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Art in the Northeast

More M.C. Escher drawings enter collection of National Gallery in Washington, D.C.

By Chadd ScottPosted on June 13, 20220 Comments
M.C. Escher, Spider in the Garden (design for a ceramic plate),1920, watercolor and graphite on light brown handmade paper sheet: 25.9 x 24.5 cm (10 3/16 x 9 5/8 in.). National Gallery of Art, Washington. Gift of Michael Schiffman in honor of Rock J. Walker/Walker Fine Art 2021.98.2.
M.C. Escher, Spider in the Garden (design for a ceramic plate),1920, watercolor and graphite on light brown handmade paper sheet: 25.9 x 24.5 cm (10 3/16 x 9 5/8 in.). National Gallery of Art, Washington. Gift of Michael Schiffman in honor of Rock J. Walker/Walker Fine Art 2021.98.2.

The National Gallery of Art holds the preeminent public collection of works—31 drawings and 400 prints—outside Europe by M. C. Escher (1898–1972), the master of optical illusion. Thirteen drawings recently given by Michael Schiffman in honor of Rock J. Walker fill chronological gaps, add new subjects, and provide additional context for several of the National Gallery’s prints.

Among the works included in this recent gift are the following highlights: sketches of a nude woman that directly relate to Escher’s early woodcut Seated Female Nude (1921); a delicate watercolor of a spider in its web that is one of only two known designs the artist made for ceramic plates; and several drawings of landscapes and sites that date to Escher’s early travels in Italy—an experience that remained a primary source of his artistic inspiration.

Demonstrating his growing fascination with mysterious and disorienting architectural environments, Madonna del Parto, Sutri (1927) portrays the enclosed remains of the colonnade of a Roman era Mithraeum in white chalk on black paper to enhance the cave-like atmosphere of the temple space.

Other drawings include two sketches of a woman’s hands (c. 1930) very likely modeled by Escher’s wife Guilietta (Jetta) during the early days of their marriage; the humorous Il Diavolo di Ravello (1931), which shows the devil dressed as a cleric and introduces what would become a recurring devil motif; three design sketches that document Escher’s mathematical approach as he worked out the geometries underlying his most famous visual conundrums in the late 1930s and early 1940s; and Symmetry 131 (1967), comprising black and white flower-filled pentagons and numbering among the 137 fully developed periodic patterns that served as a critical resource for his best-known works.

Escher remains one of the world’s most admired and famous graphic artists.

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Florida Highwaymen Art

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Helen Frankenthaler’s ‘Eden Revisited’ (1967 Helen Frankenthaler’s ‘Eden Revisited’ (1967-1976) sure to brighten your day, it did mine on a recent visit to @sama_art @visitsanantonio. Stunning, vivid, massive (10-plus-feet tall), expressive… up close you can see the paint stains. 
I see so much drama in this painting, so much certainty, confidence. Of all the past artists I could have met, @helenfrankenthalerfoundation would be high on the list.
#helenfrankenthaler #colorfieldpainting #greatwomenartists #femaleartist #womenshistorymonth #yellow #orange #painting #modernart #visitsanantonio
3 showstoppers from @_wiggins_ at @briscoemuseum @ 3 showstoppers from @_wiggins_ at @briscoemuseum @visitsanantonio. Kim’s mark making and color are instantly recognizable and I DIG it! 
#visitsanantonio #westernart #westernartist #santafe #cowboy #purple
Harold Newton (left) and Alfred Hair side-by-side Harold Newton (left) and Alfred Hair side-by-side at @tampamuseumofart. To learn more about the original Florida Highwaymen artist, click the link in my bio.
#floridahighwaymen #haroldnewton #alfredhair #florida #floridalife #floridaartist #floridaart #floridaartists #blackartist #floridahistory
OVERWHELMED by this exhibition of #purvisyoung art OVERWHELMED by this exhibition of #purvisyoung artwork on view at @tampamuseumofart! 
What most caught my eye were all the 18-wheelers. Are these a reference to “urban renewal” and the siting of I-95 through the heart of Young’s #overtown #miami neighborhood. 
As occurred across America during 1950s-80s, so-called urban renewal was a tactic used by white politicians to destroy thriving Black communities by running interstates through them to aide white suburbanites in getting to jobs in town faster.
Young experienced Overtown on both sides of #urbanrenewal and I can’t help thinking all these trucks are commentary on I-95.
#miamilife #tampa #tampaflorida #artmuseum #blackart #blackartist #blackartmatters #selftaughtartist
I was writing about @ronjonofficial for my “My F I was writing about @ronjonofficial for my “My Favorite Florida” column on Rovology.com travel site this morning. My first visit was 86ish, my most recent visit came last month. 
#ronjonsurfshop #ronjon #cocoabeach #cocoabeachflorida #surfing #surflife #80s #80sfashion
“Florida Highwaymen: Dashboard Dreams” closes “Florida Highwaymen: Dashboard Dreams” closes at @aebackusmuseum 2/26. Best chance all year to see original Florida Highwaymen paintings. 
More info about Highwaymen check link in bio.
“Cocktails & Dreams” neon at @treylorparkhitch “Cocktails & Dreams” neon at @treylorparkhitch in #savannah. Who gets it?
#savannahgeorgia #cocktails #tomcruise #movie
Check out this #keithharing ceiling above the @nyh Check out this #keithharing ceiling above the @nyhistory admission desk! It comes from his #soho Pop Shop retail location which he opened in 1986 and was operated by @keithharingfoundation until 2005. 
Second pic his remix of a #subway sign. New-York Historical Society has an AMAZING modern + contemporary art collection. Highlight of my recent visit.
#subwayart #newyorksubway #newyorkhistory #newyorkhistoricalsociety #newyorkcity #newyorklife #streetart #graffiti #graffitiart
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