On These Walls...

Have you ever wondered what kind of art hangs in the White House? When certain pieces were acquired, the reasons they were brought into the collection and who choose the pieces?

Frederick Childe Hassam

The Avenue in the Rain

1917

Oil on canvas

The New York Times recently published a short but interesting article on the White House art collection and its curator, William G. Allman. One of only seven people to hold the position of White House curator since its inception in 1961 by Jacqueline Kennedy, Mr. Allman has worked in the curator’s office for 35 years and was appointed chief curator in 2002. How does one manage to maintain a collection in a place that is as dynamic as the White House: at the same time being an office, museum and home?

George Caleb Bingham

Lighter Relieving a Steamboat Aground

1847

Oil on canvas

Mr. Allman seems to fulfill his duties with the finesse of an expert, although an expert he hardly claims to be. But being able to please the presidential administration, cater to the family living in the White House and choose significant pieces that add importance to the collection is a true feat indeed.

A non-profit organization, The White House Historical Association has supported the procurement, management and conservation projects for the collection for 50 years. They work closely with the curator’s office keeping the master wish-list for further acquisitions and as of recently, with the help of Mr. Allman, has been developing and modernizing that list, to include American artists, some still living, who have yet to be represented in our nations White House. 

Twisted Wills

I recently had the pleasure of watching a compelling documentary The Art of the Steal (2009). Unless you live in the greater Philadelphia area or are a die-hard Post-Impressionist fan, you may have never heard of the Barnes Foundation. The exquisite collection of Dr. Alfred Barnes has sparked great controversy between the final will and estate of Dr. Alfred Barnes and the determination of a group of politicians after recognition for themselves and their cities. I highly recommend this documentary as it deals with the facts that non-profit backing can indeed help an institution while at the same time those involved may have detrimental underlying motives.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Girl in Gray-Blue
c.1889
Oil on canvas

Dr. Alfred Barnes (1872-1951) gained his fame and fortune creating a drug that prevented gonorrheal blindness in newborns and used it to assemble the most significant collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Modernist works of art, that many at the time thought were distasteful, unartistic and scandalous compared to art of the Romanticism era during the late 19th century. With a keen eye for art, Barnes began collecting Vincent van Gough, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Cezanne, Georges Seurat and more, becoming friends with many of the artists and traveling the world developing his concepts of for institution of learning.

Vincent van Gogh

The Smoker (La Fumeur)

1888

Oil on canvas

The Barnes Foundation was established in 1922 with strict guidelines placed by Barnes to ensure that the foundation was run more like a school than a museum. With limited public access, his foundation was able uphold its institutional purpose for the study and teaching of his collection. In his final will, Barnes clearly stated these rules and as anyone would, imagined that long after his death his wishes would be granted and that future scholars would still be roaming the impressive rooms he worked for and developed with a passion. 

Henri Rousseau

The Family (La Famille)

c. 1890

Oil on canvas

During the mid-1990's as blockbuster museum exhibitions became the rage and a small part of his collection went on a world tour, fans by the thousands poured into the quiet Philadelphia suburb that housed the Barnes Foundation for so many years. Seeing the monetary opportunities for the the Philadelphia museum, the city of Philadelphia, and the fame that would ensue, nonprofit agencies and even the directors of the museum banded together to uproot the Barnes Foundation and the will of Dr. Alfred Barnes to continue his mission in education of the arts. Although this movie fights for the will of Barnes, it shows the intricate links between foundations and those who govern them.


(All images courtesy of the Barnes Foundation)

The Unexpected

It is amazing when something new in the art world is unearthed that evolves the idea of a collection to something more than a mass of popular works, but rather a database of history, perfectly preserved within the confines of the space it inhabits. It is even better when these great catalysts are lying in the most inconspicuous of places.


The Karakalpak Museum, also known as the Nukus Museum, is home to the world's second largest collection of Russian avant-garde art, located in rural Nukus, Uzbekistan. It wasn’t until 1985 that this extensive collection, amassed between 1950 and1985 by Igor Savitsky, was acknowledged for fear of Soviet attack and suppression. Unsurprisingly, in the large world of art the collection was still largely unknown until Uzbekistan’s independence in 1991 when the cities one ruled by an iron fist were finally accessible to the outside world. 

Alexander Kuprin (1880-1960)

Still-life with a pink tea-pot

Russian avant-garde

Vladimir Lysenko (1903-1950s)

Bull

Uzbekistan Avant-Garde Artist

This collection is of great importance to the art world as it contains native folk art, jewelry, costumes, and textiles that Savitsky began acquiring after an archaeological dig brought him to Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan in the 1950’s. As the Soviet Union sought out and destroyed Russian avant guard and Central Asian artworks throughout the 1950’s and 60’s, Savitsky successfully safeguarded thousands works in his personal collection, which he established as a museum in 1966. 


Through the collection, natives and foreigners alike have been able to witness Russian avant-garde art, once though to be mostly destroyed, displayed alongside Socialist Realism art. Russian avant-garde was forbidden by the Soviet Union in favor for Socialist Realism which was praised by the government for its images venerating the poor. The collection bears witness to the effects the Soviet Union had over all aspects of life in Eurasia and the artistic revolutions that continued under the radar through the early 20th century. 

Although most will not be able to visit this exceptional museum in Uzbekistan, they have a wonderful online collection and database available for with detail information about the art and artists from Savitsky's collection. 

Rain, Rain

I didn't get the chance to post this yesterday...and although it is not currently raining, those deep dark clouds are ever looming overhead...

March 2, 2011

Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894)

Paris Street; Rainy Day, 1877

Oil on canvas

Today it has been gray outside and sprinkling rain. The annoying type of sprinkle

that lightly dusts your hair and clothes with moisture but doesn't soak you. 

To use an umbrella or not?

I wish it would just pour and then be done and stop teasing me 

as I walk ten minutes to get my bus. 

Tate Hamilton

Rainy Day Shopping

Oil on canvas

Although abstract, this too reminds me of the rain....

Gerhard Richter

Geometric Connections

Debuting her first collection in Fall 2009, Londoner Mary Katrantzou found inspiration in vintage perfume bottles and has been continually developing that aesthetic into bold, geometrically patterned dresses. I love finding designers who bring something new to the metaphorical fashion table and Mary accomplishes just that. Her designs and patterns are industrial with their hard lines, mirrored images and straight silhouettes, while always retaining a feminine touch though lace accents, detailed patterns and precise cutouts, allowing for the slight glimpse of a shoulder or thigh.

(images compiled via)

(all photo credits to Storm Thorgerson)

While admiring her runway shows my mind kept running back to an image made iconic by the English group Pink Floyd. The image was designed by graphic artist Storm Thorgerson and his studio, Hipgnosis, in 1996 to promote Pink Floyd’s “Back Catalog.” He came up with the idea through collaboration with the band who wanted play on the idea of the “back” catalog, while reminding loyal fans of the famous record covers, many of which were also designed by Thorgerson. The rich coloring, industrial scenes and manipulated geometric shapes all reminded me of Ketrantzou’s dynamic frocks and makes me wonder if she too is a loyal admirer of her countrymen’s psychedelic rock and the spellbinding effect these images have had on fans over the decades.