Step inside the eye-popping studio of Icelandic illustrator Kristjana S. Williams. Kristjana’s work blends traditional Victorian engravings with digital collage techniques to create layered landscapes full of hidden details. Here, we see a sneak preview of her latest V&A commission: creating a series of original illustrations for a new book, accompanying the exhibition Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser.
Category Archives: Arts & Literature
Art Video: ‘The Mystery Of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers’
The eventful history of Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, which have changed hands many times since they were painted for Paul Gauguin’s arrival in Arles.
Van Gogh’s paintings of Sunflowers are among his most famous. He did them in Arles, in the south of France, in 1888 and 1889. Vincent painted a total of five large canvases with sunflowers in a vase, with three shades of yellow ‘and nothing else’.
Art: “Three Musicians, 1921” By Pablo Picasso (Video)
Three Musicians, 1921 by Pablo Picasso Three Musicians is a large painting measuring more than 2 meters wide and high. It is painted in the style of Synthetic Cubism and gives the appearance of cut paper. Picasso paints three musicians made of flat, brightly colored, abstract shapes in a shallow, boxlike room.
Art History Video: ‘The Ordrupgaard Museum Impressionist Collection’
Our latest exhibition, Gauguin and the Impressionists: Masterpieces of the Ordrupgaard Collection, has humble roots in the home of Wilhelm and Henny Hansen.
In this video produced by Ordrupgaard, discover how the Hansens transformed their private home into a jewel in the crown of the Danish art scene.
The Ordrupgaard museum in Denmark is the permanent home of important works by French Impressionists as well as Danish art from the Golden Age. Learn about the lives of Wilhelm and Henny Hansen, and what circumstances led them to begin this exceptional, methodically acquired collection – part of which is now featured at the Royal Academy.
Cocktails With A Curator: Beechey’s ‘Elizabeth Sophia Baillie’ (Video)
In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon enjoys a Great Maiden’s Blush cocktail while discussing a 1795 portrait of Elizabeth Sophia Baillie (née de Vismes) by Sir William Beechey. A work of mysterious origin—and thought for a century to be by the English portraitist John Hoppner—it was only recently attributed to Beechey by Eloise Owens during her time as a curatorial assistant at the Frick.
To view this painting in detail, please visit our website: https://collections.frick.org/objects…SHOW LESS
Top New Art Books: “The Art Book” – Over 600 Artists Profiled (Phaidon)
A brand-new revised and updated edition of Phaidon’s accessible, acclaimed A-Z guide to the most important artists of all time
Updated for only the third time in its 16-year history, this new edition of the award-winning landmark publication has been refreshed with more than 40 important new artists, including many previously overlooked and marginal practitioners. The new edition spotlights more than 600 great artists from medieval to modern times. Breaking with traditional classifications, it throws together brilliant examples from all periods, schools, visions, and techniques, presenting an unparalleled visual sourcebook and a celebration of our rich, multifaceted culture.
Artists featured for the first time in this edition include: Berenice Abbott, Hilma af Klint, El Anatsui, Romare Bearden, Mark Bradford, Cao Fei, Cecily Brown, Judy Chicago, John Currin, Guerrilla Girls, Lee Krasner, Jacob Lawrence, Kerry James Marshall, Joan Mitchell, Zanele Muholi, Takashi Murakami, Louise Nevelson, Clara Peeters, Jenny Saville, Wolfgang Tillmans, and more.
History: “The Unchained Art Of The Renaissance”
Waldemar Januszczak challenges the traditional notion of the Renaissance having fixed origins in Italy and showcases the ingenuity in both technique and ideas behind great artists such as Van Eyck, Memling, Van der Weyden, Cranach, Riemenschneider and Durer.
Giorgio Vasari, (born July 30, 1511, Arezzo [Italy]—died June 27, 1574, Florence), Italian painter, architect, and writer who is best known for his important biographies of Italian Renaissance artists.
Artist Profiles: Abstract Expressionist Robert Motherwell (1915-1991)

‘Motherwell was one of the finest American painters of the 20th century, most definitely,’ says Dedalus Foundation CEO Jack Flam. ‘His paintings mix raw energy with a spiritual gracefulness that sets them apart.’
Few artists were as intrinsically connected to Abstract Expressionism as Robert Motherwell (1915-1991). Unlike Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock, whose stars burned brightly but briefly, Motherwell remained prolific throughout his 50-year career. He was a searching artist whose output, though determinedly abstract, was also hugely varied.
Motherwell’s ‘Elegies to the Spanish Republic’ series is widely regarded as the high point of his career, with examples found in several major museum collections — they have consistently achieved the artist’s highest prices at auction too.
On Motherwell’s death in 1991, the eminent art critic Clement Greenberg wrote that ‘although underrated today… he was one of the very best of the Abstract Expressionist painters’.
Artist Profile: American Painter Barbara Rudolph
Barbara Rudolph is an Arizona artist specializing in realism oil paintings that most often include a bird. Her painting backgrounds can be either realistic, or contemporary with design elements, but always to showcase the finest of details in her main subject. She will paint many layers, allowing each layer of oil paint to dry in between.
Barbara’s work is often sprinkled with an element of humor, She takes time to photograph and place each object within the scene she paints. “I enjoy getting absorbed in a new painting and letting it gradually reveal its own story”, she says. “The messages and symbolism in my work help to connect viewers to my subjects. I’m always thrilled when someone steps in for a closer look and responds with a laugh or smile.”
Barbara’s appreciation and desire to create art began at an early age. She later earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1990 from her home school of Arizona State University. She first entered the professional world of art through graphic design, which then led her to paint for a variety of fine art publishers for many years to come. She eventually opened her independent home studio where she now works full time.
For more than twenty five years, Barbara’s paintings have been on display in various galleries and also in private collections across the United States and Canada. She is a long standing member of the “International Guild of Realism.” Some of her recent works have been chosen as finalists in the prestigious “Art Renewal Center” Salon competition,” which is the leading revival of realism art.
“Art is such an integral part of my life. It brings me joy to be able to create paintings that bring happiness into people’s lives.”
Arts & Design Podcast: “2020 Venice Glass Week” & Top Brand “Wonderglass”

Monocle On Design: Looking for a crystal-clear take on Venice Glass Week? Monocle’s Ed Stocker checks in with WonderGlass, the brand that bonds traditional Italian craftsmanship with contemporary design.

WonderGlass bonds traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design, providing tailor-made solutions to the worlds of architecture, art and fashion – telling a story through our creations we aim to bring individuals into a delightful WonderLand. A surrealistic and dreamlike atmosphere which creates a seamless landscape of lighting, subtle colours and visual elements forming a world that captures people’s imagination.
Founded in 2013, Christian and Maurizio Mussati built their brand through bespoke glass lighting and installations handcrafted in Murano, working with renowned creative minds including Zaha Hadid, Jaime Hayon, India Mahdavi, John Pawson, Nao Tamura, Marcel Wanders, Dan Yeffet and Hideki Yoshimoto.
Now working with their team of WonderLab artisans in the Venetian region and collaborating with leading names in design and architecture such as Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, nendo, RML (Ana Meier & Hervé Descottes) and WOHA architects – WonderGlass offers architects, artists, developers, hotel designers and museums the opportunity to incorporate artisanal creations into projects of any scale.











