Audrey Flack was born in1931 in Brighton Beach, New York. She died at the age of 93 on June 28, this year. Her parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland. They owned a garment factory in New York City. Always interested in art, Flack attended the High School of Music and Art and Copper Union, both in New York. She received a BFA (1952) from Yale University. She was recruited by Josef Albers to study drawing and anatomy at the Art Students League in New York. She also studied art history at New York University of Fine Arts.

Flack came to public notice with “Kennedy Motorcade” (1964) (oil) (37.5”x 42”). Photorealism became the new and popular style of painting in the 1960s. Photorealists used photographs as the subject of their art, a return to realism after the wave of Abstract Expressionism. Flack was the only woman in the movement: “I broke the unwritten code of acceptable subject matter. Photorealists painted cars, motorcycles, and empty street scenes. Cool, unemotional, and banal were the terms used to describe the movement. My work, however, was humanist, emotional, and filled with referential symbolic imagery.”

Flack discovered in the 1970s two new methods to create her work: color slide projection and application of paint in layers with an airbrush. “Leonardo’s Lady” (1974) (oil and acrylic) (6’2’’x6’8’’) is an example of her new subject matter and style. Her continued interest in art history is evident in her choice of subject matter. The da Vinci portrait (1490-95) is a depiction of Lucrezia Crivelli, a married lady, who was lady-in-waiting to the Duchess of Milan and one of the Duke of Milan’s many mistresses.  Flack includes a small statue of cupid and the reflection of the statue in the mirror of the compact. A pink rose, a Renaissance ribbon, and a very ripe pear also are included, the pear often a symbol of fruitfulness and femininity. Flack paintedd items from the modern world: perfume bottles, nail polish, jewelry, and a glass of wine. The man’s pocket watch is a reminder that time is passing. Flack’s still life paintings are complex works full of symbols.

Hilton Kramer (1928-2012), a well-known art critic who wrote for several New York papers and magazines, disliked Photorealism and criticized Flack’s work. He was very upset that Flack’s “Lonardo’s Lady,” by the only woman in Photorealism, was also the first to be purchased (1976) by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  

“World War II (Vanitas)” (1978) (oil over acrylic) (8’x8’) is an example of Flack’s wide range of subject matter. In the 16th Century, artists in Leiden, Holland, started a new type of still life that became known as a Vanitas, the Latin word meaning vanity. The style specifically included elements such as skulls, hourglasses, and burning candles that signified time was running out and death was at hand. Included with these elements concerning the passage of time were luxury elements like books, jewelry, and flowers. Flack also increased the size of her paintings. This one is 8’x8’, and everything in it is larger than life.

A Jew, Flack was conscious of the treatment of Jews during World War II. The background image in the painting is Margaret Bourke-White’s photograph “The Living Dead at Buchenwald” (1945). Bourke-White was the first photographer to enter the camp after it was liberated. Flack includes a bright blue butterfly signifying the release of the soul. In contrast, a rotting pear is placed on a plate with three luscious pastries. 

A string of pearls is draped down the left side of the composition. At the top right, a clock displays the time: ten minutes before twelve.  A red candle is burning. A star of David is next to it. Under a fresh red rose is a page with the Hasidic text that ends with “Do not fear, dear child, God is with you. Even in the Nethermost Pit one can try to come closer to God. The word ‘bad’ never came to their lips. Disasters did not frighten them. You can take everything from me—the pillow from under my head, my house—but you cannot take God from my heart.”  When the still life was set up for the photoshoot, the lit candle began to drip on the page. Flack included it when she realized it reminded her of the bloodshed during the Holocaust.

Flack married in 1964. They had two daughters, one of whom was autistic. Her husband was abusive, and she divorced him. The 1980s brought a happy marriage and a major change in the direction of her art. “Civitas” (1988) (patinated and gilded bronze) (East Glass flame) (4’8’’x10’7’’) was commissioned for the garden of the New Orleans Museum of Art. Civitas is the Latin word for citizenship. Flack’s large sculptural works are female figures, drawn from myth, and given feminist themes. The goddesses are mature and strong. Flack described them as “real and yet idealized…the goddesses in everywoman.” “Civitas” stands on a globe set on a marble pedestal. She holds a crystal flame above her head. She is a mixture of a human and a mythological figure, a bit like Wonder Woman. 

Although Flack was commissioned to create many sculptures, she also continued making still life paintings. “A Brush with Destiny” (2012) (acrylic, mixed media) (40”x40”) is from her last series of paintings that she called Post-Pop Baroque. Similar to her sculptures, these paintings were about empowered woman. “A Brush with Destiny” is a self-portrait of Flack at a younger age. She is lavishly dressed as Queen Elizabeth I, with a ruff collar, pearl crown, and necklace. Her heavy brocade gown is dyed scarlet and black, costly dyes at the time. The dress is decorated with embroidery and jewels. At her left is a copy of Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun self-portrait (1790), in which she holds her palette and brush as she paints. Vigee-Lebrun painted her portrait for the collection of the Uffizi Museum in Florence. At Flack’s right is the image from one of the few photographs taken of the painter Jackson Pollock at work.  Flack holds a green leafy vine and a red rose. Flack’s destiny was to span the old world and the new world of art. 

“When I’m painting now, everything is at my fingertips. It’s magical. They say before you die, you see everything from your life. In my 92 years, a lot pops up.” (Audrey Flack, Vogue, Spring 2024)

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Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years. Since retiring to Chestertown with her husband Kurt in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and the Institute of Adult Learning, Centreville. An artist, she sometimes exhibits work at River Arts. She also paints sets for the Garfield Theater in Chestertown.

Frank Shepard Fairey (b.1970, Charleston, SC) is an artist, activist, and entrepreneur.  He completed a BA (1992) in illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design. Fairey first came to public notice while a student with his sticker campaign “ANDRE THE GIANT HAS A POSSE” (1989). He posted the stickers everywhere: “At first, I was only thinking about the response from my clique of art school and skateboard friends. The fact that a larger segment of the public would not only notice, but investigate, the unexplained appearance of the stickers was something I had not contemplated. When I started to see reactions and consider the sociological forces at work surrounding the use of public space and the insertion of a very eye-catching but ambiguous image, I began to think there was the potential to create a phenomenon.”

Andre the Giant (Andre Rene Roussinoff) was 7’4’’ tall and weighed 520 pounds. He was a world-class professional wrestler. One million “ANDRE THE GIANT HAS A POSSE” stickers were distributed world-wide. Fairey quickly produced thousands of posters with just Andre’s face and text OBEY. That led to his OBEY clothing line of T-shirts and silkscreen stickers. 

Fairey established OBEY Clothing in 2001 to support his humanitarian efforts. One hundred percent of the profits from the clothing line went to several charities, including Hope for Darfur, Feed America, earthquake relief in Haiti, Adopt-a Pet, Dark Wave/Rising Sun for Japan relief, and Alaskan Wildlife Relief. Fairey also was commissioned to design album covers for the Black- Eyed Peas and Smashing Pumpkins, among others, and movie posters for the Johnny Cash film “Walk the Line.” During these early years, Fairey also was offered several exhibitions by galleries and museums.

