Contains interview video clips, commentary and visuals of Ansel Adams’ outstanding nature photography and source materials.

PART 1

Part 2 of this series will be published Wednesday.

Contemporary Art :: Fine Art :: Top Artists :: Art Reviews, Art Fairs & Exhibitions. Copyright , e ART FAIR .com, All Rights Reserved.

Adams always had a eye for the extra-ordinary in nature.  His photography of the Yosemite National Park and natural reserves in and around California is breathtaking. He received his first camera, a Kodak Brownie box camera, at age 16 on his first trip to Yosemite, an event which changed his life forever.

Moon and Half Dome, Yosem… Ansel Adams Buy From Art.com

It is also well-known that Ansel Adams was one fo the greatest environmentalists of the twentieth century. By exhibiting & publishing his art and writings, his presidency over the Sierra Club, Ansel Adams effectively advocated the preservation of America’s wilderness.

Ansel Adams Books

However, besides being a fantastic photographer and an environmentalist, Ansel Adams also was a great teacher of his art.   He did the whole gamet: wrote series of instructional books, taught photography workshops and college classes, and was involved in research. At first, Adams published essays in photography magazines. Then in 1935, he wrote his first instructional book ‘Making a photograph: An introduction to photography. ’. This is now a ‘rare’,photography ‘how to’- book.

Another well-known book by Ansel Adams is ‘The Camera‘. It is a photography classic, which is illustrated with some of the most welll-known photos by Adams.  A second book is called ‘The Print’. And a third instructional manual is called The Negative‘. These three books form the core of the legendary series of technical instructional manuals, first published by And Adams in the early 1950s.

Ansel Adams Workshops & Classes

In 1940 he began teaching a series of workshops, which then evolved into the annual photography workshops he led in Yosemite – Carmel from 1955 to1984.  He taught at the San Francisco Art Institute. There is well known for his work in codifying a method for negative and print exposure, called the Zone System. The zone system is still taught today at the institute and beyond, amongst others as the basis for intuitive photography.

Other Articles Relating to Ansel Adams

The Best of Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams: Art from His Secret Closet, ON EXHIBIT

Photography as Fine Art

Timeline of Art History ~ United States & Canada  ~ 1900 to present

Contemporary Art :: Fine Art :: Top Artists :: Art Reviews, Art Fairs & Exhibitions. Copyright , e ART FAIR .com, All Rights Reserved.

Wyeth has become one of America’s most famous painters thanks to his idyllic way of paintings his surroundings: the landscapes, farms, tree lands, farm houses, and neighbors in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

What strikes me most about the news of Andrew Wyeth is the way he died. It had the same idyllic poetry with which he painted. Who would not like to die of old age, without too much pain, sleeping, surrounded by loved ones?

Art is life and life is art – at least for Andrew Wyeth it was.

To commemorate the American realist painter, I would like to mention 5 highlights of Andrew Wyeth’s art career:

1. While the rest of the art world explored ‘Abstract Expressionism‘, Wyett did his own thing, i.e. realism. Specifically, he painted his world his way. And he became most famous it. Some art critiques call him ‘an icon of Americana’. Well, actually Wyeth did represent post-war America’s nostalgic yearning for a return to what had been normalcy. Does that make him less of an artist? He was no more or no less a sign of his time than self-managed contemporary British artist Damien Hirst, or was he?

2. Wyeth received many awards during his lifetime including some prestigious ones, such as: being the first artist to receive President Kennedy’s “Presidential Freedom Award” America’s highest civil award (’63). Also, Andrew Wyeth had been the first living artist to have had an exhibition at the White House (’70). He was the recipient of the National Institute for Art & Letters’ Gold metal for Painting (’65). And when the Helga pictures came out, he had been one of the few single artists to have been hailed as a creator of ‘a national treasure’ and to receive a coast-to-coast solo exhibition tour from the National Gallery of Art.

Christina’s World Andrew Wyeth

3. His painting of a young woman in a field, ‘Christina’s World’ (1948) became one of the best known paintings in America. It is his most famous single artwork. The painting is one of the most popular works on view at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

‘Christina’s World’ is made in tempera. Wyeth started his art career in watercolors and dry brush, and then moved to egg tempera, which became ‘his’ medium. The tempura allowed him to achieve his superb textural effects.

The story behind ‘Christina’s World’, as MoMA explains it, is this:

“The woman crawling through the tawny grass was the artist’s neighbor in Maine, who, crippled by polio, “was limited physically but by no means spiritually.”

