Displaying items by tag: war

During a career that spanned much of the 20^th century, Russian artist Marc Chagall (1887-1985) was associated with a number of artistic movements, making a name for himself as a pioneer of modernism. Considered one of the most successful artists of his time, Chagall drew inspiration from his Orthodox Jewish upbringing, a theme that prevailed through the many mediums and styles he explored.  

The Musee de Luxembourg in Paris has organized an exhibition devoted to the artist titled Chagall: Between War and Peace. The show, which focuses on Chagall’s work between 1914, when he developed his own style, and the mid-1950s, when many critics deemed his work repetitive, includes approximately 100 oil paintings, watercolors, drawings and etchings in relatively chronological order.

Between War and Peace is broken into four pivotal periods in Chagall’s life and work. After living in Paris from 1910 to 1914 and associating with many prominent figures of the avant-garde, Chagall returned to his native Russia to be with his future wife, Bella. “Russia in Wartime” explores Chagall’s work from this period, which was haunted by the brutality and horrors that World War I brought to his homeland.

In 1922, Chagall left Russia for Berlin. He soon returned to Paris where he re-established himself as a painter. “Between the Wars” focuses on this period, which includes Chagall’s work as an illustrator. Many of the pieces from this time feature landscapes, portraits of the artist with his wife, circus scenes, and hybrid creatures, which are prime examples of Chagallian bestiary.

In 1937, Nazis seized any works by Chagall that resided in public collections in Germany. As World War II unfolded, Chagall left France for New York, which is the subject of “Exile in the United States.” His work took a somber turn as his native land was ravaged by the war. A particularly productive time for Chagall, he also created a number of works devoted to Bella, who died in 1944.

The exhibition’s final portion, “The Post-War Years and the Return to France,” explores Chagall’s move back to Europe in 1949. During this time Chagall experimented with stained glass, sculpture, ceramics, mosaic, and various engraving techniques. His works from this period radiates with light and emotional tonalities.

Chagall: Between War and Peace is on view through July 21, 2013.

The Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. is currently hosting a number of events commemorating the 150^th anniversary of the arrival of the Emancipation Proclamation (1963) during the Civil War (1861-1865). The exhibition, The Civil War and American Art, focuses on how the devastation, emotions, and revolution associated with the war affected what appeared on the canvas for many artists working at the time.

Now on view at the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum, The Civil War and American Art relies on Winslow Homer (1836-1910), Eastman Johnson (1824-1906), Frederic Church (1826-1900), and Sanford Gifford (1823-1880) to ground the show. Through 75 works including paintings and vintage photographs, the exhibition creates a linear model, which mirrors the progression of the Civil War as a sense of unease on the eve of war transitioned to hope that the conflict would be resolved speedily to the harsh realization that there were too many wrongs to be righted quickly. Genre and landscape painters best captured the transformative effect of the Civil War as amber waves of grain were reduced to trampled crops, burned-down trees, and blood-soaked fields littered with bodies. There was also much to grapple with as the war ended and the country was left to restore itself and its identity.

The photography component of the exhibition includes snapshots taken on the battlefield by Alexander Gardner (1821-1882), Timothy H. O’Sullivan (1840-1882), and George Barnard (1819-1902). These photographs, which document the Civil War’s carnage and destruction, shed light on the very real devastation that was suffered by many.

The Civil War and American Art will be on view at the Smithsonian through April 28, 2013 and will travel to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (May 21-September 2, 2013) in New York after its run in Washington.

One of the biggest sales at Doyle New York’s Rare Books, Autographs, and Photographs auction on November 5 was an important letter by George Washington. Purchased by a private collector for $362,500, the letter surpassed its pre-sale estimate of $80,000-$100,000. It was the fourth highest price paid at auction for a letter by Washington and the highest price for a single-page letter.

Written to James McHenry, Washington’s wartime aide on December 10, 1783, the President writes of his intention to resign as Continental Commander and become “translated into a private Citizen.” The letter was sold with McHenry’s archives in 1859 to Baltimore collector William T. Walters. It remained in Walters’ family until it was offered at Doyle’s auction.

The entire sale totaled $1,604,594, surpassing the pre-sale estimate of $849,200 to $1,255,000 and 90% of lots sold. Besides George Washington’s letter, major sales included John Webster’s The Deuils Law Case… (1623), the first quarto edition, which achieved $25,000; a set of Author’s Autograph Edition of Whitman that sold for $22,500; and a letter from Paul Gauguin to Camille Pissarro that brought $28,125.

Known for his fashion and portrait photography, Cecil Beaton (1904–1980) also served as a wartime photographer, snapping more than 7,000 pictures between 1940 and 1945. It wasn’t until recently that 120 of these images were discovered in London’s Imperial War Museum’s Photograph Archive. Depicting life in Britain during the World War II, the photographs entered the Museum’s collection in 1948 when the Ministry of Information’s photo archive was transferred to the museum. The photographs, which had been filed by subject matter rather than photographer, had remained unattributed until now.

To celebrate the hidden treasure, the Museum will hold the exhibition “Cecil Beaton: Theatre of War through January 1, 2013.