Jean-Léon Gérôme's "Woman with a Veil"

Nationality: French

Born-Died: 1824-1904

Creation Date: c. 1891

Size: 23.8 x 12.8 in (60.5 x 32.7 cm)

Media: Bronze 

Location: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Art I Hate and Why: "The Politician: A Toy" by Billie Lawless

Nationality: American
Born-Died: Don't know, don't care
Creation Date: 1996
Size: Huge
Media: A bunch of crap glued together
Location: Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

The only thing positive that I can say about this sculpture is that it was funded by private money.  Let fools throw their own money away, in my opinion.

For many years I drove past this artistic horror daily where it instilled in me the feeling that I had just seen a tragic accident involving clown cars. From these firsthand experiences, I can assure you that this sculpture is as asinine in real life as it is in these two photographs and that nothing significant is lost in the translation.  Although the photographs don't show the way the thing moves--its mouth mechanically opens and closes in what is supposed to be a statement about politicians--I would not call that any loss. It is a parody of a child's toy, but it certainly has less visual appeal than one as it was designed with less sensitivity and less wit.  If an artist is going to shamelessly rip off Picasso, they should at least rip off the good aspects of his work--the sensitivity to composition--not merely the cubist trappings.

The garbage art as I will always remember it.

The first picture here perfectly summarizes the way I always experienced this sculpture: like a long joke that wasn't funny amidst the rotted-out background of Cleveland's gray Chester Avenue.*  Because sometimes stains refuse to be scrubbed away, this sculpture has recently been moved from Dunham Tavern to Cleveland State University where it will, no doubt, blight the campus.  When students look at it, I expect it will affect their minds in the manner of huffed lighter fluid, perhaps taking away their will to live a little more each day.  

Gerrit van Honthorst's "Samson and Delilah"

Nationality: Dutch

Born-Died: 1590-1656

Creation Date: c. 1621
Size: 50.75 x 37 inch (129 x 94 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas

Location: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

This scene appears to be quite tender despite the maliciousness of the act.

Greek Sculptor's "Piping and Dancing Satyr"

Nationality: Greek
Creation Date: 300-100 BCE
Size: 8.5 inch (21 cm)
Media: Bronze
Location: The Cleveland Museum of Art

The first photo (the inferior one) is by me.  I like the idea of depicting someone who is dancing, perhaps playing music and essentially rocking out. 

George Bellow's "Boy in a Blue Coat"

Nationality: American
Born-Died: 1882-1925

Creation Date: 1915

Size: 36 × 24 inch (91.5 × 61 cm)

Media: Oil on canvas

Location: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Bust by Roman Sculptor

Nationality: Roman

Media: Marble
Location: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Grant Wood's "January"

Nationality: American
Born/Died: 1891-1942

Creation Date: 1940-1941
Size: 54 x 25.25 x 37 in. (14.2 × 10.2 cm)
Media: Oil on masonite panel
Location: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

I have liked this painting ever since it was acquired by the CMA. Another good move by them.

Rockwell Kent's "Maine Coast"

Nationality: American
Born/Died: 1882-1971
Creation Date: 1907
Size: 34 x 43.937 in. (86.4 x 111.7 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Photo by me.

Cat Sculpture by Unknown Egyptian Artist

Nationality: Egyptian

Media: Stone
Location: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Gilbert Stuart's "Portrait of Elizabeth Beltzhoover Mason"

Nationality: American
Born/Died: 1755-1828

Creation Date: c. 1803-1805
Size: 29 x 24 in. (73.8 x 61 cm)
Media: Oil on canvas
Location: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Photos by me.

Unknown Roman Sculptor

Nationality: Roman

Media: Stone
Location: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA



Photo by me.

Unknown Work by Richard Treaster

Nationality: American

Richard Treaster was an artist from the Cleveland area but few people that I know there know his work. Apparently he enjoyed a long, successful career and was so successful he was able to leave his day-job teaching at the Cleveland Institute of Art--a feat repeated by few there. I have only seen a few of his watercolors in person and I assume most of them are in private collections, but the few that I have seen were very nice. I think his critics say he was "too commercial" but since that criticism is completely irrational I simply dismiss it outright.

Ironically, after college I had the good fortune to be friends and roommates with Treaster's grandson for many years and I could see right away that my friend's mom had been painted in several portraits.