Fairey’s poster “HOPE” (2008) brought him greater fame. He created a series of posters supporting Barack Obama for US President, unknown to the Obama campaign. Fairey produced and distributed 300,000 stickers and 500,000 posters.  Peter Schyeldahl, art critic for The New Yorker, called the poster “the most efficacious American political illustration since Uncle Sam Wants You.” The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, purchased the portrait for its collection in 2009. TIME, Esquire, and GQ published articles about Fairey and the poster. Fairey donated the proceeds to the ACLU and Feed America.

In a letter dated February 22, 2008, Barack Obama thanked Fairey: “I would like to thank you for using your talent in support of my campaign. The political messages involved in your work have encouraged Americans to believe they can change the status quo. Your images have a profound effect on people, whether seen in a gallery or on a stop sign. I am privileged to be a part of your artwork and proud to have your support. I wish you continued success and creativity.”

Fairey used without permission a photograph taken by Mannie Garcia. He pleaded guilty to one count of criminal contempt because he had destroyed the evidence. He was sentenced to two years’ probation and fined $25,000. Fairey has been arrested for defacing public property and vandalism. He paid court costs and fees, and now coordinates with individuals who are subjects in his posters. Time Magazine named him Person of the Year for “HOPE” and two other posters “Arab Spring” and “Occupy Wall Street” (2011).

The Advertising Council of America and Fairey partnered to create posters for Feeding America in 2010. He also created posters for the ACLU in 2010.

Fairey was commissioned to paint the mural “Nelson Mandela” (2014) on Juta Street in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, painted on the top nine stories of the building. The mural overlooks the Nelson Mandela Bridge. Patrick Gaspard, the American Ambassador to South Africa, described it as “a huge exclamation point downtown which makes us remember the entire liberation struggle and the remarkably peaceful transition to freedom Nelson Mandela achieved.” The mural is one of several Fairey has been commissioned to paint. 

Fairey began in 2016 a poster campaign titled “WE THE PEOPLE,” inspired by the opening words of the Preamble to the US Constitution. The images were of a Native American, an African American, a Muslim, and a Latina. The posters were each 30”x40.” This image of “WE THE PEOPLE” combines three of the posters into one that could be downloaded for a donation of $25 to support the cause of equality. On Inauguration Day 2017, a large group of people paraded across the Capitol grounds and carried “WE THE PEOPLE” posters into the streets, hung them in windows, and pasted them on walls. Rallies with the posters continued through 2017. 

The posters include both images and text: a Muslim woman, wearing an American flag as a hijab, and the words ARE GREATER THAN FEAR, an African American with the words PROTECT EACH OTHER, and the Latina with the words DEFEND DIGNITY. Not included here is a poster with the image of an American Indian and the words WE THE RESILIENT HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE. “WE THE PEOPLE” posters also were carried during the 2017 Women’s March. Fairey stated, “I’ve presented a counterargument to what I consider some of the monolithic forces of oppression that most people feel powerless to do anything about.”

One of Fairey’s poster series, “FLOWER POWER,” depicted oil wells spouting flowers, not oil. Fairey supports the transition from fossil fuels. “MOTHER NATURE ON THE RUN” (2020) (stencil) (12”x9’’) was part of Fairey’s Mother Nature series. A large, ripe orange with healthy green leaves is ready for picking. The orange is a hand grenade. Fairey also included his iconic word OBEY. The image is intended to protest the genetic modification of fruits and vegetables by corporations for their profit. Fairey believed “every day should be Earth Day. We are part of nature, not above it, and when we don’t treat our home well, it will eventually not treat us well. We (powerful corporations especially) are behaving like the earth is indestructible…and it isn’t!”

 

Fairey and his crew painted the mural “WHILE SUPPLIES LAST” (2022) in the East quarter of Dallas, Texas, on Commerce and Cesar Chavez roads. A frequent motif in Fairey’s works is flowers, which he regards as a “symbol of positive growth and harmony.” Four colorful flowers with decorative stems are painted across the mural, with the face of a female environmental activist on the right side. At the lower left corner is what looks to be an advertisement WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. Fairey explains, “Whatever you treasure from nature, protect it so the supply is renewable.” The mural was painted in three days in September. The temperature was in the high 90’s.  

“I consider myself a populist artist. I want to reach people through as many different platforms as possible. Street art is a bureaucracy-free way of reaching people, but T-shirts, stickers, commercial jobs, the Internet–there are so many different ways that I use to put my work in front of people.” (Shepard Fairey)

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Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years. Since retiring to Chestertown with her husband Kurt in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and the Institute of Adult Learning, Centreville. An artist, she sometimes exhibits work at River Arts. She also paints sets for the Garfield Theater in Chestertown.

Fireworks began with the setting off of firecrackers in China between 202 BCE and 220 CE in the Han dynasty. Roasting a bamboo stalk in a fire would cause a loud bang when the air pocket in the hollow bamboo expanded and exploded. One Chinese legend tells of Nian, the word meaning year, a frightening monster that appeared on the night before Chinese New Years Eve. Nian ate people and destroyed crops. When the Chinese people discovered that Nian feared fire and loud noises, they began using bamboo firecrackers to scare away the New Year’s monster. 

“Firecrackers in Honor of the Kitchen God” is a painting made in China in 1930. Although it is not a piece of ancient art, it illustrates the significance firecrackers played. The Chinese belief system grew to include monsters who were said to be afraid of fire, sparks, loud noises, bright lights, the color red, and smoke. Firecrackers were used to drive away bad luck and scare evil spirits. The smoke made Yang energy, a positive life energy. Strings of firecrackers became popular during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) when an alchemist accidentally discovered gunpower while trying to make the elixir of life. By the Song Dynasty (960-1279), gunpowder packed in a paper roll with a tissue paper fuse resembled modern fireworks. 

One of the most popular fireworks in China continues to be the firecracker, composed of several small firecrackers strung together. “Firecrackers in Honor of the Kitchen God” (1930) is a painting of the man of the family holding a string of red firecrackers on a pole. A single red firecracker, placed on a rock in the garden, shoots high into the air. The women and children of the family look on from a window with varying degrees of surprise. A woman in the garden comforts a frightened child who clings to her. Another little boy is having a great time. Use of fireworks expanded rapidly beyond driving away evil spirits and protecting the many Chinese gods to celebrating weddings, births, birthdays, moving to a new house, opening businesses, to name a few.

Gunpowder made its way from China to the rest of Asia and to Europe by the 13th Century through missionaries and European diplomats. Europeans developed muskets, cannons, and advanced the development of fireworks. Aerial fireworks were limited to the color of orange.  Firemasters and their assistants, known as green men, set off the fireworks. “The Green Men” (1634) is the cover for The Second Booke, a guide to making and using fireworks. The green men were so-called because they wore fresh green leaves on their heads and clothing to protect themselves from the sparks, Before the celebration, they told jokes while they prepared for the display. The profession was dangerous, and many green men were injured or died when the fireworks malfunctioned.

