Samuel Prout was born on September 17, 1783. He was a British artist who painted architecture in watercolor. This is quite a feat, because watercolor is a medium with a mind of its own and is usually used to create free-flowing, loosely expressed masterpieces. But … Continue readingA View in Nuremberg by Samuel Prout
Charles Dana Gibson is best known for his illustration, Gibson Girl, which was intended to capture the most ideal features of the female face and figure. He wanted her to represent “thousands of American girls” and drew from many images to form the ideal. Not only … Continue readingGibson Girl by Charles Dana Gibson
Amidst the toils and stresses of everyday life, Anna Mary Robertson “Grandma” Moses let a little bit of delight, joy, and peace of home slip into a distracted world. She painted scenes from her early life in rural New England, describing them as “old-timey.” Not … Continue readingSugaring Off by Grandma Moses
Horatio Greenough was commissioned to create a statue of George Washington for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the president’s birth. Drawing influence from classical art, he based his sculpture on Phidias’ representation of Zeus of Olympus, one of the Wonders of the World … Continue readingGeorge Washington by Horatio Greenough
Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer above the Sea of Fog is delightfully mysterious in its depiction of a man gazing out into the oblivion of a fog-shrouded landscape. A historian named John Gaddis described it as “suggesting at once mastery over a landscape and the insignificance of the … Continue readingWanderer above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich
Featured here is Paul Kane’s oil painting, Assiniboine Hunting Buffalo. It is unique because its style is strongly influenced by European art, but of course its subject is strictly American. This combination of ethnic expressions illustrates his own personal history. Born in Ireland on September 3, 1810, Kane … Continue readingAssiniboine Hunting Buffalo by Paul Kane
Jacques-Louis David’s much loved painting, Oath of the Horatii, depicts an ancient Roman legend in which Rome and Alba Longa were at war. In order to settle a dispute between the two cities, they chose to each send three champions to fight each other, and the country … Continue readingOath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David
John Leech was born on August 29, 1817. He was a caricaturist, illustrating particularly for humorous magazines and satirical literature. Lithograph work and wood engraving were his specialties. Perhaps some of his most loved (and most lovable!) work is found in Charles Dickens’ first edition … Continue readingFrontispiece of A Christmas Carol by John Leech
Jacob Maris was born on August 25, 1837. He was a Dutch painter, and he is remembered for his landscapes and his portraits of the Royal House of Orange especially. Particularly striking in his work is his depiction of clouds, the way he was able … Continue readingShip on the Scheveningen Beach by Jacob Maris
Archibald Willard was born on August 22, 1836 in Bedford, Ohio. He fought in the Civil War, and he captured many of his experiences through painting. Some of his work ended up in Washington Court House in Ohio, and many were printed in newspapers and … Continue readingThe Spirit of ’76 by Archibald Willard