Wyeth further explained, “The challenge to me was to do justice to her extraordinary conquest of a life which most people would consider hopeless.” He recorded the arid landscape, rural house, and shacks with great detail, painting minute blades of grass, individual strands of hair, and nuances of light and shadow.

In this style of painting, known as magic realism, everyday scenes are imbued with poetic mystery.”

4. Andrew Wyeth managed to surprise the public once again in ’86 with ‘The Helga Pictures’ ~ a large collection of paintings featuring a single subject, i.e. a neighbor by the name of Helga Testorf. The collection of 240+ individual works went beyond tempura and includes dry brush paintings, watercolors and pencil studies. It had been created over a span of fifteen years (’71-’85). Andrew Wyeth created these artworks without telling a single person, including his wife, for over a decade.

The entire collection was said to be sold for $40 million in ’86 to publisher Leonard E. B. Andrews, complete with copyright to the artwork and all. Leonard Andrews agreed to keep the collection together and offer public access. Washington’s National Gallery of Art organized a tour from America’s coast-to-coast during ’87-’89. 10 months after the tour, 200 or so of The Helga Pictures were sold for $50 million to an unidentified Japanese industrialist, who has continued public access to the works through exhibitions.

Watercolor Artist – $ 19.96 Features practical, step-by-step instruction & illustrations for watercolor painting. Plus, each issue introduces new artists, answers specific readers’ questions.

I’m not getting into the scandals and speculations about The Helga Pictures. Truth is, they are skillful executions and it’s unique for a single subject to be painted over and over again during decades. I’m not sure if prolific artist Picasso matches the number of paintings of ‘Dora Maar’, but knowing Picasso: he would not like to be compared.

Where to see AndrewWyeth

Brandywine museum, Chadds Ford, PA
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

© copyright 2009 A. Lee, eArtfair.com – all rights reserved.

Contemporary Art :: Fine Art :: Top Artists :: Art Reviews, Art Fairs & Exhibitions. Copyright , e ART FAIR .com, All Rights Reserved.

Almost immediately upon completion*, the entire collection was bought in 1986, hereby securing its value. The collection has since been sold, but it continues to tour the world. (* He made one final painting of her in 2002, which has joined the collection).

The extensive study of one subject in differing contexts and emotional states is completely unique in American art. The works are seen as her physical landscape set within Wyeth’s customary landscapes. Wyeth conveys subtle qualities of character and mood while portraying her as unsmiling and passive.

Andrew Wyeth Art Prints for Sale

Christina’s World Andrew Wyeth

Master Bedroom Andrew Wyeth

Pennsylvania Landscape, 1941 Andrew Wyeth

Around the Corner Andrew Wyeth

Easterly Andrew Wyeth

Ides of March Andrew Wyeth

Wishbone Andrew Wyeth

Contemporary Art :: Fine Art :: Top Artists :: Art Reviews, Art Fairs & Exhibitions. Copyright , e ART FAIR .com, All Rights Reserved.

Welcome to the March 31, 2008 premiere edition of the fine art blog carnival ‘No Name For Art‘. It is our objective to showcase the best current blog articles on fine art that would be of use and interest to collectors of fine art.

We’ll work with our submissions, reviewing what comes up. The submissions for this un-marketed first issue were interestingly coherent: The clear and overwriting theme across all submissions for this issue is :What makes art art and kitsch kitsch?

Art Collecting

As I have ‘no name’ for this carnival yet, I certainly have ‘no words’ for Kinkade. Unlike Margaret here, who makes an indisputable stance to what is art and what is kitsch. Well written and actually not too snobbish. Right on. Margaret Mary presents Bad Art and the Rise of Thomas Kinkade at http://earthly-paradise.blogspot.com/2008/03/bad-art-and-rise-of-thomas-kinkade.html saying, “Why are people so drawn to the art of Thomas Kinkade? This article examines the motivations of Kinkade collectors and questions why his “bad” art has gained such tremendous popularity in recent years.”

Artwork

Here is a new take on the prior discussion of art made by apes. Question: is a painting made by a dog art? Madeleine Begun Kane presents Cashing In With Doggie da Vincis. The article she’s referring to, moved, and is now located at: http://www.thespec.com/Wire/article/209123
Note from eArtfair: ‘If all animals and people have a soul, than at least, dog art is soulful art. That’s my take.’

One of the most controversial artists of our time, Jeff Koons, produces (or rather orders in) artwork that could be easily classified as kitsch. Should it? Check out ‘The Kitsch or Art of Jeff Koons?’ an article written by Astrid Lee, here at eArtfair.com/blog.