“For his Grace the Duke of Richmond at Whitehall on the River Thames, on Monday, 15 May 1749’’ (hand colored etching) is a depiction of the fireworks display dedicated to King George II upon his signing the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle in 1748, ending the War of the Australian Succession. The fireworks presentation was produced by the Ruggieri family, five Italian brothers, who pioneered dramatic firework productions for European and other royalty. The event was produced by the Ruggieri brothers, who moved from Italy to France at the invitation of King Louis XV. They mounted fireworks on moving and fixed iron armatures to be set off during the theatrical performance. The fireworks depicted here were still limited to one color, orange. However, the armatures were used to create different shapes as depicted on the borders of the print. Later the Ruggieri brothers introduced color into fireworks with a more spectacular effect. The Ruggieri family business continues in France today.

King George II commissioned a German composer, who settled in London in 1712, to create music to accompany this celebration. The composer was George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) and the music was titled Music for the Royal Fireworks. The work continues to be a popular accompaniment to fireworks today.

Fireworks displays were loved by rulers world-wide, and the Ruggieri family provided many of them. The ‘’Pyrotechnic Celebration following Napoleon’s Marriage to Marie Louise’’ (1821) (broadside print) is a depiction of the event hosted by the City of Paris. The wedding celebration lasted for the month in June in 1810. This print by Pierre Benard describes the final act of this performance that took place on June 14, 1810, at the residence of Princess Paulina Borghese at the Palais De Neuilly. The event consisted of three acts and employed over 500 actors. It began with a mock battle that took place between the two large columns.  The ship City of Paris arrived and anchored between the two forts which erupted with fireworks. The second act of the performance concentrated on the Temple of Peace at the center of the composition. The seated figure inside, wearing gold robes, is most probably a copy of the figure of Zeus in his temple at Olympus. There were fireworks. The third act took place at the Temple of Hymen, the Greek god of marriage, at the top of the mountain. A man and a women stand hand in hand at the front of the altar. And then there were more fireworks

Makers of fireworks added strontium to create deep reds, barium for bright greens, copper for blues, and sodium for yellows. Modern fireworks were born in the 1830’s.  “The Grand Display of Fireworks and Illuminations at the Opening of the Great Suspension Bridge between New York and Brooklyn on the Evening of May 24, 1883.” (1883) (color lithograph) (12”x17,5”) was published by Currier & Ives. Built by John Augustus Roebling, a German engineer, to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge at 1,595.5 feet The fireworks were set off from boats in the East River and from the tops of the two stone and concrete towers that stand 276.5 feet over the water. Fireworks were also set off from balloons. The event included canon fire. The view is from Manhattan looking toward Brooklyn

President Chester A. Arthur and New York Mayor Franklin Edison made the first crossing as a part of the ceremony. They were greeted by Brooklyn Mayor Seth Low at the eastern end of the bridge. On the next day, 1,800 vehicles and 150,000 people crossed the bridge.

“This day will be most memorable in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival…It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, bonfires and illuminations [fireworks]…from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.” (John Adams’s letter to his wife on July 2, 1776, two days before the Declaration of Independence was signed.)

 

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Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years. Since retiring to Chestertown with her husband Kurt in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and the Institute of Adult Learning, Centreville. An artist, she sometimes exhibits work at River Arts. She also paints sets for the Garfield Theater in Chestertown.

Marlene Yu (b.1937, Taiwan) is a world-famous American artist. She received a BA in fine arts from the National Taiwan Normal University in 1960. She came to American in 1963 and received an MFA from the University of Colorado in 1967. Since coming to America, Yu has been concerned with nature and the environment.

Yu began working on the Glacier Melting Series in 1965, while she was working on her MFA. “Glacier Melting Cracked Ice II” (1965) (acrylic) is among the earliest works in the series. She commented, “In my search for the variation of the many faces of nature, I have found inspiration for artistic expression. I love the many elements in our environment, be they as broad as the horizon beyond or as small as cells under the microscope. In this vast setting, I hope to capture the spirit of the universe, its rhythm and movement, its quiet and angry mood, its colors and forms.” The glacier in the background has already begun to melt, the blue melting sections visible through the white ice.  Sharp blue and white shards represent the cracked ice. The moraine, the rocks and soil left behind the melting glacier, is painted in earth tones on either side of ice shards.

Yu’s painting style is abstract. Her images are based on objects in nature that have been altered to create emotional experiences. There is no right or wrong interpretation of abstract art. The viewer makes all the decisions. This writer’s ideas are neither right nor wrong; they are shared with the reader to stimulate thought.

Yu’s works included small canvases, giant canvases, and prints. “Moonscape” (1993) (print) was influenced by the many photographs taken of the Moon’s surface. 

 Yu’s early series include Forces of Nature (1966-2000), Deep Sea Garden and Sunken Treasures (begun in 1992), and Cave Treasures (begun in1998). Yu and her husband James founded in 2001 the non-profit Rainforest Art Foundation “to promote like-minded artists to make aware to the public the Green Movement through artistic expressions. I will continue the work of the Rainforest Art Foundation to protect plants, animals, and the entire planet—for it is our only home.” (2001) “Emerald Forest” (2000) (10’x20’) (acrylic) is one of Yu’s giant canvases. The emerald green trees in the painting survive, but the foliage at the top left is turning yellow as if it were dying. At the top right there are green leaves and a bright blue sky. Sweeping sun rays painted in oranges and blues penetrate the foliage. Dead leaves are piled up on the ground.

Yu began making prints for the Disappearing Forest Series in 2002. The consistent and frequency of forest fires over the decades inspired the new series. Predominantly painted in reds, the fire engulfs the black tree trunks. Ashes, painted in black, gray, and white, cover the ground. By June 2, 2024, California experienced 2,429 fires, destroying 95,562 acres.

The Marlene Yu Museum in Shreveport, Louisiana, was opened in 2014. Not only does it display Yu’s works, but it also offers several Biology & Art Exploration Programs. The hands-on programs introduce children to art and science as they work together. These programs are offered in Louisiana, New York, and Europe.

Yu started the Crystal Reef Series to capture the exquisite beauty of the shapes, colors, and patterns of corals reefs. “Crystal Reef 1’’ (2015) (acrylic) is painted in shades of purple, while others in series are painted in a variety of vibrant colors. In this painting, Yu has chosen to paint at the periphery white, dying coral.  Whether snorkeling over a coral reef or taking a glass bottom boat ride, the wonderful variety of corals and fish is nothing short of spectacular.

Since 1950, the number of coral reefs world-wide has shrunken by half, largely a result of climate change, pollution, and the collecting of coral for aquariums by dynamiting or chemically poisoning the reef. People who depend on marine life, marine animals that use reefs for spawning and feeding grounds, and humanity will suffer. The good news as of 2024 is that coral reefs can be regrown in four years.

 

Yu stated, “The Melting Series started in1965. It has continued through 2008, for it is my favorite subject. Without my realizing it, the series reflects what has become one of the most important issues of today, as human lifestyles and habits increase global warming that causes glaciers to melt rapidly. I hope through my art to convey the urgent message—Earth is in danger, please let us protect it together.” Yu has not finished the series. “Grant Glacier Melting” (2017) (12’x54’) (acrylic) illustrates that the world has not effectively addressed climate change. 

