Today is July 4. A day when we, in America, celebrate all things American. So, I thought I'd share 3 American Artists whose work I loooooove!
Jean-Michel Basquiat: "I don't listen to what art critics say. I don't know anybody who needs a critic to find out what art is."
From The Art Story: Despite his work's "unstudied" appearance, Basquiat very skillfully and purposefully brought together in his art a host of disparate traditions, practices, and styles to create a unique kind of visual collage, one deriving, in part, from his urban origins, and in another a more distant, African-Caribbean heritage.
This Basquiat painting sold in 2017 for $110.5 million:
Learn more about him here.
Marsden Hartley: "All things that are living are expression and therefore part of the inherent symbology of life. Art, therefore, that is encumbered with excessive symbolism is extraneous, and from my point of view, useless art. Anyone who understands life needs no handbook of poetry or philosophy to tell him what it is."
From The Art Story: While initially known for his more radical abstractions, Hartley used formal devices, such as strong colors and simplified forms, to convey the weightiness and groundedness of his preferred subjects, whether landscape, portraits, or genre scenes, that created a tension with the two-dimensionality of the picture plane.
Marsden Hartley was one of the first American Artists to paint in a completely abstract manner, as seen below:
Learn more about him here.
Alice Neel: "Like Chekhov, I am a collector of souls… if I hadn't been an artist, I could have been a psychiatrist."
From The Art Story: Alice Neel, an unshakable original, witnessed a parade of avant-garde movements from Abstract Expressionism to Conceptual Art, and refused to follow any of them. Instead, she developed a unique, expressive style of portrait painting that captured the psychology of individuals living in New York, from friends and neighbors in Spanish Harlem to celebrities. Part of what makes Neel one of the greatest American portraitists of the 20th century is her refusal of traditional categories (gender, age race, social status, etc.). She does not presume what she does not know. She observes each subject with a fresh eye. Neel's insights into the human condition never wavered, remaining direct, unflinching, and always empathetic.
I always stare at the fingers in Neel paintings. I love them — long and creepy and expressive:
What a thoughtful July 4th post…..thank you Julie.
What a thoughtful July 4th post…..thank you Julie.
What a thoughtful July 4th post…..thank you Julie.
What a thoughtful July 4th post…..thank you Julie.
What a thoughtful July 4th post…..thank you Julie.
What a thoughtful July 4th post…..thank you Julie.
What a thoughtful July 4th post…..thank you Julie.
After my morning hike in Valley Forge Park, your post inspired me. Thanks for making a difference today.
After my morning hike in Valley Forge Park, your post inspired me. Thanks for making a difference today.
After my morning hike in Valley Forge Park, your post inspired me. Thanks for making a difference today.
After my morning hike in Valley Forge Park, your post inspired me. Thanks for making a difference today.
After my morning hike in Valley Forge Park, your post inspired me. Thanks for making a difference today.
After my morning hike in Valley Forge Park, your post inspired me. Thanks for making a difference today.
After my morning hike in Valley Forge Park, your post inspired me. Thanks for making a difference today.
Thank you.That was a nice way to start the day. Happy July 4th to you. Enjoy.
Thank you.That was a nice way to start the day. Happy July 4th to you. Enjoy.
Thank you.That was a nice way to start the day. Happy July 4th to you. Enjoy.
Thank you.That was a nice way to start the day. Happy July 4th to you. Enjoy.
Thank you.That was a nice way to start the day. Happy July 4th to you. Enjoy.
Thank you.That was a nice way to start the day. Happy July 4th to you. Enjoy.
Thank you.That was a nice way to start the day. Happy July 4th to you. Enjoy.
