Artists turn to the color blue to conjure depth, mood, and atmosphere. It recalls both the sky and the sea. But blue pigment was sometimes costly. Ultramarine blue was made from lapis lazuli, a semiprecious stone mined in what is now Afghanistan. For centuries of Western art, it was reserved solely for painting the Virgin Mary’s cloak.
2013, painted glass fiber-reinforced polyester resin on stainless steel armature, Gift
Many artists have painted, photographed, and drawn nature’s magnificent sculptures.
(4:30) Alex Katz 1968 Alex Katz, Swamp Maple (4:30), 1968, oil on linen, Gift
Are you a fan of Glenn Ligon, Alma Thomas, or Gordon Parks? We’ve paired eight Black artists you might know with eight others to discover.
Thomas, Tiptoe Through the Tulips, 1969, acrylic on canvas, Corcoran Collection (Gift
Discover works by Romare Bearden and learn about the artist
Art of Romare Bearden, 1983, bound volume with offset lithograph reproductions, Gift
Cuban-born artist Abelardo Morell experiments with light and shadow, as well as interior and exterior spaces, in his photographs. Morell uses one of the oldest photography devices:
Morell, Ground Swell by Hopper, 2007, gelatin silver print, Corcoran Collection (Gift
Discover works by Douglas Volle and learn about the artist
Bennett, Liar from Schematics, 2010, etching with aquatint on wove Somerset paper, Gift
Discover works by Sir Bruce Stirling Ingram and learn about the artist
Cipriani, Figure Studies [recto], pen and black ink with gray wash on laid paper, Gift
Discover works by William Stanley Haseltine and learn about the artist
gouache over graphite on blue wove paper laid down to board, Corcoran Collection (Gift
Discover works by Vivant Denon and learn about the artist
Windmill, 1780s, brush with brown and gray washes over charcoal on laid paper, Gift
Discover works by Francesco Fontebasso and learn about the artist
Fontebasso, Six Nymphs and Two Cupids in a Landscape, 1744, etching on laid paper, Gift