Yu continues to paint, lecture, write books, and educate the world on climate change issues. As of June 2019, Yu has had 81 solo exhibitions in the United States, Europe, and the Far East, and 300 publications in nine languages. Her works, which numbered 4800, were included in over 1000 public and private collections. She has created over 35 nature-themed series.

“I hope through my art to convey the urgent message—the earth is in danger, we must protect it together.” (Marlene Yu, 2021)

 

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Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years. Since retiring to Chestertown with her husband Kurt in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and the Institute of Adult Learning, Centreville. An artist, she sometimes exhibits work at River Arts. She also paints sets for the Garfield Theater in Chestertown.

The first day of Summer, June 20, is the time to celebrate the attributes of the goddesses of Summer. Aine, the Celtic goddess of Summer, represents love, beauty, fertility, and the radiance of the Sun. Saule, the Baltic goddess of Summer, also is associated with fertility and the Sun that brings well-being to all life on Earth. She was celebrated at a midsummer festival in Latvia on June 23. 

The Greek goddess Demeter’s story was reinterpreted by the Romans, and she became Ceres, the goddess associated with Summer. She was one of the twelve significant deities of Rome, and she was represented in sculpture and mosaics in Roman temples and homes. Boccaccio dedicated a section to Ceres in his De Mulieribus Claris (On Famous Women) (1361-62), the first collection of biographies of women since ancient times. The many editions of his book were illustrated by different artists in different eras. “Ceres” (1488-96) is the symbol of fertility. She stands with sickle in hand beside two large sheaves of wheat, a blue sky adorned with gold stars is the background. Her sickle was intended not only to be used to cut grain. Ceres was believed to be the protector of crops and of agriculture in general. 

The name Ceres has its origins in an Indo-European root word kehr which meant to satiate and to feed. The Italian word crescere meant to grow; the Roman word was cerews.  From these base words, we have the word cereal. 

In another addition of Boccaccio’s book “Ceres” (1440) represents another aspect of the goddess. Ceres taught men how to plow and work the earth. Dressed in the medieval fashion of a queen, Ceres sits on a throne placed in a landscape. Her hand directs the sower to spread the seed, while two men spur on the oxen to pull the plow through the field to make it ready for the seeds.

The porcelain statue of “Ceres” (!770-71) (21”x15”) was created by Dominikus Auliczek (1734-1804) at the Nymphenburg Porcelain Works in Munich. Ceres is represented classically in the nude. Auliczek created curves throughout the composition. A curved and draped blue cloth is placed strategically. Her dynamic pose accentuates the graceful curves of her body. She holds a large, curved wheat sheaf, bound by a red ribbon.  At her feet, another sheaf of wheat bends downward and also is tied with a red ribbon. The triangular shapes of the blue drapery add stability to the figure. The wheat sheaves bend to the left, but she looks to the right. Her hair is decorated with a crown of kernels of wheat and seeds.

Auliczek studied sculpture in Vienna (1752-53), then in Paris (1754), London (1756-59), and Rome (1756-59). He was awarded a prize in sculpture in 1759, and Pope Clement XIII awarded him the Order of the Golden Spur, which conferred nobility.  He joined the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory in 1763.  He was a major designer until he retired in 1797. At the same time (1763-1797) he was Court Sculptor and created large figures of Jupiter, Juno, Pluto, and Persephone for the palace gardens.

“Eta/Summer” (1896) (41”x21”) is from the first series of The Seasons, created by Czech artist Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939). He studied art in Munich and then at the Academie Julian and the Academie Colarossi in Paris (1888). He painted portraits and subjects from history. He was discovered by the actress Sarah Bernhardt in 1894, and his life changed dramatically. Bernhardt was starring in Sardou’s play Gismonda, which was so popular the run was extended beyond December 1894. She wanted posters to announce the extension. Mucha’s posters for Gismonda hit the streets of Paris on January 1, 1895, and they were a sensation. Bernardt ordered four thousand copies and gave Mucha a six-year contract. The publisher Champenois began to order work from Mucha. His posters were the major influence on the Art Nouveau style that emerged around1900.

“Eta/Summer” is one in the series of four posters in which the seasons are depicted as beautiful, curvaceous young women, intwined with the flowers and plants of each season. Summer sits on the bank of a river, her feet dangling in the water, and her head and arms resting on a curving grape vine. Her long, brown hair is draped in the same manner as the folds of her garment that is draped over the bank. She wears an off-white gown, and her hair is adorned with a crown of red poppies. Poppies frequently were woven into the wheat crowns of priestesses and devotees of Ceres. Poppy seeds also were present in the Mediterranean region and were used as a mild sedative by 2700 BCE.  The flowers were associated with Demeter and Ceres as a symbol of fertility, sleep, death, and rebirth. The plants were cultivated in Greek and Roman wheatfields as a source of protein, fiber, calcium, and magnesium. 

“Ceres” (1930), is an aluminum Art Deco sculpture at the top of the Chicago Board of Trade Building by Chicago-born sculptor John H. Storrs (1885-1956).  Ceres wears a crown, and she holds a sheaf of wheat in her left hand and a bag of corn in her right hand. The sculpture consists of 40 sections, is 31 feet tall, and weighs 6,500 pounds. 

The goddess Ceres is represented in several America states. Her image appears on the state seal of New Jersey. Sculptures of Ceres are placed at the tops of the Missouri State Capitol and the Vermont State House. Named after the goddess Ceres, a town located in the San Joaquin Vallery south of San Francisco is one of the richest agricultural areas in California. 

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Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown six years ago, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and Chesapeake College’s Institute for Adult Learning.  She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

Guiseppe De Nittis (1846-1884) was born in Barletta, Italy, a port on the Adriatic Sea. He became an orphan at age ten and was raised by his older brother. He attended the Realist Institution de Bella Art in Naples beginning in 1861. He was expelled in 1863, and he said “I became my own sole master.” He pursued plein-air painting and he began exhibiting in Turin in 1867, and in that same year, he moved to Paris. He visited London for the first time in 1873.  De Nittis saw the two cities with fresh eyes and immediately began to paint what he saw. He was befriended by Manet and Degas, who introduced him to the developing style of Impressionism. De Nittis’s style became a combination of Realism and Impressionism as he depicted the cultural sites of his time. His work was in demand.

De Nittis and his wife Leontine made annual trips to London beginning in 1874. London banker Kaye Knowles became a patron, and he commissioned ten paintings. He willed these to the National Gallery in London, to insure De Nittis’s work would be well represented. “The Serpentine, Hyde Park” (1874-77) (11”x14”) is a depiction of the forty-acre artificial lake Queen Caroline commissioned in 1730 as an addition to the park Henry VIII established in 1536. The Serpentine Lake became one of the most popular attractions for royals and commoners alike. 

