The Hidden Life of “The Blue Boy”
At first blush, Thomas Gainsborough’s famous work known as “The Blue Boy” seems like a simple enough painting of a well-to-do 18th-century young master of the upper class, dressed to the nines in his little blue suit. However, some new details have come to light as the painting undergoes restoration at its home, The Huntington […]
Our Blogger’s Favorite Works at SFMOMA
We can hardly believe that it’s been two years since SFMOMA reopened its doors after a several-year expansion. And with that in mind, we figured it was high time we stopped by. The museum houses tons of works, many by artists featured in our program like Matisse, Rivera, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Calder, and a major exhibition […]
Art, Attacked
Over the years, works of art all over the world have been intentionally damaged for various reasons. These incidents always make headlines, as we seem to find the “why” of the attacker almost as fascinating as the attack itself. Even unintentional damage caused to artwork by visitors pique our interest. While it’d be impossible to […]
#FancyFriday: Fancy Fabrics in Hals’ Portrait of Catharina Hooft
We’re bringing back an oldie but a goodie this Friday with a #FancyFriday themed post! In these posts, we look at portraits that are undeniably fancy in order to see what they have to say about their subject, their artist, their period, and more. (As we mentioned above, we haven’t done one in quite a […]
How Will “Genius: Picasso” Choose To Portray the Prolific Artist?
Fans of art and television rejoice: the second season of National Geographic Channel’s acclaimed series Genius, airing April 24th, will cover the life of Pablo Picasso. We’re excited that the series, whose first season covered Albert Einstein, will have an entire series devoted to a prolific artist whose work is featured in our first, third, fourth, […]
The Many Fakes of Modigliani
Last summer, 21 works in a major exhibition in Genoa of Amadeo Modigliani’s work were pulled from exhibition on the concern that they were forgeries. As reported by Architectural Digest earlier this year, 20 of those works were declared fakes. However, much of this will sound like old news, as the rash of fake Modiglianis […]
Art News: The Obama Portraits Make a Statement in More Ways Than One
As you’ve probably heard, last week, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery unveiled its commissioned portraits of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. What might have been an uneventful affair for any other former presidential portraits quickly made headlines for the simple fact that the Obamas’ portraits are strikingly different than any […]
Art Reads: The Goldfinch
Donna Tartt’s latest novel, The Goldfinch, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2014, and it’s easy to see why. Its treatment of art and art history never veers into pretentious territory, and poses deep questions about art itself to its readers, wrapped in the all-engrossing story of Theo Decker and his connection to the title painting. […]
Here’s Where to Read Free Art Books Online
Readers and art history lovers rejoice: your holiday season is about to get much more merry. We have good news for you: Getty Publications, associated with The Getty Museum, has a virtual library where you can check out over 250 books on art, art history, and more online. Yes, we’re telling the truth. It gets […]
Our Top 8 Artistic Gifts for Kids Under $20 This Holiday Season
Scrambling for a gift for the kid(s) in your life that’s a bit more creative than this year’s big-ticket items? Don’t worry: we’ve got you covered! We were inspired Museum Shop Sunday (check out more on this movement here) to search for more arts-related gifts this holiday season that kids would actually want to receive. […]