding, without telling us exactly what or how. This allegorical ambiguity allows viewers to make up their own narratives, or more likely just let Kowch’s uncanny, vaguely melancholy mood cast its spell.
Inspired by historical sources as diverse as Northern Renaissance painting and Midwestern regionalism, Kowch sets her puzzles in landscapes that suggest — without specifying — the countryside and vernacular architecture of her native Michigan. Some observers have associated her unique take on magical realism with “Prairie Gothic” (think Grant Wood), and indeed her scenes do reflect a mix of the banality and enchantment those two words evoke. There is more to her art than that, so seeing over 60 examples up close will surely intrigue the museum’s visitors this season.
In addition, several of Kowch’s works will be seen in Georgia this September as part of the group exhibition “Big Stories” at Columbus State University’s Bo Bartlett Center.
Andrea Kowch, “Expectation,” 2019, acrylic on canvas, 10 x 10 in., private collection
Rukiye Garip, “Winter Reflection,” watercolor, 30 x 22 in.
We’d like to congratulate Rukiye Garip for winning Overall First Place in the December 2022 PleinAir Salon, judged by Kathleen Dunphy. (Watch the live announcement on Facebook here.)
About the PleinAir Salon Winner, “Winter’s Reflection”
By Rukiye Garip
My inspiration for this painting is the woodland area near my home, where I am fascinated by its enchanting beauty in every season and at different times of the day – melting snow during a walk in snowy weather, leaves in the water, reflected tree branches, and light.
Since the reference photos I took did not fully meet my dreams, I created a new composition using a few photos. I discarded the details that would create confusion and added leaves and branches. I had to decide where to start for this seemingly multi-layered work. In this process, where I had to plan from the beginning, I experimented with drawing and color for three days.
In order not to drown in the details, it was best to act in accordance with the order and layers in nature. First of all, I worked on the snowy areas, then the lightest tonal transitions in the reflections, and finally all the details layer by layer.
I used a salt effect for leaf, stone, and snow textures. I used maskıng fluıd to protect the small glittery areas on the water surface. I completed the painting phase in five days, working an average of four hours a day.
The biggest challenge in works with reflections is maintaining transparency in the water. Therefore, wet and fast work is required in the first layer. The hardest part for me in this picture was to mix the colors of the leaves visible under the water and the color of the water, without creating any pollution in the first layer. It was both challenging and exciting to be able to give the magical effect I wanted by thinking about the next layers and preserving the light.
Art competitions are areas of choice that require bold steps for almost everyone because in the end, there are only two possibilities: winning and losing. For me, it is important to experience both.
It is very natural for a person who participates in a prize art competition to dream and expect the grand prize, but at the same time, it is necessary to accept the negative consequences as normal. An artist who wants to participate in the competition must first make sure that the conditions and concept of the art competition are suitable for him/her. It is important to be aware of your own level, to know the general participant profiles, and therefore not to be disappointed with the possible results. Instead of expecting good results with a mediocre work, I recommend that they participate with their best work.
Not getting a reward once should not reduce the next motivation. The experience you gain will guide you in the new steps you will take. Whatever the result, it is necessary to meet with maturity and write it as a plus to our experience section.
While learning the result of [this round of the PleinAir Salon], I experienced the excitement of waiting for the result, the happiness of knowing that my effort was appreciated, and the feeling of peace at the same time; the announcement of my name also sounded very nice. My motivation to make new and many paintings was renewed.
In the spirit of the French Salon created by the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, this annual online art competition, with 11 monthly cycles, leading to the annual Salon Grand Prize winners, is designed to stimulate artistic growth through competition. The competition rewards artists with over $33,000 in cash prizes and exposure of their work, with the winning painting featured on the cover of PleinAir Magazine.
Winners in each monthly competition may receive recognition and exposure through PleinAir Magazine’s print magazine, e-newsletters, websites, and social media. Winners of each competition will also be entered into the annual competition. The 12th Annual Awards will be presented live at the Plein Air Convention & Expo in May 2023.
The next round of the PleinAir Salon has begun so hurry, as this competition ends on the last day of the month. Enter your best art in the PleinAir Salon here.