De Nittis’s combination of Realism and Impressionism is evident in the painting. The dark trunks of the trees at the front are painted realistically, as are the spring green and yellow leaves on the trees. The wide lawn stretching back to the lake is painted a soft, grassy green.

The Serpentine Lake, midway in the composition, is where the visible brushwork and colors of Impressionism take over. The visitors in the park are represented by dots and dashes of paint. De Nittis carefully composed the water that sparkles in the sunlight and the reflections from the trees. Artistry, not accuracy was the intention. The Serpentine Bridge, built for carriages to enter the Park, like the trees was painted a soft blue-gray color. The sky and clouds are painted in the manner of the Impressionists with the complementary colors of blue and orange.

De Nittis painted “Elegant Women in Hyde Park, London” (1876) (17”x13”) in a realistic style. Like his friend Manet’s early works, it was concentrated on the beautiful people elegantly dressed. In the height of fashion, the ladies wear blue and light orange striped dresses. They are high-waisted with cascading layers of ruffles. The shoulders of the dresses are softly sloped, and the necks are low, allowing for the display of choker necklaces. No longer tied under their necks, hats are perched at an angle atop high, curled hairstyles.

Hyde Park was created for entertainment. Carriage and horseback rides and strolling were only some of the activities. In the 18th Century, Hyde Park was the location for 172 duels. It was the site of the Great Exhibition of 1851, where England showed the latest developments in engineering, science, and art. The exhibition was housed in the Crystal Palace, designed by the architect Joseph Paxton and constructed of iron and glass.

“Palace of Westminster” (1878) (43’’x76’’) illustrates that De Nittis was equally accomplished when chose to embrace Impressionism, albeit with just a touch of Realism. He creates two diagonals in the painting: Westminster Bridge at the lower right and the Houses of Parliament at the center. The onlookers on the bridge are London commoners. All wear trousers and jackets which would have been made of heavy course fabric and bowler hats, popular among the working class in the 19th Century. The woman with the child wears a dark dress, a white apron, and a scarf tied around her head. They were the clothes of the working class.

At sunset, the workers on the bridge have stopped to rest on their way home.  The rosy pinks and oranges of the sunset are reflected in the blue-gray water of the Themes River. The Houses of Parliament were rebuilt by architects Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin after the destructive fire in October 1834. The details of the Gothic Revival style of the Houses of Parliament are obscured by fog. De Nittis displays the two famous towers. The square Victoria Tower, 323 feet tall, at the left, was designed by Barry to resemble a castle keep. At the far right, the Elizabeth Tower, more commonly called Big Ben, 315 feet tall, was designed by Pugin. The five bells in the belfry strike the Westminster Chimes every quarter hour. De Nittis has included the smaller towers: the Central Tower, 299 feet tall, and the two smaller towers, one for the speaker of the House of Commons, and the other for the Lord Chancellor. 

De Nittis captured in paint all the important London landmarks. In “The National Gallery and St Martin’s Church in London” (1878) (32×44) his style of Realism is on display. The façade of the National Gallery, at the left side of the canvas, is the same one that visitors see today. It was open to the public in 1838.  Londoners of all types stroll along the wide sidewalk. Men and women of fashion, children with their parents, some walking and some in strollers, a grandmother, carriages, and placard carriers advertising a variety of items are part of a bustling, busy, and interesting street scene.

St Martin-in-the-Fields Church is located at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square.  De Nittis places the church at the center of the composition. This Anglican church marks the center of London, and it is said to be the most famous church in London. A church was located on this site in 1222 and was rebuilt by Henry VIII in 1552. Scots architect James Gibbs rebuilt the church in 1726. He unexpectedly decided to return to the classical style of Greece and Rome rather than the then-popular Gothic Revival style. The façade has a grand set of stairs and six massive Corinthian columns that are topped by a Greek pediment. 

The spire, set behind the pediment, was unique. Composed of three separate sections, two square and one round, it rose to a high peak. Gibbs’s design got mixed reviews when the church was built, but St. Martin-in-the-Fields became the most popular church in London, and the design has been copied in many places, including colonial American churches. 

De Nittis’s friend Degas invited him to participate in the first Impressionist exhibition in1874. De Nittis showed five paintings, but they were poorly displayed. De Nittis did not show with them again. However, his use of the Impressionist style continued. “In the Fields Around London” (1881) (18”x21.5’’) is an example. Women and children lounging in a field of flowers was a popular theme. The white summer dresses show the blue and orange shadows created by sunlight. The shaded grass is a combination of dashes of green, blue, and purple. The fields of flowers are rich with red and green brush strokes. The narrow background of green fields and trees is painted in a realistic manner, but that does not affect the viewer’s pleasure at witnessing this bright sunny day.  

“If one day my son were to ask me where to find happiness, I would answer: in painting.”  (Giuseppe De Nittis)

David Best is known internationally as the builder of impermanent, non-denominational temples. He was born in San Francisco in 1945. He took art lessons at the age of six at the San Francisco Art Institute. He later earned a BFA at the College of Marin and an MFA in sculpture at the San Francisco Art Institute. He created art from found and recycled materials. His work is committed to public art in public spaces, open to everyone to experience.

Best and his crew went to Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada for the first time in the summer of 2000. Using recycled cardboard panels, perforated wood strips, and other recycled materials, they constructed “Temple of Mind.” On the way to Burning Man, one of their crew members was killed in a motorcycle accident. They dedicated the structure him, and it immediately became a place of meditation and remembrance. It was a place to heal and to express deep emotions. The Burning Man community embraced this non-denominational temple. They brought mementos and left heart-felt messages on the walls. One of the tenets of Burning Man is to leave the location in pristine condition.  A tradition at Burning Man is to set the figure of a man on fire on the last Saturday night of the festival. On Sunday night, the last night of the festival, the temple was burned. A tradition was started. 

Best and the crew returned the next year and constructed “Temple of Tears” (2001), followed by “Temple of Joy” (2002), “Temple of Honor” (2003), “Temple of Stars” (2004), and “Temple of Forgiveness” (2007). The tradition continues at Burning Man, and Best and others have taken up the challenge of creating a unique temple for the community each year. Best describes the purpose of the temples: “For people to feel safe, to feel and express deep emotion and so they can heal, the temples must be beautiful and delicate while at the same time being strong to provide comforting support.”

Best and his crew also have constructed temples by request from international groups. The Artichoke group in the United Kingdom, whose purpose is to work with artists to hold events in public spaces, asked Best to construct a temple in 2013.  Best had a house in southern Ireland and was familiar with the conflict between Catholics and Protestants. Derry/Londonderry, Ireland (2015) was seventy feet tall. Best commented “You have to tread very lightly.  There are two sides to that: one is that it’s somebody else’s culture and somebody else’s country; the other is that it’s all one. We are here on Earth just as visitors. You have to be very humble and very quiet. Best continues, “One of the things I want to emphasize is that I’m not coming to Derry-Londonderry to try to change their tradition of the Protestants’ fire and the Catholics’ fire. I’m just offering an additional option where they can build a fire together.” Protestants and Catholics did come together in the temple. They left photos, letters, and mementos, and they also left their weapons.

