The following is a guest post by Katherine Blood, Curator of Fine Prints, Prints & Photographs Division and Linda Stiber Morenus, Special Assistant to the Director of Scholarly & Educational Programs and longtime paper conservator. Known for his credo “Art for Art’s Sake,” American artist James McNeill Whistler (1834 – 1903) was a virtuoso etcher whose …
Some people contend that great art is distinguished in the attention the artist paid to the most minute details. Artist James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) may be a good case in point in that he even turned his creative energy to the way in which he signed his work. H. Barbara Weinberg of the Department of American …
The following is a guest post by Katherine Blood, Curator of Fine Prints, Prints & Photographs Division. A longer version will appear in On Paper: Journal of the Washington Print Club (Fall 2021). Like poetry, literature, and music—visual art can reflect history, society, politics, and culture in uniquely powerful ways. Artists’ prints typically exist in …
The studio of an artist–the place that allows an artist’s creativity to bloom–always raises so many questions. Is it chosen for some magical combination of the lighting, the location, the size of the artwork involved or types of tools needed? Is it messy, or tidy? Bare bones or full of luxurious decoration? Is it purely …
Although I’m risk averse in most things, I’m a gambler when it comes to choosing my pleasure reading. One of my ongoing sources of literary surprises is the Free Little Library boxes that have sprouted all over my community, stocked alluringly with books my neighbors are ready to pass along. The joys of discovering an …
The following is a guest post by Katherine Blood, Curator of Fine Prints. Picking a favorite Rembrandt might sound about as reasonable as choosing a favorite star or a single book to take to a desert island. But I do have a favorite–Rembrandt’s 1648 etching St. Jerome beside a Pollard Willow. St. Jerome (ca. 342-420) has …
