A Poet Reading by Master of the Playing Cards https://www.nga.gov/artworks/108125-poet-reading
Chicago, 1956 – 1957, no. 8 (as Playing Card: Valet), repro. 2000 Art for the Nation
Chicago, 1956 – 1957, no. 8 (as Playing Card: Valet), repro. 2000 Art for the Nation
Born in 1844 to a working-class family in Laval, France, Henri Rousseau worked briefly for a lawyer and served a stint in the military before taking a position at a French customs post in 1868; the nickname “ Le Douanier “ (the customs inspector) remained with him even after his retirement in 1893.
Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon, Portugal, 1994, no. 42, repro. 1998 Gifts to the Nation
From a distance of ten feet or so, Monet’s brushstrokes blend to yield a convincing view of the Seine and the pleasure boats that drew tourists to Argenteuil. Up close, however, each dab of paint is distinct, and the scene dissolves into a mosaic of paint—brilliant, unblended tones of blue, red, green, yellow.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1966, no. 83, repro. 1986 Gifts to the Nation
Oudry was the leading painter of still-life and hunting scenes in France during the first half of the eighteenth century. Much admired by Louis XV, he portrayed favorite royal hounds and painted scenes of the king riding to the hunt, which was the monarch’s sporting passion.
Conisbee, published in the National Gallery of Art exhibition catalogue, Art for the Nation
Paul Sérusier was born in Paris, and signed on as a student at the Académie Julian—the largest private art academy in Paris—in 1884. In the summer and autumn of 1888 he traveled in Britanny, where he visited for several weeks the village of Pont-Aven.
Conisbee, published in the National Gallery of Art exhibition catalogue, Art for the Nation
At the beginning of the twentieth century, as he turned from a career as a painter and a graphic and tapestry designer to concentrate on sculpture, Aristide Maillol was shaping what would become the leitmotif of his career. The subject that inspired him was the female nude, carefully observed but transmuted by underlying geometric forms into a kind of architecture, evoking the timeless rather than the individual.
Luchs, published in the National Gallery of Art exhibition catalogue, Art for the Nation
Cole’s renowned four-part series traces the journey of an archetypal hero along the „River of Life.“ Confidently assuming control of his destiny and oblivious to the dangers that await him, the voyager boldly strives to reach an aerial castle, emblematic of the daydreams of „Youth“ and its aspirations for glory and fame. As the traveler approaches his goal, the ever-more-turbulent stream deviates from its course and relentlessly carries him toward the next picture in the series, where nature’s fury, evil demons, and self-doubt will threaten his very existence.
America’s National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation.
The exhibition of Home, Sweet Home in the spring of 1863 auspiciously marked Winslow Homer’s debut as a painter. The painting was enthusiastically admired.
Jr., published in the National Gallery of Art exhibition catalogue, Art for the Nation
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1983, no. 45, repro. 1998 Gifts to the Nation
Paris, National Gallery of Art, 1982-1983, no. 26, repro. 1986 Gifts to the Nation