About

Guess the Artist

2012-05-21T01:08:25Z

Your clues this week are:

The artist was American, active in the 19th-century, and did not initially train to be a painter.
Although best known today for pictures of water -- ocean shorelines, rivers, waterfalls, and lakes -- it was a monumental landscape that cemented the artist's reputation.
The artist was a founding member and trustee of a museum whose original ground floor is now a Tommy Hilfiger store.

The view here is part of what we call the Appalachian Trail, although neither the cows, the sheep, the dog, nor the boy are hiking its 2,184 miles. Why? The Appalachian Trail didn't exist yet. Not even as a euphemism for visiting one's mistress in Buenos Aires.

Please email me your guesses over the coming week. I'll post the winner and correct answer with next week's guessing game. Good luck!

Last Week's Answer:

One part of last week's clues seemed to throw readers off. Specifically, "The artist was an American, but wasn't born in the United States of America." Now, the artist was Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) and the sitter was Henry Clay (1777-1852). The artist was born in Maryland, but you may note that his year of birth was 1741 ... when the Province of Maryland was still a British colony. Excellent detective work, Susan! You sent the first correct answer.

Guess the Artist originally appeared on About.com Art History on Monday, May 21st, 2012 at 01:08:25.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Guess the Artist

2012-05-14T01:58:23Z

Your clues this week are:

The artist was an American, but wasn't born in the United States of America.
A prolific painter and contributor to the gene pool, the artist created over 1,000 portraits and 16 offspring -- 11 of whom survived to adulthood.
Besides art, our artist was also proficient in the areas of militia captain, saddler, taxidermist, political radical, watch maker, carpenter, legislative representative, silversmith, abolitionist, optometrist, upholsterer, museum founder, naturalist, sign painter, dentist, and spouse (by virtue of having married three times).

The sitter in this portrait was elected to both houses of Congress, served as the Secretary of State, was the first person to lie in state in the United States Capitol, and, perhaps most importantly, introduced the mint julep to Washington, D.C.

Please email me your guesses over the coming week. I'll post the winner and correct answer with next week's guessing game. Good luck!

Last Week's Answer:

I was happy that Alain was the first to respond correctly to the clues last week. He knew that the artist was Melchor Perez de Holguin (Bolivian, ca. 1665-after 1732) and this painting, Saint Michael Archangel (1708), is supposed to show the War in Heaven. (I still think it would have been helpful if Holguin had painted ... oh, I don't know ... adult-sized legs on the sword-wielding Michael, since he is battting Satan, who is super powerful and probably fights dirty, but that's just me.) Bravo to you and your persistence, Alain!

Guess the Artist originally appeared on About.com Art History on Monday, May 14th, 2012 at 01:58:23.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Happy Us Day, Mothers

2012-05-13T23:05:59Z

Happy Us Day, Mothers originally appeared on About.com Art History on Sunday, May 13th, 2012 at 23:05:59.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Guess the Artist

2012-05-07T03:14:45Z

Your clues this week are:

The Hispano-American Baroque artist was born in colonial Alto Perú, in a town named "lake-open plain" if one uses the regional variant of Quechua. However, most of the artist's life was spent in a fabulously wealthy town at the foot of Cerro Rico -- also in Alto Perú. Incidentally, "Alto Perú" went the way of the Dodo in 1824.
Some claim that the artist's teacher was Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682), but there is no evidence that the artist traveled to either Seville or Madrid. It is more likely that the artist saw engravings of Murillo's work.
The artist was held in high regard for the ability to emphasize facial features. This was fortunate, I think, because you may have noticed that something went horribly, horribly wrong between this figure's torso and ankles.

Speaking of the anatomically challenged figure, he looks a bit blasé. Considering that he is trying to kick a red dragon with seven heads and ten horns off of his turf, he might want to at least act interested.

Please email me your guesses over the coming week. I'll post the winner and correct answer with next week's guessing game. Good luck!

Last Week's Answer:

The clues last week led many readers astray to the corner of O'Keeffe and Hartley -- two artists we all adore, even though they were incorrect guesses (this time). Llyn, however, was right on the money with Raymond Jonson (1891-1982) and his Cliff Dwellings, No. 3 (1927). Jonson co-founded the Transcendental Painting Group in 1938, "Transcendental" being the Kant reference. No one mentioned the Yellowstone Caldera for bonus points but, considering its eruption would be the stuff of nightmares, perhaps no one wants to think about it. Anyhow, a big standing ovation for Llyn, and hang in there Alain!

