Merry Christmas

The Adoration of the Magi, c.1445 by Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi, The National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

Should Have Won

Gloria, 1884 by Thomas Wilmer Dewing, The Cleveland Museum of Art.

Originally an entry for a Christmas Card contest - it is a perfect image for the season.

Adoration on a Large Scale

The Star of Bethlehem, 1888-91 by Edward Burne-Jones, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, UK.

This watercolor was originally a design for a tapestry and is very large roughly 8ft x 12ft and he used a ladder to do the painting.

Winter Wonderland

Love of Winter, 1914 by George Wesley Bellows, The Art Institute of Chicago.

A member of the Ashcan School and student of Robert Henri, Bellows began studying art at Ohio State.

Christmas Streets

Stockbridge at Christmas by Norman Rockwell, Norman Rockwell Museum of Vermont.

Rockwell is known for his images of holidays and Americana, this is one of his rarer landscapes.

Let it Snow

Snow at Louveciennes, 1878 by Alfred Sisley, Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

Sisley was strongly influenced by Monet and also tried to capture light against the landscape.

A Favorite

The Wilton Diptych, c. 1394 for King Richard the II, artist unknown, National Gallery, London.

One of my favorite of the Madonna and Child images. The blues are so vivid especially against the gold. It is the size of a regular book when closed. Diptych refers to the two parts of the painting.

Multiples

Felt Suit by Josef Beuys, Private Collection.

There was a major retrospective of Beuys work at the Tate Modern in London last year. His work is difficult for many people to classify as "art." He believed in exalting everyday objects and in the healing powers of art. His felt suit represented one he wore to a protest of the war in Vietnam and to him it symbolized political change.

Seasonal Themes

Virgin of the Angels, 1881 by William Adolph Bouguereau, The Getty Museum, Courtesy of Forest Lawn Memorial Park Association.

This painting was restored by the conservation specialists the Getty Museum and in exchange for restoring the work the owner, The Forest Lawn Museum, allowed the Getty to display the work. Bouguereau was very popular during his lifetime and while often panned by critics, remains a popular artist amoung museum visitors today.

Riddle Me This

Oedipus and the Sphinx by Gustav Moreau, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Moreau captures the tension as the Sphinx asks Oedipus that simple riddle that eluded so many before him.

Bands of Light

Landscape at Chaponval, 1880 by Camille Pissarro, Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

Pissarro is the only artist to exhibit his work at all the "Impressionist" shows. Throughout his career he remained true to the Impressionist vision of capturing moments in light.

Snowfall

January, 1993 by Alex Katz, Marlborough Graphics, NY.

Known for his Pop Art portraits, Katz captures each of his subject's individuality, while creating an easily recognizable style.

Sewing Memories

Album Quilt, 1847-50 by Mary Heidenroder Simon, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Baltimore Album Quilts were made in the mid-19th century to mark important events. The people from that region of the country also had access to many different fabrics as ships arrived from all over the world.

Drawing What You Know

Sechs Kissen (Six Pillows), 1493 by Albrecht Dürer, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.



Dürer created this drawing as a study of shading by using cross-hatching, but it is also a study in drawing drapery.