I am reading my second book about Alice Neel. Very interesting artist. I also watched a documentary about Jean-Michel Basquiat but have never heard of Marsden Hartley. Thank you for sharing blog posts about artists and museums it really does open my eyes to a wider and more diverse world
I am reading my second book about Alice Neel. Very interesting artist. I also watched a documentary about Jean-Michel Basquiat but have never heard of Marsden Hartley. Thank you for sharing blog posts about artists and museums it really does open my eyes to a wider and more diverse world
I am reading my second book about Alice Neel. Very interesting artist. I also watched a documentary about Jean-Michel Basquiat but have never heard of Marsden Hartley. Thank you for sharing blog posts about artists and museums it really does open my eyes to a wider and more diverse world
I am reading my second book about Alice Neel. Very interesting artist. I also watched a documentary about Jean-Michel Basquiat but have never heard of Marsden Hartley. Thank you for sharing blog posts about artists and museums it really does open my eyes to a wider and more diverse world
I am reading my second book about Alice Neel. Very interesting artist. I also watched a documentary about Jean-Michel Basquiat but have never heard of Marsden Hartley. Thank you for sharing blog posts about artists and museums it really does open my eyes to a wider and more diverse world
I am reading my second book about Alice Neel. Very interesting artist. I also watched a documentary about Jean-Michel Basquiat but have never heard of Marsden Hartley. Thank you for sharing blog posts about artists and museums it really does open my eyes to a wider and more diverse world
I am reading my second book about Alice Neel. Very interesting artist. I also watched a documentary about Jean-Michel Basquiat but have never heard of Marsden Hartley. Thank you for sharing blog posts about artists and museums it really does open my eyes to a wider and more diverse world
This was a thoughtful topic for the 4th 🙂 I was unfamiliar with all 3 of these artists, so thank you for sharing!
This was a thoughtful topic for the 4th 🙂 I was unfamiliar with all 3 of these artists, so thank you for sharing!
This was a thoughtful topic for the 4th 🙂 I was unfamiliar with all 3 of these artists, so thank you for sharing!
This was a thoughtful topic for the 4th 🙂 I was unfamiliar with all 3 of these artists, so thank you for sharing!
This was a thoughtful topic for the 4th 🙂 I was unfamiliar with all 3 of these artists, so thank you for sharing!
This was a thoughtful topic for the 4th 🙂 I was unfamiliar with all 3 of these artists, so thank you for sharing!
This was a thoughtful topic for the 4th 🙂 I was unfamiliar with all 3 of these artists, so thank you for sharing!
My color laser printer reproduced that marvelous Alice Neel painting of the woman with the baby and it is now on display in my kitchen!
Words fail me for the wonders of this painting. The composition, the execution, the choice of subject are those of a great master.
Thanks so much.
My color laser printer reproduced that marvelous Alice Neel painting of the woman with the baby and it is now on display in my kitchen!
Words fail me for the wonders of this painting. The composition, the execution, the choice of subject are those of a great master.
Thanks so much.
My color laser printer reproduced that marvelous Alice Neel painting of the woman with the baby and it is now on display in my kitchen!
Words fail me for the wonders of this painting. The composition, the execution, the choice of subject are those of a great master.
Thanks so much.
My color laser printer reproduced that marvelous Alice Neel painting of the woman with the baby and it is now on display in my kitchen!
Words fail me for the wonders of this painting. The composition, the execution, the choice of subject are those of a great master.
Thanks so much.
My color laser printer reproduced that marvelous Alice Neel painting of the woman with the baby and it is now on display in my kitchen!
Words fail me for the wonders of this painting. The composition, the execution, the choice of subject are those of a great master.
Thanks so much.
My color laser printer reproduced that marvelous Alice Neel painting of the woman with the baby and it is now on display in my kitchen!
Words fail me for the wonders of this painting. The composition, the execution, the choice of subject are those of a great master.
Thanks so much.
My color laser printer reproduced that marvelous Alice Neel painting of the woman with the baby and it is now on display in my kitchen!
Words fail me for the wonders of this painting. The composition, the execution, the choice of subject are those of a great master.
Thanks so much.