Guess the Artist originally appeared on About.com Art History on Monday, May 7th, 2012 at 03:14:45.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

On Separating Funk (Art) from Junk (Art)

2012-04-30T22:33:39Z

Before last week, I would have said one involved Soul Brother Number One James Brown, and the other non-recyclables. That would have worked, too, were it not for the word "art" tailgating both "funk" and "junk." So once again I sallied forth, armed only with an Inter-Library Loan card and a can-do attitude. Now that I know, you, too, can know how to compare and contrast Junk Art and Funk Art. I figure if "Doing It to Death" (the actual name of "Gonna Have a Funky Good Time") plays in your head the whole time, that's your business. ("In order for me to get down, I have to get down in D," is not the worst life motto when you think about it.)

On Separating Funk (Art) from Junk (Art) originally appeared on About.com Art History on Monday, April 30th, 2012 at 22:33:39.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Guess the Artist

2012-04-30T03:38:25Z

Your clues this week are:

The artist was American, born on a Midwestern farm towards the end of the 19th century. After spending years in a large metropolitan area, the artist was compelled to move to Northern New Mexico for the same reason so many other artists did: the quality of the sunlight.
The artist and a friend were founders of a painting group based on a quote by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). WWII put a permanent end to the group, as it temporarily did to many other pleasant pursuits.
The two pine trees tell us this is an early work. As a long career progressed, the artist shifted to completely nonobjective subject matter.

Cliff dwellings in the American Southwest, like those seen here, were relatively easy to carve because the chosen rock was and is high in soft tuff (compressed volcanic ash). The Puebloan cliff dwellings in Northern New Mexico come from tuff deposited by one of only six supervolcanoes on the planet, and its caldera is "small" (as supervolcano calderas go). The United States can in fact boast(?) that it contains three of the six supervolcanoes. For bonus points: of those three, which one do we especially NOT want to blow its top for fear of Pompeii-izing a big chunk of the Lower 48?

Please email me your guesses over the coming week. I'll post the winner and correct answer with next week's guessing game. Good luck!

Last Week's Answer:

Mary in Moweaqua was the first reader to reassemble the clues last week into the correct answer: Augustus Nicholas Burke (1838-1891), whose 1868 Connemara Girl hangs in the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. Augustus' oldest brother, Theobald, was the 13th Baronet Burke of Glinsk, a title that became extinct with his death. Another brother, Thomas, was Permanent Under Secretary (essentially the Lt. Governor of Ireland) until the infamous Phoenix Park Murders of 1882.

The island, of course, is Ireland. Connemara, the western half of Co. Galway, is the region that contains the last of the Old Irish goats and the flourishing Connemara pony ... which is one of those "ponies" large enough for polo. Much applause to you, Mary, and many thanks to all who participated!

Guess the Artist originally appeared on About.com Art History on Monday, April 30th, 2012 at 03:38:25.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Met Ball to Stream Red Carpet Arrivals

2012-04-28T22:08:30Z

It is time for The Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Costume Institute Benefit (also known as the "Met Ball"), and the 2012 iteration introduces a new element: the red carpet arrivals will be live streamed on Monday, May 7, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. EDT. All I know about haute couture is that some gowns look as if the wearer would not be able to use the restroom without a crow bar, but many people have assured me that the Met Ball is a Very Big Deal. A bit like the Oscars (if Hollywood dressed with more élan), the top fashion and one of the top Manhattan events of the entire year (as in: "Be there, or be socially dead"). The Benefit also raises millions of dollars for the Costume Institute each year, which is truly fantastic -- clothing is fragile and costly to preserve.

So, if you love fashion, The Museum, gawking at celebrities in the privacy of your own home, or just want to perk up your Monday evening, tune in to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or co-sponsors Vogue or Amazon.com. Vintage cocktail dresses, hats and heels optional.

Image Caption: Actress Christina Ricci and designer Zac Posen attend the 'Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty' Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

Met Ball to Stream Red Carpet Arrivals originally appeared on About.com Art History on Saturday, April 28th, 2012 at 22:08:30.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Guess the Artist

2012-04-23T03:53:41Z

Your clues this week are:

The artist was British, a member of the Royal Academy, and active in the second half of the 19th Century.
The artist had five brothers, two of whom were noteworthy. One was a 13th (and end of the line) Baronet, and the other was assassinated in Dublin on May 6, 1882.
The goats in this painting are truly an Old breed: they date back to the most recent "ice age," which hit its peak around 20,000 years ago. Unfortunately, the breed is very nearly extinct in 2012. One feral herd remains and, in a country that has been in financial crisis since 2008, funds for a captive breeding program are not high priority.

