Innholdsfortegnelse for Nov/Dec 2015 i Fine Art Connoisseur

…we have come to the most excellent Andrea del Sarto, in whose single person nature and art demonstrated all that painting can achieve by means of draughtsmanship, coloring, and invention…— Giorgio Vasari, 1550…

One institution that has enjoyed enthusiastic coverage in this magazine is the Florence Academy of Art, founded in 1991 by the American artist Daniel Graves in order to pass along traditional techniques to the next generation. The FAA has trained hundreds of talented people now working worldwide and spreading their skills to still more artists. Long hampered by having to maintain multiple rented sites around Florence, the FAA has finally acquired a large facility that will be renovated so that all of its teachers and students can work together under one roof. In celebration, the FAA will soon host (on November 6) its first fundraising gala in New York City — the Beaux Arts Ball, named after the legendary costumed extravaganza once mounted annually at Paris’s École des Beaux-Arts. Guests…

Charles H. Davis (1856–1933) was among the preeminent American landscape painters of his day, often cited as the “Cloud Painter” and “Painter of American Skies.”1 In view of this celebrity, it is surprising how little known he is today, more than 80 years after his death.2 Davis was once ranked in the elite company of John Henry Twachtman, George Inness, and Theodore Robinson — artists who remain essential to the canon of American art.3 Now, however, many of his works can be seen only in storage, are in need of conservation, or have been deaccessioned. Some reasons for this situation can be surmised, but Davis’s standing certainly has been subject to the vagaries of taste — something that plagues the reputations of many once-popular artists. This phenomenon remains an issue,…

In the art-and-history-rich city of Philadelphia, the Wood-mere Art Museum has never had a problem living up to its mission, “Telling the Story of Philadelphia Art and Artists.” A traditionally under-represented community is showcased in its latest exhibition, We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia, 1920s–1970s. It features more than 70 paintings, photographs, sculptures, and prints produced by 50 artists who lived and worked in Philadelphia during this roughly 50-year period. We Speak also delves into social history, examining how black artists learned their craft, conducted their careers, and mentored younger generations. The support systems they utilized were wide-ranging and included traditional art schools, community art centers, and museums, as well as informal networking and mentoring. All are examined within the exhibition. The idea for this show was born when Woodmere…

In the 1959 edition of Current Biography, the entry for the prosthetics and make-up master Dick Smith (1922–2014) noted that he was “deeply interested in sculpturing and painting and thinks that, given time and opportunity, sculpturing could have an important place in his future.” Indeed, through the following decades, Smith produced more than 40 portrait sculptures demonstrating his skill for capturing the essence of both fictional characters and historical figures through stunningly realistic depictions of their faces and heads. Because Smith considered these sculptures personal exercises and not for gallery display, he humbly kept them out of public view. Smith is best remembered for his professional achievements on film and television studio sets, where, for example, he turned a mid-40s Marlon Brando into the gradually aging mafia don at the…

ARTISTS & GALLERIES Beverly Hills, California November 14–December 3 Galerie Michael is presenting an exhibition of artworks related to 19th-century France’s Barbizon School of landscape painting. The gallery has deep expertise in this area, and is especially pleased to display this scene by Désiré François Laugée, whose images of peasants offer a more nostalgic quality than do those of his contemporaries. INFORMATION: 224 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, 310.273.3377, galeriemichael.com Boston November 13–December 9 Kelly Carmody has painted a new group of still lifes and called them Evocations. On view this season at Sloane Merrill Gallery, they do indeed evoke a sense of serenity and simple beauty in an otherwise hectic world. INFORMATION: 75 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114, 617.227.1775,sloanemerrillgallery.com Brooklyn November 7-8 As part of the Park…

…we have come to the most excellent Andrea del Sarto, in whose single person nature and art demonstrated all that painting can achieve by means of draughtsmanship, coloring, and invention…— Giorgio Vasari, 1550…

A task perhaps even harder than igniting a fire using sticks and stones is to paint a figure illuminated by flames. Joseph Henry Sharp (1859–1953), likely able to do both given his many sojourns camping in the American West, excelled particularly at illuminating American Indians on canvas while they stoked fires. “In the world of American Western collectibles, firelight is really what many people are looking for,” says Alissa Ford, director of Western and California art for Heritage Auctions, which will offer this diminutive oil on November 16 at its New York location. “Firelight in a painting is aesthetically charging, and Sharp’s ability to capture that effect, especially in disappearing cultures, is, well, I have to say it, hot stuff in the marketplace.” Ford points out that while Sharp is…

Born four years before the emergence of England’s Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Marie Spartali (1844–1927) grew up well acquainted with these ambitious young artists, who boldly aimed to change the course of British art. The daughter of Michael Spartali, who served as the Greek consul in London from 1866 to 1879, and his wife, Euphrosyne Varsami, Marie was raised in the culturally sophisticated colony of Greek expatriates, several of whom were key patrons of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Along with her cousins Maria Zambaco and Aglaia (Ionides) Coronio, Marie mingled easily with such artists and writers as George Frederic Watts, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and Algernon Charles Swinburne. Dubbed “the three graces” for their striking beauty, these young women predictably attracted the attention of Rossetti, James McNeill Whistler, Edward Burne-Jones, and other artists. Indeed,…

People who love art, nature, and cuisine know that one of America’s best regional destinations centers on Savannah, Georgia. Founded in 1733 just 20 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, Savannah today is a remarkably picturesque city of 142,000. Eminently tourable in its own right, it is also ideally situated for easy day trips up and down the Atlantic coast. A two-hour drive north brings you to the equally famous city of Charleston, South Carolina; along the way you will pass through the scenic Lowcountry, with its grassy tidal marshes and sandy beaches, such resort islands as Hilton Head and Kiawah, and the tiny unspoiled town of Beaufort. A two-hour drive southward brings you to comparatively gigantic Jacksonville, Florida, glimpsing such famous Georgia resort islands as St. Simons and Jekyll, as…

One of the greatest benefits for me of commissioning portraits from the world’s top artists is spending time with them, sometimes even developing warm friendships. In 2009 I was introduced to Nelson Shanks (1937–2015) by our mutual friend Noralen Curl, and before long I was invited to spend three days conversing with him as he painted me. It was the beginning of a friendship that continued until his passing this August. Nelson and I spoke on the phone a few times each year. Our last conversation occurred in June, when he revealed the severity of his illness, his desire to finish his current works, and his eagerness for Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia to continue for generations. Though optimistic that he would beat cancer, he wanted me to see his most…

ALICIA N. PONZIO (b. 1974) has won applause for her figure and portrait sculptures, primarily in bronze. “I am drawn to sculpture,” she explains, “because I believe that there is psychology in forms, that they elicit emotional responses on an abstract level.” Indeed, regardless of whether we recognize her narrative or know her sitter’s name, viewers are always moved by Ponzio’s sensitive, insightful characterizations. Born in Massachusetts, Ponzio grew up in New Jersey and earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania. During four years in the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps, her interest in anatomy blossomed (having been sparked earlier by her family’s background in medicine). Soon she was taking drawing classes at various venues in Southern California, including the Watts Atelier in Encinitas. The big leap came…