After the renovation of the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C., was finished in 2018, the Gallery organized the exhibition “No Spectators: the Art of Burning Man.” Best created “Temple” inside one of the museum’s spacious galleries.  As the title of the exhibition states, visitors were not to be just spectators but were encouraged to participate, and they did. The following message was displayed: “This temple is a sacred place for memorial and reflection.  It’s intended to bring healing to the world, and it was built by many hands, all who have lost something. Many places exist for celebration, but few places are created to honor the universal human experience of grieving and loss. This is such a place.”  Gallery visitors covered the interior of the structure with messages on wood blocks and messages on the walls. It was inspiring, memorable, and cathartic, even though the temple was not burned.

“Temple of Time” (2019) (35’ tall) was opened on February 14, 2019, on the one-year anniversary of the massacre of 17 victims at the Margery Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The temple was set on fire on May 19, 2019. Best chose the title “because only time would heal such grief.” Best and his crew were sensitive to the situation, and they selected workers from the community to help with the build: “Work is healing. That is what we offer to a handful of people: the option to work, and working, they started to find the healing process, and by the end more than 600 people participated. So, working with families and friends who lost someone dear to them, they begin to be able to have forward motion.”

Best thought he would be working with 17 families who had lost someone in the massacre, but he discovered families of the wounded, firefighters, first responders, and community members also suffered.

 

Each temple Best and Crew have built is different; however, all were intricate structures. Layer upon layer of elaborately cut wood designs covered the walls, while creating another pattern of holes for light.

“Temple of Time” was part of a larger project Inspiring Community Healing after Gun Violence: The Power of Art.  Among the 600 participants were a group of young adults from a community group in Coral Springs, Florida, that provides training, employment, and housing for young autistic, intellectually, and developmentally disabled persons. 

The families of three victims were selected to burn the Temple on May 19, 2019. Best wrote in his journal, “What we all understood was that we had a chance to be a part of something precious and profound—that there is no perfect way to address the pain, and that only time will tell what we provided.” Proposed national gun legislation has not been passed by the U.S. Congress.

“Sanctuary” (May 21-28, 2022) (65’ tall) was built in Coventry, England, to commemorate the nation’s loss during Covid. The temple was constructed in the Miners’ Welfare Park in Nuneaton and Bedworth.  More than 195,000 died of Covid. The hilltop location was chosen so the temple could be seen from a distance. Over 400 people from the community and the schools participated in the build.  Best stated: “This past year and a half has not been easy for anyone. We have faced terrible tragedy and great loss. I believe in the power of collaboration and community, that by recognizing pain and sadness, and laying down our burden, we can face the future from a place of hope and renewal. That is what I hope Sanctuary will bring to the people of Nuneaton & Bedworth, West Midlands, and everyone who makes the journey here.”

Among the seven torchbearers selected to set the fire to the temple was the Very Reverend John Whitcombe, Dean of Coventry Cathedral.  Helen Marriage, artistic director of Artichoke observed, “The thousands of visitors who have streamed into the memorial and left messages and the thousands more who came to watch it burn have shown how necessary it was.”

“The world is going to need temples. They won’t burn anymore, we can’t burn them. We’ll build them out of materials that can decompose and turn them into gardens, community farms, and parks for children and families.” (David Best)

 

Shiva Ahmadi was born in 1975 in Tehran, Iran. She lived through the Iranian Revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979, and then the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to August 1988. She received a BA in 1999 from Azad University, founded on May 21, 1982. She moved to the United States to attend graduate school, and she received an MFA in drawing (2003) from Wayne State University in Detroit. She completed a residency in painting and sculpture at the Skowhegan School in Maine, and she received a second MFA in 2005 from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. 

When the United States bombed Iran in 1999, the same year she came to America, Amadi’s traumatic childhood memories flooded back. The style and themes of her art took a new direction. The traditional art of Iran, the Persian miniature, had seemed to Ahmadi “kitsch and ugly and old.” But she turned to them: “I became an obsessed student. I like to make the surface look very colorful and vibrant. I used it as a tool to deceive and get people to pay attention to the story hidden in there.”

 

“Untitled #6” (2012) (10”x8”) (watercolor) is from the series Thrones for Sale. The chaos of war, regime changes that inevitably became corrupt, and the situation in her homeland and the world at large, have become major influences on her work. “In Iran we have a Supreme Leader. His decisions affect people’s lives directly. He is a king, a monarch, a dictator. His minions, even though they know he is wrong, still support him.”  In “Untitled #6” a male figure is seated in the Buddhist lotus position, ironically the pose of meditation. He wears a black and white checked keffiyeh. Abadi combines the Persian tradition of the turban with the Islamic scarf tradition. The keffiyeh was for protection from sunburn, dust, and sand. In the 20th Century, it has become a symbol for support of the Islamic Republic and its ideas.

The flaming golden halo is a traditional image representing Mohammad in Persian manuscripts. However, Abadi’s halo contains the red flames of a destructive fire. The faces of her figures are always covered in blood. The male figure holds a bomb in his right hand. The throne is painted in gold and decorated with patterns from ancient Persian manuscripts. The throne is a wall with protective spikes. The throne appears to float in space on an enormous lotus blossom. The lotus flower is a significant symbol in several Eastern religions. Lotus flowers grow in mucky water, but they emerge unblemished and beautiful. The flowers close at night, receding into the muddy water, and they return as the sun rises. They are symbols of rebirth, resilience, and strength. Abadi’s painting presents the contradiction and tension of the modern world. 

A closer look at the image also reveals an irregular pattern in the cream-colored background. Abadi creates additional tension by sprinkling hair, rice, and salt granules randomly on the page before painting the color. She often employs this technique.

 

The Iranian economy depends on oil sales. The oppressive Iranian political regime controls everything. “Oil Barrel No. 5” (2009) (34.5’’ tall) (oil paint on steel) is one of a series of recycled steel oil barrels she painted with elaborate Persian miniature elements, including gold leafy vines and red and white flowers. Gold shields have large ragged holes torn in them from which blood, not oil, flows. Ahmadi paints animals from Persian miniatures, but they are abstracted and distorted. The white-horned figure at the right has the feet of a prancing horse, a blood-red mask for a face, and an abstract figurative element behind it. At the left, a headless brown horse, seen from the rear, charges into a headless yellow and gold striped animal.  Its coloring suggests it is a leopard, but its shape resembles a horse. White lines, representing ropes, circle the figures. White arrows or spears fly in various directions. Chaos and danger are suggested within the brilliantly colored scene. Ahmadi’s oil barrels are in museums and private collections around the world.

Ahmadi also has decorated pressure cookers, inspired by terrorists’ use of pressure cooker bombs beginning in 2010. She saw the irony of a domestic item used to feed people being used to murder them. She commented that her images from Persian and Indian miniatures were “illustrating heroic stories from Islamic mythology and the Koran. Beauty and chaos, good and evil–it is all here. Our world is a bundle of contradictions.” She ordered the pressure cookers from Amazon.

