F. Holland Day, the creator of this work, would be considered something of an eccentric today. In fact, he was considered something of an eccentric in his own day, as well. Day was the son of a successful businessman in Norwood, Massachusetts, and early on showed an interest—nurtured by his parents—in art and literature. Though he did not attend college, Day quickly fell in with a crowd of bohemians in Cambridge and Boston, with whom he carried out wide-ranging discussions on art, beauty, and life, often over beers in one of a number of out-of-the-way taverns on either side of the Charles River (which divides the cities of Cambridge and Boston). During this period Day became fascinated by the work of British artist and social reformer William Morris, whose Kelmscott Press produced lavish editions of works by Romantic poets and copies of illuminated Medieval manuscripts, among other delights. Determined to follow in Morris’s footsteps, Day established the firm of Copeland and Day with a friend. They quickly made an impact on the American art book market, producing the first American editions of such important works as Oscar Wilde’s Salomé and the periodical The Yellow Book, both illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley.
Work of the Week: Danh Vo, “We The People”
Danh Vo’s We The People sheds light on the fragility and malleability of the concepts of freedom and democracy. Created as a series of 250 pieces, it recreates a full-scale replica of the Statue of Liberty, originally constructed by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi. Vo intentionally broke up the replica, its many pieces entering the permanent collections of museums worldwide. The fragments’ diasporic trajectory recall the multiplicity of individual journeys that made their way at the foot of Lady Liberty as they reached Ellis Island. Inherently woven into its many segments is the lingering symbolism of the immigrant dream. But the stakes of that dream have changed, revealing the intricate power systems controlling the arm of democracy.
Work of the Week: Artist Marcus Jansen, “Plot #2”
Marcus Jansen (American, b. 1968) Plot #2, 2018, oil, enamels, mixed media on canvas, 60 x 48 in. Given by […]
Work of the Week: James McDougal Hart, “Summer Landscape”
James McDougal Hart (American, 1828-1901), Summer Landscape, 1857, Oil on canvas, 12 1/4 x 8 1/4 in. Purchased with funds […]
Work of the Week: David Hilliard, “Wiser than Despair”
David Hilliard(American, b. 1964), Wiser Than Despair, 2012, C-print, 24 in. x 80 in. The AlfondCollection of Contemporary Art at […]
Work of the Week: Emilio Sanchez, “Untitled, Blue House with White Shutter, St. Barts”
Sanchez was born in Cuba, to a wealthy family that was involved in the sugar trade. Like other members of Cuba’s pre-Revolutionary upper class, he was mostly educated in the United
States. After a few years in Florida, he made his was to the Northeast, where he overlapped at Choate with future President John F. Kennedy. After college (Yale followed by the University of Virginia), he studied at the Art Students League, splitting his time between his father’s estate in Cuba, his mother’s residence in Mexico, and New York. He also traveled throughout the Caribbean, gathering subject material for his prints and paintings depicting the bright sunshine and vernacular architecture of the region.
Work of the Week: Rafael Trelles, “La autopista del sur (The Southern Highway)”
At its simplest definition, Magical Realism is a genre of art (including visual art and literature) characterized by the inclusion of fantastical elements or events in an otherwise realistic setting. The term was most famously first applied by Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier to describe what he saw as a growing trend in Latin American literature of the time, and is most famously associated with Latin American art. Although Magic Realism is often labeled as Surrealism, the key difference is that Surrealism is based in images of the subconscious, of dreams, and Magic Realism deals in, well, reality.
Work of the Week: Caitlin Keogh, “Renaissance Painting”
Caitlin Keogh (American, b. 1982), Renaissance Painting, 2016, Acrylic on canvas, 84 x 63 in., The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art at Rollins […]
Work of the Week: Antonio Martorell, “¿Quéslaque? Es que la…”
Antonio (“Toño”) Martorell (born 1939) is a Puerto Rican multi-media artist, educator, and writer, and a pillar of Caribbean contemporary art history. An intellectual, an artist of artists, and an artist of and for the people, Martorell‘s prolific body of work spans over six decades, consistently making references to the histories, diversity and resilience of Puerto Rican culture in face of adversity.
Work of the Week: Catherine Yass, “Lighthouse (North north west, distant)”
Catherine Yass (British, b. 1963), Lighthouse (North north west, distant), 2011, Photographic transparency, lightbox, 50 ¾ x 40 ¾ in., The Alfond Collection of Contemporary […]
Work of the Week: Hiram Powers, “Faith”
Hiram Powers (American, 1805-1873), Faith, ca. 1867, white seravezza marble, 29 in. x 20 in. x 12 in. sculpture, Gift of Hiram Powers II, grandson […]
Work of the Week: Amy Sillman, “After Metamorphoses”
Amy Sillman (American, b. 1955), After Metamorphoses, 2015-16, Single-channel video on 5:25 min. looped, color, sound. The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art at Rollins […]
Lavinia Fontana: The Dead Christ with Symbols of the Passion
Outside of my bias of having been trained as an Italienist, The Dead Christ with Symbols of the Passion, is […]
Work of the Week: Becky Suss, “Houseboat on Dull Lake in the Valley of K”
Becky Suss (American, b. 1980), Houseboat on Dull Lake in the Valley of K, 2019, Oil on canvas, 84 x 144 in. The Alfond Collection […]
Work of the Week: Käthe Kollwitz, “Untitled (Mob [Family] with Dead Child)”
Käthe Kollwitz (German, 1867–1945), Untitled (“Mob [Family] with Dead Child”), n.d., Dry point etching, Gift of Mrs. Ruth Funk, Cornell Fine Arts Museum 2001.04.09.PR […]