FBI and Art Crimes...

I am fascinated by art that is lost due to conflict. The treasures families’ lost as they were forced to leave their homes during the Holocaust fascinates me. Who rightfully owns the artwork that was not gifted, donated or sold by its owners back in the 1930’s ? Where is that artwork? What a fascinating story it could tell about the numerous hands that have held it and people who have viewed it!

The FBI Art Crime Team has the duty to investigate art thefts. The FBI team looks to not only recover the artwork but also apprehend the person or people responsible for the theft. The book priceless opens up the readers’ eyes to the FBI Art Crime Team. Surprisingly, the team is actually a small group of people. The resources allocated toward recovering stolen art are minimal in the USA. After reading this book, the reader has an understanding of the difficult work the FBI teams members do to recover stolen art. Oftentimes the recovery of stolen art requires the FBI agent to infiltrate the criminal network. It is a dangerous and risky job trying to gain the confidence of the criminals in order to solve the crime.

Read the New York Times Bestseller PRICELESS if you get a chance. A quick and enlightening read! Visit the book's website for more information.

Summer Vacation...Time To READ!

I just completed two great books about Impressionism! I find it rewarding to read books related to art history as I learn a little something about the artists, the culture or the artwork while I read an entertaining story! Who said books cannot inform AND entertain at the same time!

Sue Roe's The Private Lives of the Impressionists is a story that takes the reader into the lives of the artists. I was struck at what a difficult life the Impressionists had! They went against the grain, in an era where that was not fashionable, and struggled personally and financially. In Sue Roe's book, the reader learns how "these desperate and remarkable painters began to cohere as a group...They had one thing in common: the determination to succeed" (45). The group was inspired by Manet's realist artwork but he was not willing to exhibit with them. He did not want to go against the establishment, the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. He had a "notorious reputation [but] still wanted medals, accolades and one day perhaps - like his father - the Legion d'honneur" (64).

The artists struggled in their day. Understandable since they were fighting the establishment. They followed their passion, did not conform and created a new culture in art. They set the scene for the radical breaks from tradition that were to come: Cubism, Expressionism and Color Field Painting to name a few!

Many thanks to Paul Durand-Ruel for believing in them, financing them and opening a gallery in New York City to bring the talents of the Impressionists to America!

The second book I read was Ross King's The Judgment of Paris. King's book was easier to read, even though it was longer, as it went into more detail about the decades that lead up to the era of the Impressionists. King's book was a great companion to Roe's. Through King's book the reader gets more of a historical background into the world in which the Impressionist artists were raised so one clearly understands the cultural influences upon the artists.

King focuses on the work of Meissonier quite a bit in the book. He was a prolific and influential artist during the era that is not mentioned in our Art History textbooks. He was the foil by which the Realists and Impressionists were compared. He created artwork that fell in line with the expectation of the Salon committee and frequently exhibited. The reader gains a new understanding of the artist, a perfectionist, and he key artwork, Friedland. "Few works in the history of art have consumed as much labor [10 years], generated as much rumor and anticipation, been showered with as much money, or simply taken as long to complete" (344).

Up Next on this theme...Dancing for Degas

Books That Art History Enthusiasts Would Enjoy

I recently read a blog post by Accredited Online Colleges that I found interesting and wanted to share. The post, 40 Books That art History Buffs Love, included some familiar titles as well as some I'd like to read!

I just bought The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism by Ross King. I am looking forward to reading it!

A book that was new to me that I want to obtain and read is Rembrandt's Eyes by Simon Schama. Schama is a scholar I admire. I became familiar with him in reading his books about Dutch Art in the Golden Age. I am fascinated by is Power of Art videos as well.

Shop Window Displays

Have you ever wondered HOW and WHY shop windows are arranged in the manner that they are? Now that you have completed your AP Art History course this year, perhaps you have an answer to this question. Perhaps now you will look at things like shop windows in the future and question why they are organized the way they are. Hopefully our few months together have helped you look at the world through a new lens.

Bonus Opportunity Due June 1, 2011
Take a picture of two to four shop windows and analyze their arrangement. Look at the product being sold and how it is being conveyed. Look at colors, arrangement, allusions, etc. Are the stores appealing to emotions, intellect, or both? BONUS = up to 10 points each.

Final Exam

information is posted (two separate documents) under 2010-2011 KEY DOCUMENTS page of the website.

The Third of May

Good Luck on your AP Exam! Perhaps Goya's Third of May, 1808 will be a beacon of light for you today!

According to Artchive, "This is the first great picture which can be called revolutionary in every sense of the word in style, in subject and in intention; and it should be a model for the socialist and revolutionary painting of the present day".

May the inspiring work of Goya drive you to success today!

Canada's GROUP of SEVEN and INUIT Art

Canadian Artists known as the GROUP OF SEVEN began working together in 1920. Tom Tomson, a commercial artist that died before the group exhibited had a big influence upon their work. Tomson was an avid outdoorsman and inspired his peers to pain out-of-doors, en plein air, like the Impressionists a few decades earlier in France.

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia,the Group of Seven were "initially drawn together by a common sense of frustration with the conservative and imitative quality of most Canadian art. Romantic, with mystical leanings, the Group and their spokesmen zealously, and sometimes contentiously, presented themselves as Canada's national school of painters". The group was noted for their landscapes, although they painted a variety of subjects.

Inuit art has a long tradition that dates back centuries. Modern Inuit art, the Inuit art we are familiar "came into existence in 1948-49. The Inuit were encouraged to use their "natural talents" in creating art objects to help solve their economic problems" (Canadian Encyclopedia). Soapstone, ivory and serpentine carvings of animals are common subjects of the Inuit artists. They used natural mediums, mediums found locally, to depict local animals. Man's harmony with, and understanding of, his natural surroundings is evident in Inuit art.