 

“Pipes” (2013) (41”x61’’) (watercolor) (Metropolitan Museum) contains many of Ahmadi’s artistic elements. Her choice of watercolor as a medium is more apparent in this larger work: “You can’t erase anything or paint over the water…water runs and is out of control. It is transparent, temperamental, and honest…If I make a mistake, I can’t do anything about it, which makes it scary but at the same time exciting. I don’t think there is any other medium that shows instability better than water.” Flowing from the green carpet is a large puddle of red paint, or is it blood? 

The painting has her characteristic mottled beige background. A ruler sits on a Persian carpet under an elaborate Persian canopy. Minions pay homage to the leader. However, the minions have either monkey faces or faces covered in blood. All the figures hold grenades or bombs. The “Pipes” represent an oil refinery that floats in the air. Birds, arrows, spears, and ropes are scattered throughout the painting. On top of the canopy, a horse’s legs are impossibly conjoined. At the lower left, one four-legged animal appears to be nursing or biting a second animal. Both of their heads are covered with blood. Ahmadi explains her painting: “They are about the chaos and the instability in the world right now, whether it is in the Middle East or elsewhere.” 

“Untitled 5” (2014) (30”x22’’) (graphite and ink on paper) is from a series of drawings.  The angels are common figures in Persian miniatures. She

describes the series: “Whoever gets into power, they get the bomb in their hands and just play around with it, with no regard for people’s lives.” 

 

The “Strait of Hormuz” (2018) (40”x60’’) (watercolor) is a reference to one of the most important strategic pathways for international trade. It is 90 nautical miles long and varies in width from 21 to 52 nautical miles. Twenty-one million barrels of oil, over $1 billion, were shipped through the Strait every day. Iran has threatened over the years to close the Strait. To protest America’s proposed sanctions, Iran, for the first time, tested a missile in August 2018. 

The sapphire blue of the Strait flows down the center of the composition. Chaotic images are placed on either side. At the top left, a monkey man fiddles with the tanks and tubes of a nuclear or oil plant. At the bottom left, is a grouping of abstract wheels, blood, and a monkey man desperately holding onto a rope. More wheels, ropes, monkeys, blood, and a toppled horse are tangled under a canopy at the upper right. In the middle of the Strait, a prancing horse with bones for a head carries a golden goblet full of richly colored abstract patterns. At the lower right, two monkey-men figures walk away triumphantly lifting abstract trophies into the air. Interpretation of Ahmadi’s work is ultimately left up to the viewer. She stated in a 2020 interview, “One of the books I read during this time [her childhood] was the Farsi version of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. What I loved most was the allegory and how the message was hidden and wrapped in layers and conveyed through animals.”

Ahmadi became an Associate Professor of Art at the University of California at Davis in 2015, and she now lives in the Bay Area. She was one of ten women awarded the prestigious Anonymous Was A Woman award in 2016. The award included a $25,000 grant. Her works also include animated videos and ceramics. She said, “Ceramic is clay, and clay is the land. And the land is what I am worried about all the time.”  

A recent theme in Ahmadi’s work was inspired by the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe vs Wade in June 2022, and the arrest, beating, and death of Mahsa Amini (September 16, 2022) in Iran for not wearing the proper Islamic hajib, required for all females from age six. During the pandemic, she made rapid watercolor drawings.  She said, “Then I realized, ‘Oh look, they’re all women. It was unconscious. They’re scarred, missing arms and legs. But they’re still standing and strong.”

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Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years. Since retiring to Chestertown with her husband Kurt in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and the Institute of Adult Learning. An artist, she sometimes exhibits work at River Arts. She also paints sets for the Garfield Theater in Chestertown.

If your birth month is May, your flower is the Lily-of-the-Valley. It has been a symbol of purity, love, happiness, motherhood, and luck since ancient times in Greece. In mythology, Apollo created flowers to provide a soft carpet for nymphs as they traveled through the forests of Mt. Olympus. The low-growing flower was sweet smelling, and it was the favorite scent of many royals, including Queen Elizabeth II. Lily-of-the-valley is used today in perfumes created by Estee Lauder and Christian Dior. 

Albrecht Durer Lucas (1828-1919) painted “Lily-of-the-Valley” (1886) (8”x6”). A British still-life painter, he was the son of a sculptor, but we know little about his education and life. He is known for his detailed still-life paintings of flowers. Although a small plant, the Lily-of-the-Valley commands more than half the painting. The plant’s smooth green leaves, with characteristic pointed ends, can grow up to nine inches long and four inches wide. The white bell-shaped flowers grow from one side of a single arching stem that bends gracefully to one side. Lucas placed the lily-of-the valley in a woodland valley, the natural habitat, with ferns that have not yet turned green. Since the lily-of-the valley appears early in the spring, it is associated with happiness and new beginnings. 

Lucas’s small, detailed paintings were shown at the Royal Institute of London, dedicated to scientific education and research. He also exhibited with the Royal Society of British Artists, established in 1823 by artists as an alternative to the Royal Academy.

“Lily-of -the-Valley” (1899) (10”x8”) is by British illustrator Walter Crane (1845-1915) is the subject of Flora’s Feast: A Masque of Flowers, a poem he wrote and illustrated. The poem begins: “The sullen winter nearly spent, Queen Flora to her garden went/to call the flowers from their long sleep/the year’s glad festivals to keep.” Crane illustrated his poem with over thirty flowers. Flora encounters “The little Lilies of the Vale, White ladies delicate and pale.” 

 A Celtic myth tells of the lily-of-the-valley that fell in love with the song of a nightingale. When the nightingale stopped singing, the flower wilted and died, but on the nightingales return in May, the flower bloomed again with joy. References to the lily-of-the-valley and the month of May can be found in the Song of Solomon 2:1-2: “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley. Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.” 

France celebrates La Fete du Muguet (lily-of-the-valley) on the first day of May. King Charles IX began the tradition in 1560 when he was given a sprig of lily-of-the-valley as a lucky charm.  He was inspired to give one to each if the ladies of his court every year on May 1. 

 

Marc Chagall (1887-1985) painted “Lilies-of-the-Valley” (1916) (42”x34”) (oil). He was born in Russia and studied art in St. Petersburg. He was able to go to Paris in 1910 to study art, and he stayed there until 1914. Chagall was a romantic, and very much in love with his wife Bella. Bouquets of flowers were prevalent in his work.  He painted “Lilies-of-the-Valley” while he and his wife were in Russia during World War 1. This exuberant display takes up the entire painting.  The flowers appear to be a gift. They are wrapped in a bright green container, tied with a pink ribbon with two large pink flowers. This painting brightens the home, and brings joy in the absence of real flowers.

 

If your birthday falls between May 21 and June 20, your Native American totem animal is the deer, representing fertility, sensitivity, intuition, and gentleness. Deer have held a specific place in human evolution since the beginning of time. The images in “Three Deer” (15,000 BCE) were found in the Paleolithic caves in Lascaux, France. The deer are well-drawn and each has a large rack of antlers. The deer, lowest in the group and drawn with both black and tan coloring, is a pregnant female. The number of pregnant females in the cave shows how important fertility was at the time. In the cultures of the Middle East, male deer are also depicted on structures to represent protectiveness. Christianity recognizes the deer as a spiritual messenger: “He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.” (Psalms 18:33)

“Deer in Repose” (1867) (40”x32’’) (oil) was painted by Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899). Internationally known for her animal paintings. Bonheur depicts a family of deer resting peacefully in a forest, sunlight falling on them through the leaves. The stag, doe, and two fawns are the image of fertility and gentleness.

