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.
Tobi Kahn (American, b. 1952), Patuach Sagur Patuach, 2012, acrylic on wood, 9 3/4 x 12 3/8 x 8 3/4 in., A Gift from the Acorn Foundation, funded by Barbara and Theodore Alfond, in honor of Bruce A. Beal Director Ena Heller. 2015.8.1 © Tobi…
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 of the artist and Rollins College professor 1976.31 Hiram Powers was celebrated during his time as the foremost American sculptor,…
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 College, Gift of Barbara ’68 and Theodore ’68 Alfond, 2017.6.62. Image courtesy of the artist. My first introduction to Greco-Roman…
Daniel Lind-Ramos (Puerto Rican, b. 1953), Vencedor: 1797 (Victorius: 1797), 2018-2019, Mixed media, 67 x 70 x 33 in. The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art at Rollins College, Gift of Barbara ’68 and Theodore ’68 Alfond. 2020.1.1 ©Daniel Lind-Ramos The sculpture Vencedor: 1797 was…
Willem de Kooning (American, 1904-1997), Two Women, 1973, Lithograph on paper, 18 x 15 in. Museum Purchase from the Wally Findlay Acquisition Fund, 1997.13 A monolith in American Abstract Expressionism, Dutch-born artist Willem de Kooning had a diverse artistic career lasting for over five decades.…
Outside of my bias of having been trained as an Italienist, The Dead Christ with Symbols of the Passion, is one of the most important Old Masters in our collection (as a mature work by one of the few female…
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 of Contemporary Art at Rollins College, Gift of Barbara ’68 and Theodore ’68 Alfond, 2019.2.22. Image courtesy of the artist…
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 Where history provides perspective and comparison, art provides context and comfort. Historical art often provides both. That is why I…
Carmen Herrera (Cuban, 1915-2022), Untitled, 2013, Acrylic on canvas, 72 3/64 x 36 7/32 in. The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art at Rollins College, Gift of Barbara ’68 and Theodore ’68 Alfond, 2014.1.32. © Carmen Herrera. Image courtesy of the artist and Lisson Gallery, London,…
Shirin Neshat (American, Iranian, b. 1957), In Deference, 2018, Dye-sublimination on aluminum, 25 9/16 x 40 in. The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art at Rollins College, Gift of Barbara ’68 and Theodore ’68 Alfond, 2018.1.23. Image courtesy of the artist. I first encountered Shirin Neshat’s…
Dawoud Bey (American, b. 1953), Janice Kemp and Triniti Williams, 2012, Archival pigment prints mounted on dibond, 40 x 64 in (40 x 32 in individually), Museum purchase from the Kenneth Curry Acquisition Fund, 2015.9., Image courtesy of the artist and Rena Bransten Gallery A…
Jacob Lawrence (American, 1917-2000), Revolt on the Amistad, 1989, Silkscreen, 35 x 25 3/8 in. Museum Purchased from the Wally Findlay Acquisition Fund, 1995.26., © 2020 Jacob Lawrence/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York A group of massed, twisting figures, rendered in bright, even color, struggle…
Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Emory Douglas moved with his mother to San Francisco when he was eight. At age 21 he began taking commercial art classes at City College, working as a designer and printer at local advertising agencies…
I recently read Jennifer Egan’s historical novel Manhattan Beach, a noir thriller that transported me to New York during World War II. The main character, Anna Kerrigan, comes of age at a time when the country grappled with war abroad and its effects at home. Resilient and determined, Anna works at the Brooklyn Naval Yard as a diver repairing ships. The rich descriptions of the naval yard, the city streets, and the dark, smoky nightclubs, paint a vivid picture of the context in which she lived and worked. Newspapers reported on the war in Europe, and she learned of individuals’ experiences through letters and friends’ accounts. While reading, I thought about how young women experienced the city at this historical moment.
