Heidi Ellison
Richard Prince
Richard Prince’s “Untitled (de Kooning)” (2009).© Richard Prince. The debate rages on about the appropriateness of appropriation in art and music, but when it comes to Richard Prince, I will definitely come down on the … Favorite
Aragon et l’Art Moderne
“Le Jour V” (1945) by Bernard Lorjou. © Adagp, Paris 2010. Photo © Jean Bernard One of the founders, with André Breton and Philippe Soupault, of the Surrealist movement in 1924, Louis Aragon (1897-1982) was a … Favorite
Monet and Abstraction
Nicolas de Staël’s “Mediterranean Landscape” (1953). Madrid, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. © Adagp, Paris 2010 The idea that the work of Impressionist painter Claude Monet prefigured 20th-century abstract painting is not new, but “Monet et l’Abstraction,” the current temporary exhibition at the … Read More
Fleurs Fraîches
David Hockney’s paintings are so pretty and colorful and joyful that it should be easy to dismiss them as not being serious art. And what could be prettier than the flowers that are the subject of the new show “Fleurs … Read More
Trésor des Médicis
“Adoration of the Magi” (1476) by Sandro Botticelli.Photo: Archivio Fotografico della Soprintendenza per il Polo Museale Fiorentino You might call it an Italian rags-to-riches story: a family of wool traders-turned-bankers who grew so fabulously wealthy that they were able not … Read More
Arman
Arman: “Chopin’s Waterloo” (1962). © ADAGP Paris 2010. Photo: Adam Rzepka. Collection Centre Pompidou, Dist. RMN I went to the Arman retrospective at the Centre Pompidou with every expectation of not enjoying it. Wasn’t Arman one of those publicity-hound artists … Read More
Henry Moore: The Studio
“Working Model for Sheep Piece” (1971) © Henry Moore Foundation Henry Moore’s highly popular and seemingly ubiquitous sculptures have never really appealed to me, but I couldn’t put my finger … Favorite
Cranach et Son Temps
“The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine” (1508-09) by Lucas Cranach the Elder. © Ráday Library of the Hungarian Reformed Church, Budapest A mystery surrounds the authorship of the paintings of Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553). Like today’s fashion and object designers … Read More
Miquel Barceló: Terra-Mare, Avignon
“Untitled” (2009), one of Miquel Barceló’s paintings on termite-eaten paper. © Miquel Barceló/ADAGP Miquel Barceló, like Pablo Picasso, is a natural-born artist, working with enormous ease, superhuman energy and great versatility. Just as Picasso could … Favorite
André Kertész
“Underwater Swimmer, Esztergom” (1917) by André Kertész. Gelatin silver print. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. If there had been no André Kertész (1894-1985), would there have been a Brassaï, a Henri Cartier-Bresson, a Robert Doisneau, a Willy Ronis? Kertész the precursor … Read More