American Modernists on Paper

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, CT is currently hosting an exhibit of 100 watercolors, pastels, and drawings on paper by leading American modernists, called American Moderns on Paper. Some of the artists exhibiting include John Sloan, Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Hopper, John Marin, Salvatore Dali, and Andrew Wyeth. My favorites of the show were two watercolors by Edward Hopper, Captain Strout’s House, Portland Head, and Methodist Church – so like New England and very cool angles, perspective, and color harmonies,

 

and a painting by Georgia O’Keefe, Slightly Open Clam Shell. O’Keeffe’s subtle use of color and softness inspire a curiosity to open the clam shell and explore the mystery within.

Another drawing that I thought was interesting was William Glackens’ Far From the Fresh Air Farm (East Side). It was packed with so much information so that there was very little white space and really spoke of a typical New York city scene, fast paced and energetic, even then. Eugene Berman did some nice sketches for the theatre and Granddaughter by Andrew Wyeth was inspiring both with color choices and composition. There was a nice mix of abstract and realistic art that was separated by different eras in history. Sections included Progressive and Avant-Garde artists (Demuth, Marin, O’keeffe, Dove), Regionalism, Social Realism and American Visions (Burchfield, Hopper, Bacon), Surrealism and Neo-Romanticism (Paper Ball, Calder, Blume, Tonny), and Postwar Abstraction and resurgence of Realism (Tobey, Wyeth, Kelly). Each section had a nice summary of that period in time and described the way that history affected the art of that period. You can see a slideshow of the exhibit and take an audio tour by going to http://americanmoderns.org/. Exhibit goes on until January 17, 2011. Be sure to see it.

Photos courtesy of Wadsworth Atheneum.

Rembrandt Exhibit at Wadsworth Antheneum

I went to see the Rembrandt exhibit at least three times at the Wadsworth Antheneum in Hartford. It is small but really special. As you might expect, you get so much more out of viewing a painting in person as opposed to looking at books or other reproductions.  The brightness and livliness of the colors is incomparable. And, even more important, you get to see the brush strokes, which are quite deliberate and facinating. His self portraits are my favorites, the colors and design really stand out and demonstrate his brilliance. I bought the museum book on Rembrandt, which has wonderful photos of many of his works and details his life and experience as an artist.  The museum also played an old movie of Rembrandt, starring Charles Laughton. The film takes you to 1642 at the height of Rembrandt's career and follows his life until his last year. It was pretty old and quite amateurish by today's standards, but the details were not that far off from official accounts of his life. What an interesting man he must have been.

This exhibit is going on through January 24, 2010. If you have a chance, go and see it.