Which leads us to the next topic:

Museum Shows

Incidentally, Jeff Koons has a show coming up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US: “Jeff Koons on the Roof,” April 29 – October 26, 2008. If you want his art being contrasted with its surroundings even more dramatically: you can go see his work in a palace: Chateau de Versailles, Paris, France, will feature his works this September.

Albert Decker expresses disappointment about the removal of an interesting but controversal public artwork at the entrance of the Dallas Museum of art from the free to the paid section of the museum: Last Saturday... saying, “The last time I was there, the art invited me in. This time, it seemed She had been abducted…” Note from eArtfair: ‘Fortunately, the Dallas Museum of Art offers free general entry at certain times: Thursday: 5:00 to 9:00 pm, plus 1st Tuesday of each month ‘.

GrrlScientist presents Audubon’s Aviary: Portraits of Endangered Species saying, “My review of the annual art exhibition of John James Audubon’s paintings of North American birds, hosted by the New-York Historical Society.”

Other Art Topics

Sheila Scarborough‘s submission is not about fine art, or is it? In either case, her article made me contemplate the preservation of our contemporary graffiti art. Will the Leaderheads will be available in the centuries to come to restore our Banksy‘s ???!! Have a look at Sheila’s It’s a sign: restoring ad art on Route 66. Sign Art in small towns on historic Route 66.”

Next Edition of No Name for Art

Submit your blog article to the next edition of no name for art using our carnival submission form. The No Name For Art carnival #2 will be held May 14.

Commentary

I look forward to your comments below to this new carnival. I am very open to suggestions and to organically grow this initiative.

Give me a hand!
Please share this Carnival so we can invite others in the art world join in e.g. by ‘Digging’ and/or ‘Stumbling Upon’ this article. Links below.

Participants are required to link back to the carnival from their website.

Putting ‘No Name for Art link on your site and/or adding www.eArtfair.com/blog to your blogroll comes with excellent karma. ]]> http://eartfair.com/blog/no-name-for-art-1/feed/ 1 http://eartfair.com/blog/leonardo-da-vinci-a-biography-of-the-renaissance-man/ http://eartfair.com/blog/leonardo-da-vinci-a-biography-of-the-renaissance-man/#comments Fri, 14 Dec 2007 01:11:37 +0000 e Art fair .com http://eartfair.com/blog/leonardo-da-vinci-a-biography-of-the-renaissance-man/ Leonardo Da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, in Vinci, Italy. It is uncertain that Vinci, just west of Florence, was the actual birthplace and it is often debated that perhaps he was born in a farmhouse in Anchiano. Nevertheless, Vinci claims the prestigious title of the birthplace of Leonardo Da Vinci.

Leonardo did not author an autobiography; therefore, what little is know of his early life has been gathered from tax records and other documents of the period. What is known is that he was the illegitimate son of Ser Piero da Vinci and a woman who is only known by her first name, Catrina. It is speculated that she was possible a slave from the Middle East or perhaps just a lowly servant that worked in the household.

His father, a notary of some stature, did not raise him. It is known that Leonardo (christened Lionardo) lived with his. Later on he went to live with his father or his father’s younger brother, Francesco. What became of his mother is unknown.

Because of the circumstances of his birth, Leonardo’s early training was probably conducted by his step-mother, Donna Albiera, although he was mainly self-tought. Later on in life his illegitimacy would also influence his prospects for obtaining a higher education and the means to earn a living. When his father noted his artistic talent, he was sent to Florence as apprentice to Andrea del Verrocchio at around the age of 16 or 17.

Under Verrocchio, Leonardo studied painting and sculpture. He probably learned geometry during his apprenticeship and worked with other students and artists of the time such as Sandro Botticelli, Cosimo Rosselil and Lorenzo di Credi. It was during this time that he was assigned his first task of painting the angel in Baptism of Christ (c.1472-75). After seeing Leonardo’s angel it is said that Verrocchio swore “never to pick up a paintbrush again”.

During his first Florentine period (1478-1483) Leonardo received some of his first commissions. He became known for his artistic talents with his work on Madonna and Child (c. 1478), Small Annunciation (1480-1481), and Adoration of the Magi (c. 1481-82).

Leonardo was revered by friends and colleagues as being handsome and charismatic. He was kind and generous and probably one of the world’s first animal rights activists. He was also a practicing vegetarian (almost unknown in the fifteenth century.) However, he was not so well liked that he was immune to gossip and in 1476 he was arrested on the charge of sodomy. After about two months of incarceration he was released due to a lack of evidence. The question of his sexuality still remains a mystery.

