Fine Art Connoisseur June 2014

It’s only May, but I am already getting excited about Fine Art Connoisseur’s Iberian Art Cruise this September. Why? I have just been chatting with our editor-in-chief, Peter Trippi, and our travel coordinator, Gabriel Haigazian, who are laying plans for the adventure ahead. They are ensuring our travelers will not only meet a range of curators, artists, collectors, and gallery owners, but also have sufficient free time to wander and relax. This is a holiday, not a research trip, yet many of our returning travelers relish the fact that lots of learning is packed in daily. Indeed, one of our greatest pleasures is looking at and discussing art alongside fellow enthusiasts. By all accounts, our ship — Silversea Cruises’ Silver Cloud — is one of the most luxurious vessels afloat.…

Most of the artworks illustrated in this issue have been owned, or will soon be owned, by a living, breathing collector. It is, first and foremost, collectors that Fine Art Connoisseur aims to serve and inspire, and for that reason we have been running Hidden Collection articles ever since this magazine was founded in 2004. (For example, please enjoy the intriguing article about Van Kirke and Helen Nelson of Montana, which starts on page 55.) Recently, however, it occurred to our publisher, Eric Rhoads, and me that we have never highlighted America’s leading collectors of contemporary realist art all at once — alongside each other, so to speak. We agreed that it would be fascinating to specify which individuals are acquiring the best works in this booming field — plus…

Who would have thought that, amid central Florida’s horse farms and oak trees laden with Spanish moss, one would find a museum featuring 19th-century European academic art? Such is the case of the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, which is rivaled in this region only by the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing. This surprising venue was built by, and houses the collection formed by, Arthur I. Appleton (1915-2008), a Chicago businessman who came to Ocala to breed horses. He soon recognized the area’s need for a cultural institution, and in 1985 he opened his museum on land that had been donated by the city; the College of Central Florida has operated it since 2004. In addition to 19th-century paintings and sculpture, the Appleton also has extensive holdings of…

The Passions of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux is an apt title for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s current retrospective of this gifted French sculptor, who lived from 1827 to 1875. Carpeaux was indeed passionate — a man tormented by violent mood swings that terrorized his long-suffering wife. He also endured serious physical illnesses, dying at only 48, but not before producing an astonishing quantity of masterworks that have kept his name alive in France right through today. Carpeaux transcended the 19th-century trends of neoclassicism, romanticism, and realism to create unique sculptures that are somehow simultaneously grand and idealized, yet intensely specific and emotionally compelling. His best works are characterized by forceful motion and anatomical exactitude, demanding — and winning — our willing suspension of disbelief. Set to close on May 26, the…

Based in London, the 130-year-old Art Workers’ Guild may not have instant name recognition among Fine Art Connoisseur readers, but they will surely be familiar with the achievements of its Past Masters and Brethren — among the most outstanding in their varied fields. Quite apart from objects in America’s museum collections, buildings and artifacts created by Guildsmen can be found throughout the U.S., including Past Master Sir Edwin Lutyens’s British Embassy in Washington, D.C.; P.M. Henry Wilson’s huge bronze West Doors for Manhattan’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine; and P.M. Christopher Whall’s stained-glass windows in Boston. Though not on American soil, Brother James Butler’s Rainbow Division Memorial — unveiled in 2011 at Croix Rouge Farm in France’s Marne Valley — is one of the most recent links between the…

The Moccasin Lodge on Flathead Lake in northwestern Montana is an imposing structure. Constructed in 1945 by the artist Leonard Lopp (1888-1974), this magnificent log home with 12 rooms and three fireplaces retains the aura of its builder, even as it blends into the pristine natural setting. Today the lodge’s character is further enhanced by the collection of art and artifacts assembled over half a century by its current residents, Dr. and Mrs. Van Kirke Nelson. Fortunately, an array of their treasures will soon be on view for everyone to enjoy at the Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell, Montana (May 29 through July 26). The Nelsons have worn many hats in the art world, including those of collector, gallery owner, and museum trustee. (Since 1969, they have been major…