Moon Goddess

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Bast or Bastet the Egyptian Cat goddess, Late period after 600 BC, The British Museum.

Bronze figure of a seated cat. The cat mummies were buried in honor of the goddess Bastet the daughter of the sun god Re.

Painting History

Into Bondage, 1936 by Aaron Douglas, Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington D.C.

This work is part of a mural Douglas created that marks the history of the Black people in North America from slavery to 1936. They were displayed in the Hall of Negro Life at the Texas Centennial Exposition in Dallas.

Family Portraits

Portraits of Edouard and Marie-Louise Pailleron by John Singer Sargent, Des Moines Art Center.

Sargent was one of the primer portrait painters of the 19th century. His work brought out the very best in his sitters and therefore made him very popular. These children belong to Edouard Pailleron and famous 19th century French playwright and his wife.

Many Talents

Writing Cabinet, 1898-99 by C.R. Ashbee, Cheltenham Art Gallery, U.K.

Charles Robert Ashbee was a talented cabinet maker as well as an architect and jewelry maker. He was a follower of the Arts & Crafts movement and even tried to establish a handicraft colony, but it unfortunately failed.

Spas - Nothing New

The Great Bath, the Ancient Roman Baths, 1st Century A.D., Bath, England.

Built as a combination of a traditional Roman bath and an homage to the water Goddess Sulis Minerva, elements of the ancient baths were uncovered in the 17th Century, but it was not fully excavated until the 19th century.

Down Boy

White Terrier, 1991 by Jeff Koons, multiple collections.

In 2000 Koons carried this image of the terrier to a huge scale when he created a giant floral version of the dog in Rockefeller Center. His work is always controversial and often outrageous, just as he intends it to be.

El Escribir en la Arena

Portrait of the Duchess of Alba by Francisco Goya y Lucientes, Hispanic Society of America, New York.

Known as Goya, in his lifetime he painted over 500 works and almost 300 drawings and lithographs. As the Spanish court painter many of his works were political in nature, especially focusing on the invasion of Spain by Napolean's France. This painting of the Duchess shows her pointing down to the sand where Solo Goya is written. She also wears two rings, one that says Goya and one that says Alba, this leads people to believe they were linked romantically.

Close Scrutiny

Still Life by Giorgio Morandi, Private Collection.

Throughout his career Morandi studied and painted still lifes of bottles in pale tones. His idea was to portray the pure simple beauty of the objects in pale natural light.

Kitchen Still Life

Soliloquy by William H. Bailey, Leslie Feely Fine Art

The first time I saw one of William Bailey's still life paintings over 14 years ago, I became a fan. I am visiting Council Bluffs, IA soon and I often wonder where he lived (lives?).

Winter Weather

January Thaw, Edge of Town, 1921 by Lawren S. Harris, National Gallery of Canada

Harris was a member of the Canadian group of early twentieth century artists known as the Group of Seven. They had a Studio, which Harris primarily built and where many of the group created their artwork. Harris was from a wealthy family and wanted to build a space where the less fortunate members of the group could have studio space.

Intolerance

Daughters of the Revolution by Grant Wood, Cincinnati Art Museum.

Wood pokes fun at the prim and proper ladies and their intolerance. This is the only "satire" Wood owned up to, but many of his other works fit that definition too, even the beloved American Gothic.

New Gown

Tea Party, c. 1880 by Kate Greenaway.

Kate Greenaway was one of the most popular children's book illustrators of the 19th century. Her idealized children were just what her Victorian audience wanted.

21 Shopping Days

Coca Cola Santa, 1961 by Haddon Sundblom, © Coca Cola Company.

Sundblom's Santas which he created for Coca Cola in the mid 20th Century have become the standard by which depictions of Santa are judged.

One of the Guys

Lydia at a Tapestry Loom, c.1881 by Mary Cassatt, The Flint Institute of Arts.

Lydia was Cassatt's sister and a frequent subject in her paintings. Cassatt lived and studied Impressionism in Paris where she specialized in paintings of women and children and a look into their private lives.