Various Works by Theresa Schmotzer

Nationality: American

Media: Etching (drypoint) on paper (?)
Location: The Cleveland Artists Foundation, Lakewood, Ohio, USA

Theresa Schmotzer's "For the Innocent"

Nationality: American

Size: 10.75 x 8.5 in. (49 x 77 cm)
Media: Etching in (drypoint) on paper
Location: The Cleveland Artists Foundation, Lakewood, Ohio, USA

While not all of Theresa Schmotzer's work is great she did make a good quantity of prints, drawings and watercolors that were quite nice. In particular I remember once seeing a relatively large etching she made of several figures that I thought was wonderful. I remember noting that Schmotzer liked to include interesting and intricate patterns on the outfits that her young women wore and that those patterns looked particularly nice in drypoint. I also enjoyed that her work had a unique style and compositional approach despite it's occasional shortcomings. Unfortunately I have not seen very many works by her although I am sure that I have seen more than most people since I have had the opportunity to work with CAF permanent collection at length. Although I like this piece I wish I had more images of her work in my image library. This particular print is what she is best known for, but it is generous of me to say "known" in this circumstance.

I personally would be very interested to see a thorough, well-presented exhibition of her work. I suspect that such an exhibition could only happen at CAF yet I seriously doubt this idea will ever come to pass. Instead of going out on a limb and doing something new and perhaps a little daring, CAF will probably continue it's dusty parade of "Cleveland Goes Modern" and "Recent Acquisitions" shows for the enjoyment of the same board members year after year. Cleveland has much more to offer than the same home-town heroes (who are practically unknown as far away as Pittsburgh) whose works are shown year after year and it was always bittersweet to see works in their collection that will never see the light of day despite the fact that they had merit.

Works by Emma Lane Payne

Nationality: American
Born/Died: 1874-1935

Location: Private Collection

Emma Lane Payne was another artist whose work I enjoyed when I worked at the Cleveland Artists Foundation and I was fortunate to install the exhibition of her paintings seen below. She was not a great artist, but some of her work was genuinely very nice and sometimes her color sensibilities were very good. I wish I had more images of her work but unfortunately these images, all of which were taken by me, are all I have.

The exhibition was nice, but it should have been edited better. It was too much like a hodgepodge of all her work instead of a showcase of her best work. Also, far too many pieces were given titles by other people under the guise of a "descriptive title." I have already discussed this shameful practice in a previous post but I would like to repeat my criticism of it as it is wholly pointless and extremely disrespectful.

Works by Henry G. Keller

Nationality: American
Born/Died: 1869-1949

Media: Various
Location: The Cleveland Artists Foundation, Lakewood, Ohio, USA

Since I've been going through the images I took of works from the Cleveland Artists Foundation's collection lately I thought I would post Henry G. Keller's work. Some of his work is better than others, but the good ones are very good. I was suprised to learn that Keller exhibited in the famous Armory Show in 1913. There is even a drawing scholarship in his name.

Apologies for the blurry images.

Figure Sketches by Jean and Paul Ulen

Nationality: American
Born/Died: Jean: 1900-1988, Paul: 1894-1976

Media: Graphite on paper
Location: The Cleveland Artists Foundation, Lakewood, Ohio, USA

Jean and Paul Ulen were also artists from the Cleveland area who are hardly well known today. Their drawings were incredibly sensitive and their standards have certainly influenced my studio practice.

I believe that the most common criticism of their work was that they were merely technically skilled and lacked a unique artistic style. I would agree with this criticism to some extent, but many of their "figure studies" included many interesting and subtle stylistic decisions. I consider myself lucky to have had the privilege to catalog and photograph their work for the Cleveland Artists Foundation's archives. Below are some of my photographs of their work.

Five Oil Studies by August Biehle

Nationality: American
Born/Died: 1885–1979

Media: Oil on unstretched canvas
Location: The Cleveland Artists Foundation, Lakewood, Ohio, USA

When I worked at the Cleveland Artists Foundation August Biehle's paintings were among the works I appreciated most from their permanent collection. I do not think he was an amazing artist, but some of his paintings were really nice. Although he is not well known, even in Cleveland, it was always a pleasure to come across his work after wading through the work of many inferior local artists. I was even lucky enough to install an exhibition of his paintings (see below) and I even contributed a few editorial and presentation ideas. These are some of my photographs from that exhibition (2007?)

Pierre Puget's "A Philosopher"

On this Day in the History of Art: Claude Mellan born (1598)

Nationality: French
Born-Died: 1620-1694
Creation Date: 1662
Media: Marble
Size: h 15.5 x w 8.875 x d 10 in. (h 39.4 x w 22.6 x d 25.4 cm)
Location: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

A wonderful bust from the Cleveland Museum, photos by me.

Anthony Van Dyke's "Portrait of a Woman and a Child"

Today is Anthony Van Dyck's birthday so I thought I'd post one of his paintings. This is one of my favorite paintings from the Cleveland Museum of Art.