As part of our effort to continue to help artists and art galleries thrive, we’re proud to bring you this week’s “Virtual Gallery Walk.” Browse the artwork below and click the image itself to learn more about it, including how to contact the gallery.
Solitude, Becky Pashia, oil, 36 x 36 in; Celebration of Fine ArtTrail Of Tamarack Gold, Darcie Peet, oil, 30 x 40 in., Solo Show; ArtzLine
Want to see your gallery featured in an upcoming Virtual Gallery Walk? Contact us at [email protected] to advertise today. Don’t delay, as spaces are first come, first served, and availability is limited.
Roger Dale Brown, "Maroon Sunset," 2020, oil on linen, 30 x 40 in., collection of the artist
The unlikely story of how a largely self-taught artist nurtured his passion for art, and of how his creativity, spirituality, and ultimately his “artistic voice” evolved.
Plein Air Painter Roger Dale Brown: Pursuing His Passion for Art
by Charles Raskob Robinson
This is the unlikely story of how a largely self-taught artist and plein air painter, Roger Dale Brown (b. 1963), nurtured his passion for art, and of how his creativity, spirituality, and ultimately his “artistic voice” evolved. Renowned for his teaching skills, Brown is a leading member of the American Society of Marine Artists, Oil Painters of America, American Impressionist Society, Salmagundi Club, Cumberland Society of Painters, and Chestnut Group. He is also past president of the Plein Air Painters of the Southeast.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, and raised in Tennessee, Brown traces his passion for art to age 4: that’s when his mother introduced him to crayons and watercolors so successfully that he was soon using them on larger surfaces — namely, his mother’s walls. By high school, he was fairly accomplished, but after a stint at college, various jobs, and a whole lot of boxing, art was no longer Brown’s focus.
He got a job selling eyeglasses and became a licensed optician; it was in this capacity that the passion for art resurfaced through an unusual twist of fate. A customer came in to get some glasses and soon revealed he was a muralist seeking an assistant. Brown expressed interest and, after presenting his high school art portfolio, landed the job. One day, when his muralist boss failed to show up for a meeting with a new client, Brown announced that he himself could produce the Monet-like work requested. The client liked his oil sketch and proceeded to commission the larger work. Today Brown recalls it as “the most horrifying experience of my life,” but he also remembers thinking to himself, “Now I am an artist!”
Roger Dale Brown, “Maritime Night,” 2020, oil on linen, 16 x 20 in., private collection
Onward
In 1999 Brown got his first introduction to painting on canvas through lessons from Hazel Mae Crye King (1917–2017). 2002 was a pivotal year as he began taking lessons from Dawn E. Whitelaw (b. 1945), a former student of Everett Raymond Kinstler (1926–2019), with whom Brown also studied later.
“Dawn Whitelaw taught me the mentality of an artist in every aspect,” Brown says. “There were others who became great mentors, but Dawn holds a special place for me.” That same year brought Brown into contact with another fine teacher, Jason Allen Saunders (b. 1972), who suggested a workshop with Scott L. Christensen (b. 1962). This became a turning point because “Scott became my mentor, set me on the right path, and planted certain basics in me, one of which was setting goals for myself.”
Brown’s first such goal was to paint one plein air work every day for a year. Although he came up a bit short — completing 350 out of 365 — this project was a success because Brown “spent a lot of time learning — going to my own school with my own curriculum and schedule. I became disciplined and truthful with myself about my progress and how much more I had to learn.”
In 2004 Brown put himself to the test: “I held my first workshop and made myself practice what I preach.” This proved more consequential than he could have imagined: he realized how much he loves to teach and he fell in love with a student, Beverly Ford Evans, another Tennessean and a graduate of the O’More School of Design in Franklin. She became his constant painting companion and, in 2014, his wife.
Roger Dale Brown, “Across the Ford II,” 2020, oil on linen, 40 x 30 in., private collection
Different Ways of Seeing
Brown reflects, “The successes that have come my way have been mostly through persistence, hard work, studying art and art history, experimenting, and practicing the art of observation. At the beginning of every year, I set new goals to improve my career.” His first goal sounds rather basic: to improve his artistic skills. How?
