Katarina Ivanović

I discovered her paintings at the National Museum of Serbia in Belgrade in 2026. Born in Veszprém in 1811, she initially studied painting in Budapest and enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 1835. She later studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich between 1843 and 1845. In February 1876 she became the first woman member of the Serbian Learned Society and one of the founders of the National Museum in Belgrade. She died in 1882.

Luo Li Rong

Chinese sculptor Luo Li Rong produces seemingly light flowing bronze sculptures. She chases areas of the sculpture to simulate white or transparent fabric. See a selection at the Horus Gallery in Antwerp.

Rise with the Breeze

Light Breeze

John White Alexander

John White Alexander (1856-1915) was an American portrait painter, extremely successful in his day but little known today.

From Wikipedia:

[He moved] to New York City and quickly achieved great success in portraiture, numbering among his sitters Oliver Wendell Holmes, John Burroughs, Henry G. Marquand, R.A.L. Stevenson, and James McCosh, the president of Princeton University.

His first exhibition in the Paris Salon of 1893 was a brilliant success and was followed by his immediate election to the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts. In 1889 he painted for Mrs. Jeremiah Milbank a well-received portrait of Walt Whitman and one of her husband, Jeremiah Milbank. In 1901 he was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, and in 1902 he became a member of the National Academy of Design, where he served as president from 1909 to 1915. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He received the gold medals of the Paris Exposition (1900) and the World's Fair in St. Louis (1904).

Contemplation

Green Dress

Portrait of Mrs. John W. Alexander

Study in Green and Black

Repose

Japanese Art

Japanese art, usually in the form of lithographs, are some of the most beautiful and intriguing art works in the world. There are two prominent masters of the art. Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) is most famous for “Under the Wave off Kanagawa” (often called “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”), part of his 36 Views of Mount Fuji series. The second painter whose works I like is Kawase Hasui (1883-1957). He is often referred to as the "painter of clouds," but I much prefer his winter scenes. I would call him the "painter of snow."

After visiting Japan (where I visited the Hokusai Museum), I also discovered an artist whose paintings decorate the Ninomaru Palace located in Nijo Castle in Kyoto. Tan’ yu (1602-1674) excelled at painting pine trees. The execution of pine needles and trunk are exceptional, but the asymmetrical balance is unmatched. Alamy has an image of one of his best.

Apart from paintings, Japanese architecture and furniture are also impressive. In the Ninomaru Palace I saw shelving (chigaidana) that was asymmetrical and well balanced. Unfortunately, as in the case of the pine tree paintings by Tan’ yu above, no photography was allowed inside the castle.

Hokusai - Under the Wave off Kanagawa

Kawase Hasui - Lake Teganuma

Kawase Hasui - Shiba Zojo Temple

Kawase Hasui - Miyajima in Snow

Kawase Hansui - Snow at Sinkyō Bridge, Nikkō

Benjamin Victor

Benjamin Victor is a modern sculptor keeping the classical tradition alive as the Classical Realist painters are. He has the distinction of having three of his sculptures in National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol building, and he is working on his fourth. I am gratified that one of his statues (located in the Statuary Hall) is of the great Norman Borlaug. His website shows dozens of his works: he is quite prolific.

"Victor’s first work to receive attention was a life-size statue of the biblical character Samson, sculpted when the artist was a sophomore art major at Northern State University. The piece earned Victor a scholarship "in recognition of his aesthetic and conceptual integrity" from the prestigious National Sculpture Society in New York City. At age 23, Victor was commissioned to produce his proposal of a trio of soldiers for the Aberdeen Regional Airport War Memorial in South Dakota." (Source: Wikipedia)

Norman Borlaug

Sarah Winnemucca

Cecil E. Harris