“A conservative brand of Impressionism”

Julian Alden Weir, The Red Bridge (1895)

The description of Weir’s painting by the Metropolitan Museum of Art states:

“After seeing the 1877 French Impressionist exhibition in Paris, Weir grumbled that it was ‘worse than the Chamber of Horrors.’ Much later, working in the Connecticut countryside under the influence of friends such as Theodore Robinson and inspired by Japanese woodblock prints, he converted to Impressionism. In this canvas, he captured the severe industrial form of a new iron truss bridge, covered with red priming paint, over the Shetucket River in Windham. The fundamentally solid forms and restrained veneer of broken brushwork epitomize Weir’s conservative brand of Impressionism.”

Three Poppy Fields

Vincent Van Gogh, Poppy Field 1890

Claude Monet, Poppy Field 1890

Gustav Klimt, Poppy Field 1907

On occasion, social media yields up something good. One instance is Richard Morris, a British art historian and journalist, who offers “Art History in a Tweet.” Not long ago, he posted images of the three paintings of poppy fields you see here. I can no longer find his accompanying twitter entry in the flood of what goes by, but I appreciated his putting tup he three images side-by-side to compare and contrast and thought you might enjoy that, too.

Vuillard and Debussy for a Weekend Afternoon

Édouard Vuillard, The Flowered Dress (1891)

As the Tate explains, “From 1891 through 1900, [Vuillard] was a prominent member of the Nabis, making paintings which assembled areas of pure color, and interior scenes, influenced by Japanese prints, where the subjects were blended into colors and patterns.”

At the Independent Art Fair

Charlie Billingham

With at least three art fairs on offer one March weekend in New York City, the question was how not to become overwhelmed. A review in the New York Times pointed us toward the Independent Art Fair:

If, like me, you find the full-tilt art fairs a little overwhelming, the formally ambitious but modestly scaled Independent is a godsend. With just 54 exhibits, many of them solo presentations, arranged over four spacious floors at Spring Studios in TriBeCa, it’s like a leisurely all-star game: It’s not exactly representative of the year in art, perhaps, but it feels as if it ought to be.

Color, Seeds, Thread, Buttons & Music by Debussy, Jalbert & Shaw

Postcards of Matisse’s Blue Window (1913) and Bonnard’s Table in Front of the Window (1934-35) called out for construction paper cut-outs. As if that weren’t enough, I scouted among our shelves, where I spotted an ancient packet of watermelon seeds and put them to use.