“First, I always paint for myself — never for the market. Second, I study both the Old Masters and contemporaries who inspire me, especially those who push the limits, and I continue to build a library of art books. In short, I seek to develop a critical eye to learn how to see — basically to know how a good painting should be created.” And for colleagues who tend to focus on one genre (such as marine subjects), Brown stresses the importance of becoming well-rounded: artists always grow when they move back and forth between still lifes, landscapes, figures, and portraits.
Brown estimates he spends 40 percent of his time painting outdoors and 60 percent in the studio, yet he stresses the significance of the former in contributing to success in the latter. One is not subservient to the other. “Good painting is good painting,” he declares, “but plein air painting permits a one-on-one relationship with nature you can’t get indoors. There is an immediacy to being outdoors that evokes so many emotions.”
Moreover, “Outdoors you learn the relationship of shapes and values and nuances and how to use important elements and eliminate others. In short, you manipulate what you are seeing into a good composition. In the studio, it is just God, my canvas, and me. Painting on location is my school, but indoors is where I really can create. I try to use information gathered outside to create something inside. These are two different experiences, but I would not be successful in the studio without my plein air experience, which, in turn, is furthered by studio time.”
A key step in the development of Brown’s approach came when Gary Young, one of his former students and now a close friend, introduced him to a Fellow of the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA), Charles Warren Mundy (b. 1945). Brown admired C.W. Mundy’s desire to “build up and tear down a painting, then bring back the key elements in order to reiterate the work’s visual intent.” Underlying this creative/destructive/recreative philosophy is the artist’s willingness to accept failure; there is a risk that he or she might not bring the painting back successfully. “In trying this approach,” Brown recalls, “I learned more when I had the guts to fail — to step out of the box and try things that are against the rules. I found this invaluable.”
Having settled on a subject, Brown begins the first stage of his process — to “Un-Define” the scene, to eliminate all preconceived notions about it in order to freely appreciate how and why it attracts him, “to see as an artist sees it.” This means observing the subject “as mere shapes, colors, and values.”
Next, Brown “Prepares to Rebuild” the scene he has just mentally deconstructed. Here he finds it helpful to view the subject’s elements on an abstract basis by looking at the color and value within each, to start forming an idea using visual language. In the final stage, the “Rebuilding Continues.” Here the abstract becomes more representational, but Brown cautions, “Become the creator, not the follower. Do not become tied to a scene; be inspired by it. Your ultimate aim should be to evoke the mood of a strand of time.”
Although Brown acknowledges that his approach is not for every artist, his “vital stages of the painting process give me a uniqueness that has become my voice as an artist.” He regards the various “isms” — realism, abstractionism, modernism, impressionism, etc. — as “philosophies” and does not adhere to any one of them. Rather, he draws upon them all according to the needs of the scene and the circumstances he seeks to capture. “I do not want to develop a specific look or style,” Brown says, “but a fusion of styles that has the mark of my voice.” He warns, “Wanting to paint in a particular style limits your creative possibilities.”
Most basically, Brown notes, “An artist should be attracted to the subject she or he seeks to memorialize on canvas. I always start my paintings by visualizing the finished painting. I have better success when I have an idea in my mind’s eye of what I want it to look like. A boxer once told me that in the ring he visualizes — actually foresees — scenarios of attack and defense. The same should happen in art. I visualize the end of my painting and all that must occur from the opening bell to the finished product, including that knockout punch.”
Roger Dale Brown, “Color of Summer,” 2020, oil on linen, 24 x 30 in., collection of the artist
Spirituality and Travel
Brown notes, “The older I get and the more I experience, the more contemplative I become. And the more I realize that spirituality is an important part of my painting, and that painting is a passion. Painting brings in the spirit; it creates a meditative state wherein one loses track of time. We are made in the image of God, the Creator, so creativity is ingrained in us. Painting what He has created is emulating — showing respect for — what He has done.”
He continues, “It is in this context that — when a subject intrigues me, especially outdoors — I not only attempt to paint it visually, but also spiritually. This is what separates an artist from a painter. The artist strives for the viewer to understand how the subject made him feel. Knowledge gives us the tools to paint and our spirit makes us artists. When a viewer senses my emotions in a painting, then I have succeeded.” A corollary to this is that Brown uses a scene as a platform to create from, rather being literal to it. “If we do not interpret with our own voices, we deprive ourselves of fully using the talent given to us.”
