Thursday, July 31, 2025

John White Alexander

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

From Wikipedia:

[H e 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).
ContemplationGreen Dress

Portrait of Mrs. John W. AlexanderStudy in Green and Black

Repose

Saturday, July 19, 2025

Japanese Art

Japanese art, usually in the form of lithographs, are some of the beautiful and intriguing art works in the world. There are two prominent masters of the art. Katsushika Hokusai (usually referred to simply as Hokusai) is famous for the Under the Wave of Kanagawa (often referred to as "The Great Wave of Kanagawa"), part of his 36 Views of Mount Fuji series. The second is Kawase Hasui, known as the painter of clouds.

Hokusai - Under the Wave of Kanagawa

Kawase Hasui - Lake Teganuma

Kawase Hasui - Shiba Zojo Temple