After his release in 1478, Leonardo left Florence for the first time and traveled to Milan. There he joined a new patron, Ludovico Sforza. Initially he was to have been a military engineer, but instead became the court artist. He designed several machines such as catapults and armored cars but none were ever built. During this time he also painted one of his most famous frescos, The Last Supper – not actually a fresco in the true sense of the word but still paramount in establishing him as a portraitist and artist.

In 1499, Leonardo returned to Florence where he accepted a commission for an altar painting for the friars of the Order of the Servites at Santissima Annunziata. It was for this painting that Leonardo created one of his unfinished masterpieces, The Burlington House Cartoon (c.1499-1500). He also started two of his most famous works, The Battle of Anghiari, and The Mona Lisa (1503). The Battle of Anghiari was never finished and The Mona Lisa was never delivered to the client, Francesco del Giocondo.

In 1506 he headed back to Milan, remaining there for six years to continue his anatomy studies. Then in 1511, he moved to Rome where he continued his experiments with flight and optical puzzles as well as botany and the scientific mixing of oil paints and varnishes.

In 1516 Leonardo joined the King of France, Francois I, in the Loire Valley. The aging artist was ill and suffering from a stroke. Unable to paint, he undertook several projects including a walking mechanical lion. Instead of a heart, the lion’s chest opened to reveal a fleur-de-lis. He also designed a palace at Romorantin, reorganized his notebooks, and several other smaller projects.

On May 2, 1519, Leonardo died and was buried in Saint-Forentine in Amboise. But even in death, his travels were not over. During the Wars of Religion Leonardo’s remains were moved several times. Eventually he was buried in the Chapel of St. Hubert in the castle of Amboise.

Leonardo da Vinci was an artist, musician, philosopher, engineer, botanist, anatanomist, mathematician and a humanitarian. He did not believe in life after death and he did not agree with the teachings of the church. He was generous but suspicious. He questioned everything around him and excelled at everything he undertook. He spent 30 years keeping meticulous records and journals documenting his experiments and designs. Vassari observes with reference to Leonardo’s writings, “he wrote backwards in rude characters, and with the left hand, so that anyone who is not practiced in reading them, cannot understand them”. He did not number the five thousand pages he documented but ensured that each observation or experiment documented be completed on one page. Leonardo took great pains to finish his notebooks. Yet, in contrast to his scientific studies, this artist who epitomizes the Renaissance left much of his artistic endeavors unfinished.

Much of Leonardo’s life is a mystery in spite of his writings. Little is known of the man inside the body because he did not reveal much to the world. His accomplishments throughout his 67 years on earth did much to revolutionize the artistic community and, had his machines been built, would have revolutionized society centuries in advance. Leonardo was truly a man before his time.

About the Author

By: Bianca Tavares. You can learn more about Leonardo da Vinci at http://www.mezzo-mondo.com

plus a host of other artist biographies by Bianca Tavares at http://www.mezzo-mondo.com/arts/mm/index1.html

Article From:
A&CNet Art & Craft Article Directory

The exhibit shows a series of tiny 5 inch square photo proofs by Ansel Adams that he never intended anyone to see. The small museum is not far from the inland waterway where Adams shot the pictures in 1940.

They are taken of a landscape that lacks the majesty of his photographic series of the Sierra Nevada and Yosemite National Park. The works were photographed with a hand-held camera. It comes as no surprise that the Trust which controls the use of Adam’s work objects to the exhibit, disputing photo proofs as art.

1. “They are basically snapshots, not works he ever would have shown in a museum” according William Turnage, one of three Adams’ trustees. “I think it’s unethical in terms of museum ethics and behavior. It’s something that never would be done at MoMA or the Art Institute of Chicago.”
2. Adams’ art included both the making of the negative and the interpretation of the negative into a print.
   Photo proofs are half-finished artworks, not the final thing. Each proof could be night and day from what Ansel would have interpreted.”

A quirk of inheritance law mixed with some art world connections, and the proofs were nonetheless exhibited, on the following grounds:

1. “Adams’ prints are perfection,” exhibit curator Stephen Jareckie said. “But these proofs have a certain vitality that you don’t find in a finished print. It gives them an educational point of view and shows the public what Adams’ work is like at that stage — a work in progress.”
2. Jareckie found the proofs in the estate of McAlpin’s second wife. McAlpin and Adams collaborated on founding the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where McAlpin was a trustee.
3. The proofs are part of the historical record, documenting Adams’ life, his travels and friendships.

This unique Ansel Adam exhibit of 50 photo proofs runs through Dec. 2. Seven attributed to McAlpin.

If you are interested in learning about the best photographic artworks of Ansel Adam, visit the website of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s feature on this great photographic artist. A click on the image launches your own interactive show.