Travel has also played an important role in the development of Brown’s voice. He and Beverly Ford Evans travel widely every year and are particularly attracted to such beautiful places as the Rocky Mountains and Maine, which Brown thinks “has an old soul” to which he relates easily. Inside his second book, A Passion for Painting (2015), are chapters that read like adventure stories — hiking to great heights and deep into swamps, close encounters with alligators, snakes, grizzlies, and wolves, and much more. The couple have also traveled to China, South America, and Europe; most recently they spent six weeks on a Scottish loch preparing for their first joint exhibition, Inspirations from the Highlands, seen at the Berkley Gallery in Virginia last winter.
Brown and Evans always remain long enough to truly understand the locale — the basis for any successful painting. He notes, “Long stays help me become familiar with the scene, culture, and feel of the area and moment. This is crucial to my creative process. Most of my studio paintings are created from memory, so the field studies are my preparation for that.”
Brown’s passion for art began at age 4 and has grown steadily; now he uses his artistic voice to convey full-throated enthusiasm for all creation. This is best expressed in a passage from the Book of Psalms that he quotes on the opening page of A Passion for Painting:
Let the heavens Be Glad, and let all the earth Rejoice;
Let the sea roar and all that fills it;
Let the field Exult and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest Sing for Joy for your glory.
Roger Dale Brown, “A Walk through the Woods,” 2020, oil on linen, 30 x 40 in, collection of the artist
Robert David Jinkins: Horizontal Line
Miller Art Museum
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin millerartmuseum.org
Through April 10, 2023
Robert David Jinkins (b. 1994), “Ovis Aries,” 2022, mixed acrylic media and graphite on panel, 72 x 60 in.
The Miller Art Museum is presenting large recent paintings created by Robert David Jinkins, most depicting life on the Wisconsin farm his family has owned since the 1840s. He explains, “Growing up on a farm, I gained an admiration and reverence for the land that so many of my family members have worked. I enjoy painting every blade of grass while allowing a disconcerting ambiguity to lurk below the surface in order to encourage viewers into a deeper dialogue with the painting.”
The exhibition’s curator, Helen del Guidice, adds, “These paintings are less idyllic and more forthright about the rural environment and its proximity to life and death. Jinkins connects the perimeters of the paintings as an object to the panoramic storytelling, through long panels, diptychs, and triptychs, which provides the viewer a visceral sense of place.”
Having earned an M.F.A. from Iowa State University, Jinkins is now a full-time lecturer in drawing at the University of Wisconsin – Stout. His scenes are complicated, sometimes slightly disturbing, reflecting his effort to, in his own words, “find the sublime in the mundane.”
Several works in this show were produced during a period funded by a grant from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, a major force for good in the field of contemporary realism.
Edgar Degas (1834–1917), "Before the Race," c. 1887–89, pastel with charcoal underdrawing on tracing paper mounted on cardboard, 22 5/8 x 25 3/4 in., bequest of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., 1958.27
On View: “Nineteenth-Century French Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art”
Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland clevelandart.org, gilesltd.com
Through June 11, 2023
Since its opening in 1916, one of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s key collections has been its trove of French drawings from the 19th century. Made by almost 50 different artists, they range from preparatory graphite sketches to pastels finished for public display.
On view this season is a temporary exhibition of highlights, new research on which has just been published in a 200-page catalogue produced by D Giles Limited, London.
In 19th-century France, drawing evolved from a means of artistic training into an independent medium with rich potential for exploration and experimentation. A variety of materials became available to artists — such as commercially fabricated chalks, pastels, and specialty papers — encouraging talents ranging from Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres to Paul Cezanne to reconsider the place of drawing within their practices.
A growing number of public and private exhibition venues began to feature their creations, building an audience who were attracted by the intimacy of drawings and their unique techniques. In France and abroad, museums and individuals alike started to actively acquire these works while they were still contemporary.
Thanks to its deep pockets and insightful curators, the Cleveland Museum of Art has obtained outstanding examples right from its outset. Now everyone is invited to take a closer look.
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