The setting for this picture is an island. You may now be saying, "There are over 180,000 islands on Planet Earth, you fiend!" Not usually a sadist, moi, here are three hints to help you narrow things down. First, the place is lousy with heather, which is what the girl has rolled up in her apron. Second, it is rocky as all get out. So much so that the natives built dry stone walls around their plots of land, rather than planting hedgerows. Third, there is a pony named after one part of this island.

Please email me your guesses over the coming week. I'll post the winner and correct answer with next week's guessing game. Good luck!

Last Week's Answer:

The clues last week elicited three correct responses, each of which contributed a little something different. Tui knew that the artist was Martiros Saryan (or Sarian, or even Sar'yan), an Armenian who lived from 1880 to 1972, and gave the title of the painting. Natia sent a charming note that Mt. Ararat was so easy for her that she was compelled to play. Alison then chimed in after figuring out the Armenian village is Byurakan, hence the painting's title Ararat from Byurakan, 1957. (And by the way, I was not kidding about the overall ugliness of Սուրբ Յովհաննես եկեղեցի.) Thank you very much, ladies. Job well done!

Guess the Artist originally appeared on About.com Art History on Monday, April 23rd, 2012 at 03:53:41.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Guess the Artist

2012-04-16T04:19:26Z

Your clues this week are:

The artist was Asian, active in the 20th Century, and born and raised in Russia (but was not of Russian ancestry).
Though awarded the Order of Lenin three times, the artist was much more proud of being the director of an art school, teaching, and running a museum ... the last three simultaneously.
The mountain in the background of this painting is a national symbol of the artist's ancestral homeland. However, it was granted by treaty to a different country during the artist's lifetime, and enclosed in a militarized zone.

The vantage point from which this view was painted is an ancient village that contains two places of worship dating from the 7th and 10th Centuries, respectively. The 7th Century structure is two-thirds in ruins, while the 10th, although intact, is quite possibly the ugliest example of a Romanesque church ever built. Surb Hovhannes was probably not flattered to have it dedicated to him.

Please email me your guesses over the coming week. I'll post the winner and correct answer with next week's guessing game. Good luck!

Last Week's Answer:

Hopefully, the clues last week pointed you towards Swedish artist Anders Zorn (1860-1920) and his Midsummer Dance (1897) -- a tribute to the length of summer daylight at the end of June up around Latitude 62°00'N. Zorn was from Mora in the Dalarna region, and Mora was the production center of the Dalahäst, a carved, painted horse said to resemble Odin's steed Sleipnir ... minus the eight legs part. A Dalahäst is either a toy or a decorative object depending, in my view, on how much it costs and whether or not you have to dust it. The lovely Val rapidly weighed in with the correct answers before heading to work last Monday. Congratulations, Val. It is always a treat to hear from you!

Guess the Artist originally appeared on About.com Art History on Monday, April 16th, 2012 at 04:19:26.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Guess the Artist

2012-04-09T03:43:45Z

Your clues this week are:

The artist was internationally active in the late 19th- and early 20th-Centuries, and garnered honors from many countries. France's Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur was but one.
Though oil portraits brought fame, fortune, and a boatload of commissions, the artist's watercolor and etching techniques were actually superior ... which is really saying something.
Some of the artist's illustrious sitters were: the entire Swedish royal family; three American Presidents (Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft); steel magnate Andrew Carnegie; and collectors Isabella Stewart Gardner (Boston), and Charles Deering, Bertha Potter, and Emily Crane (Chicago). One Russian princess did not make the cut because she gave the artist a headache.

The artist originally came from -- and retired to -- a Swedish town in a region known for a specific item made of pine. The item, a Dalahäst, (1) may be an homage to Odin's friend "Slippy," and (2) is often painted in a style named after the plant family Cucurbitaceae. For bonus points: from which region was the artist, and what household purpose does a Dalahäst serve?

Please email me your guesses over the coming week. I'll post the winner and correct answer with next week's guessing game. Good luck!

Last Week's Answer:

Our clues last week led to a detail from Jahāngīr Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings (1615-18) by the Indian miniature painter Bichitr (fl ca. 1615-50). Mary not only knew that part of the answer, she was also correct about the European (James I, r. 1603-1625), the unseen emperor Jahāngīr (r. 1605-1627), and the British East India Company (that sought a trade agreement and ended up seizing control of a subcontinent). Namaste, Mary! I absolutely bow to you.

Guess the Artist originally appeared on About.com Art History on Monday, April 9th, 2012 at 03:43:45.

Permalink | Comment | Email this