The Watcher

The Watcher, ca.1914
Paul Henry (1876-1958)
oil on canvas
Private collection,
Image: Grey Art Gallery, NYU

I have a wonderful address book full of Irish paintings with a focus on people & places in Ireland. The art focuses on everyday Irish life. This is not one of the paintings in my book (I wasn't able to find any of my favorites) but it is by one of the artists represented and features a girl in a red skirt.

This painting was part of the exhibition, When Time Began to Rant and Rage: Figurative Painting from Twentieth-Century Ireland, at the Grey Art Gallery at NYU. During the late 19th c. a new emphasis began in focusing on creating a distinctly Irish identity in art. Previous to this time, Irish artists allied themselves with styles of England or the Continent. This painting and others of the time tied the figure and in turn the individual to the Irish land. The painter, Paul Henry, was one of a group who was even more focused on maintaining strong physical and emotional ties to the land, while many still retained an internationalist bent. One can easily catch both the emotion and physicality in the strong rich brushstrokes depicting the girl's skirt and crashing waves she looks out at. A feeling of contemplation by the simple gesture we make through a bit of paint which shows us her left hand resting upon her chin or lower face. The wind blows her skirt back yet she stands tall against it, the dark clouds representing an imminent storm.

List of Northern Irish artists

La Coiffure

Edgar Degas (183401917)
Combing the Hair ('La Coiffure') ca. 1896
Oil on canvas
114.3 x 146.7 cm.
National Gallery, London.

One of my favorite paintings in the National Gallery. I think the initial pull was the monochromatic color. Despite the limited color palette (though there exists a wonderful red palette), the painting stands out. The pedestrian subject matter creates a focus on the detail.

Degas is most well-known for his paintings of dancers, subject matter which has never particularly appealed to me. I prefer these simple interior scenes, reminding me of Vuillard (yet his interiors have a greater focus on pattern). I find it fascinating that the maid has the same color hair as the girl who's hair she combs. It creates an affinity between the women, one that most likely doesn't actually exist outside of the scene Degas presents to us.

The National Gallery is collaborating with the London Film School on a project (Transcriptions) in which the students choose a work in the gallery as inspiration for a short film piece. Here is Mistress inspired by La Coiffure.

I still use brushes

I still use brushes, 1969
Arman (1928-2005)
(American, born France. 1928-2005) Brushes embedded in plastic, in acrylic box, 80 x 80"
Museum of Modern Art


Classified as painting at the Museum of Modern Art, Arman comments on the tradition of painting. I saw this work for the first time recently and was initially sparked by the dimension and color, not yet realizing that it was not a painting per say but objects (paint brushes) encased in acrylic. The detail was fascinating (see image to the right).

Arman worked with large accumulations of objects, rejecting the tradition of painting and sculpture yet continuing to comment on both through his work. The form of objects embedded in resin became a standard for many his works (About this artist, MoMA) Arman was also an avid collector.

Abstract Still

1948-C, 1948
Clifford Still (1904-1980)
Oil on canvas
80 7/8 x 68 3/4 in. (205.4 x 174.6 cm)
Image: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

I'm very excited that the source of this image, online collections of the Hirshhorn provides all the information that you usually have to contact the registrar or library of the owning institution to find out. Provenance, Exhibition history and a bibliography (click on the title to see)

Someone mentioned Clifford Still to me lately and I decided that I need to revisit his work. I never jumped at the opportunity to see a Still, often glazing over galleries of his work in major museums but aware that there are often permanent dedicated galleries to his work if not galleries named after him. This particular work I came across (and may have seen on my one visit to the Hirshhorn) on a blog post. She used as a successful example of an abstract work to prove a point about a bad painting by a DC lobbyist using the same color scheme. While she doesn't say much about 1948-C, her brief criticism of the "bad" painting is telling and a pretty good jumping off point to looking at a more successful painting.

Many have heard people refer to many Modern paintings as something that "my kid could do" or my "kid did something just like that", you may have said something similar yourself. Much abstract Modern work can be very difficult to approach with open eyes, but the more time you take to look the more I believe viewers begin to see beyond the "style". Fall into the color and composition, balance. This is not to say that you'll love it, maybe you will, which would be awesome, but if you have any interest in broadening your level of appreciation, stop and spend a little time with a new abstract painting next time you get the chance. *Note, as we can see by the lobbyist's painting (which I wholeheartedly agree with sparkle pony is crap) not all work is going to be good and that bad work often makes it's way into museums.