 

Deer are a major part of Native American mythology.  The Creek, Cherokee, Chippewa, Chickasaw, Huron, Iroquois, Osage, Shawnee, Navaho, Omaha, Seminole, Choctaw, Pawnee, Ojibwe, and Lakota believe in the myth of Deer Woman. She is one of the “little people,” like the elves and fairies. Deer Woman helps to keep human society under control by punishing those who harm others, particularly those who harm women and children. The deer’s antlers that reach skyward are considered sacred. When the antlers fall off, they grow again, a symbol of regeneration. Many tribes have Deer Clans within the tribe and Deer Dances are common. 

“Deer Dance Kachina” (1973) (6”x5”x6”) is a doll made by the Hopi of Arizona. When young Hopi children reach the age of six, they enter the kachina religious tradition. Kachina dolls are made in the image of the many Kachina Spirits. The “Deer Dance Kachina” teaches the children the necessity of respecting the deer spirit to increase the deer population as a continuing source of food. The doll is carved from natural materials, and it is in a dancing pose. The antlers protruding from the head, and the black nose and mouth are prominent features. The dancer holds a stick in each hand to represent the front legs of the deer. Feathers are placed around the dancer’s head, and a bright green juniper collar circles his neck. Bells circle his legs, adding sound to the dance. Hopi children learn the stories of the various kachinas and are taught to revere the kachina spirits. 

Note: Lily-of-the-valley is poisonous to humans if eaten. However, fairies are said to drink from the flower’s cup. 

Artists frequently have painted their mothers. The best-known painting is James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s of his mother. It has become an icon.

James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. His parents were Anna Matilda McNeill and George Washington Whistler, a widower with three children. Anna and George had an additional five children, but only two lived to be adults: James and his brother William. Whistler’s father was a civil engineer who was commissioned to build the railroad between Moscow and St. Petersburg. Whistler received his first art lessons when his mother enrolled him in the Imperial Academy of Art in St. Petersburg. His father died in Russia in 1849, and the family returned to Connecticut. Although they were poor, Anna saw that her sons were educated in private schools. Anna moved to London in 1863 and lived with James, near his studio. She was religious and a conservative, but she tolerated James’s flamboyant life style and even made friends with some of his friends. Whistler ended letters to his mother with “your fond though faulty son.”

“Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1” (1871) (57”x64’’) (oil) was the title Whistler gave to the painting. He was interested in creating “art for art’s sake.” He previously had painted three works of his mistress in 1862, 1864, and 1865-67, and he gave them all the title “Symphony in White No. 1” and “No. 2” and “No. 3.”  Whistler said about the painting of his mother, “Take the picture of my mother, exhibited at the Royal Academy as an ‘Arrangement in Grey and Black.’ Now that is what it is. To me it is interesting as a picture of my mother; but what can or ought the public to care about the identity of the portrait?” 

The painting of his mother came about when the model became ill, and Whistler asked his mother to pose instead. He had wanted the figure to stand, but Anna found it too tiring, so he posed her sitting, her feet on a hassock. She is dressed in a black mourning dress with white lace cuffs and a white lace cap and handkerchief. She is frail, but sits erect. She often is described as having been painted with great tenderness but also with a strong will. The painting is set in an empty room with grey walls. The picture on the wall appears to be one of Whistler’s landscapes. The black, white, and grey patterned curtain is Japanese kimono fabric. 

Anna Whistler believed the portrait was a tribute to her, and she referred to it as “my painting.” It was first exhibited in the 1872 London Royal Academy Exhibition. A London Times review said what most people and critics were thinking: “An artist who could deal with large masses so grandly might have shown a little less severity, and thrown in a few details of interest without offense.” 

Whistler said he would never part with the painting, but during periods of financial difficulty, he used it as collateral for loans. Anna Whistler died in 1881. When Whistler’s financial situation became desperate, he finally sold the piece to the French state in 1891 for the Musee du Luxembourg in Paris. “Whistler’s Mother” was the first American painting in the Louvre. 

Rembrandt (1606-1669) painted and drew his mother several times, and she was a frequent model for his students. His father was Haarmen Gerritszoon van Rijn, a miller, and his mother was Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuijtbrouck (1568-1640), the daughter of a baker. Rembrandt was their ninth child. He opened a studio in Leiden in 1625, and he left for Amsterdam at the end of 1631. “Rembrandt’s Mother” (1639) is one of the portraits of his elderly mother. She bends over slightly with age. Her face is that of a gentlewoman, with papery skin and wrinkles. He dressed the figure in a warm fur cape with fringe. An elaborate gold clasp decorates the dress. Rembrandt’s mother was a devout Catholic, and with hands folded, she appears to be praying.

Rembrandt developed his craft during his time in Leiden.  His mother was a free and available model, and one he included in his religious paintings. The subject of the painting “Tobit and Anna with the Kid” (1626) (16”x12’’) (oil) was taken from the Apocryphal Gospels (Book of Tobit 2:11-14). Rembrandt’s mother was the model for Anna. The painting depicts the incident when Tobit, who has been struck blind, hears the kid bleating and accuses Anna of having stolen it. Anna looks at Tobit in disbelief that he would think such a thing of her. 

Even though this is an early work by Rembrandt, his artistic skills are finely honed. His ability to depict elderly people and emotional expression was exceptional. Tobit’s blind eyes, forehead wrinkles, and praying hands with popping veins add to the emotion of the work. Anna’s tough skin and wrinkled face, reddened eyes, and strong hands holding the heavy and wriggling goat are painted masterfully. The cramped room adds to the tension between the couple. Rembrandt has included several domestic details: onions hanging by the window, a basket hanging on the wall, pots and jugs on the back wall, Tobit’s cane, dog, and a small fire. They once had money, but lost it. Tobit’s fine clothes are tattered, and his shoes are ruined.

“Woman with Plants” (1929) was painted by American Regionalist artist Grant Wood (1891-1942) of Iowa. Wood’s mother Hattie DeWitte Weaver Wood was 71 when this work was painted. She moved the family to Cedar Rapids after the death of her husband. Wood was developing his style and concentrated on the portrait, leaving the background somewhat ambiguous. The Woods were simple farmers. Hattie is dressed in a plain black top and a starched and ironed green apron with white rickrack trim.  Her pearl earrings and a cameo brooch are a dressed-up touch. Her grey hair is simply styled. Her hands and face are a study of age.  

Hattie holds a clay pot with a sansevieria plant, a plant found in many homes at the time. It is a hardy succulent that stands upright. The plant has been described as steadfast, like Wood’s mother. She was a woman one could count on. Hattie lived with her son in Cedar Rapids from 1922 until 1935. 

Happy Mother’s Day