by Lon Magargee (1883-1960, American). At age 13, Magargee ran away from his upper-class Pennsylvania home and went West in 1896, led by his zest for the wild and adventuresome life. Here he established a reputation as a cowboy painter and illustrator with work most associated with Arizona Brewing Company ads featuring humorous aspects of…
Arbita, the Lost Portrait
by Walter Kuhn (1877–1949, American). Kuhn was a painter and impresario who organized the influential Armory Show of 1913, which was America’s first large-scale introduction to European Modernism.. The 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art, held in the New York Armory in Manhattan, was sponsored by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors. The show…
School’s Out!
By Amos Sewell (American 1901-1983). Sewell was a prolific illustrator for The Saturday Evening Post and other popular magazines as well as pulp-fiction covers. Here is a rendering for a Post story for late spring, appropriately titled, “School’s Out!”
Henry Howard, 12th Earl of Suffolk and 5th Earl of Berkshire (1739-1779)
, by Joshua Reynolds (English, 1723-1792). Joshua Reynolds, a contemporary of Gainsborough, was the dominant English portraitist of the “Age of Johnson,” and painted up to 3,000 portraits, including those of many of the most wealthy and famous figures of his day. A painter of great energy, he was said to have worked constantly, never…
Rocky Coastline
by Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld. (1758–1846, French). At the outset of his career, Bidauld studied and painted throughout France and Italy, gaining a reputation as a “history painter.” Returning to Paris in 1790, he entered the Salon, in which he participated regularly. In 1792 he began receiving official commissions and, after 30 years of commissions and…
Two pen and ink religious scenes
by Girolamo Bonini (Italian, 1620-1680). Christ Giving Communion to the Apostles at the Last Supper. Lucas Medicus, Salutat Vos. Bonini was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna. He was the pupil of the painter Francesco Albani and part of a team of painters who decorated the Sala Farnese of the…
An Englishman’s Wife
by Walter Martin Baumhofer (1904-1987, American). Redbook Magazine interior art for a story involving American officers in England during World War II. Baumhofer was recognized for his cover paintings on such iconic magazines as The American Weekly, Collier’s, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, McCalls, Redbook, and Woman’s Day. He was also a prolific illustrator for pulp fiction magazines…
Portrait of Jan Asselijn, Painter (“Krabbetje”), c. 1647
by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669). Etching, drypoint, and engraving. Rembrandt is considered to have been one of the finest painters and printmakers in European art history.
Tang Dynasty Amphora with dragon handles, 618-906 CE.
The studded dragon handles give the impression of beasts drinking from this vessel. This type of amphora is believed to have been inspired by Persian silver ewers, illustrating the cosmopolitan tastes of the Tang court. This vessel is extremely rare, both for quality and condition, and for its pure monochrome color. The gray-white of the…
Freedom of Worship
by Norman Rockwell (American, 1884-1978). Rockwell was perhaps America’s greatest illustrator, whose evocative scenes of American life graced thousands of magazines and books. Here is a numbered print of a series titled the Four Freedoms. These were created during the Second World War to inspire confidence and patriotism in the country. The Four Freedoms included…