United States

Still Life with Flowers

Still Life with Flowers by Florine Stettheimer

How can an artist make a still life move?

By the 1920s Stettheimer developed her own take on still-life painting; her “eyegays” feature tabletop floral arrangements as the means for exploring the effects of her brilliant palette. In 1946 the critic Henry McBride commented that “the blossoms in her vases wriggled upward with a whimsicality in the stems.” In this work, Stettheimer used bold, vibrating colors to animate a bowl of phlox, a perennial wildflower.

The Bridge

The Bridge by John Koch

How would you want your bedroom to look in a painting?

The model for this painting is believed to have been Felicia Marsh, the wife of painter Reginald Marsh. She poses in Koch’s studio, which overlooked the Queensboro Bridge in New York City. Although he built his reputation as a painter of wealthy New Yorkers in their elegant interiors, Koch painted this simple scene for his own pleasure. He later recalled, “It was a picture I sweated out, but the finished canvas looks fresh.”

The Bridge

The Bridge by John Koch

How would you want your bedroom to look in a painting?

The model for this painting is believed to have been Felicia Marsh, the wife of painter Reginald Marsh. She poses in Koch’s studio, which overlooked the Queensboro Bridge in New York City. Although he built his reputation as a painter of wealthy New Yorkers in their elegant interiors, Koch painted this simple scene for his own pleasure. He later recalled, “It was a picture I sweated out, but the finished canvas looks fresh.”

Venus

Venus by Manierre Dawson

How does this artist show movement?

After Dawson returned from Europe, he increasingly devoted more of his attention to painting the human figure. He used Renaissance and Baroque paintings as the basis for his own cubist reinterpretations. These works display a forceful dynamism, suggesting active movement and dancing light—effects that can be seen in Venus. Dawson was not only interested in transforming the figure, he also attempted to change the shadows and voids around it.

Venus

Venus by Manierre Dawson

How does this artist show movement?

After Dawson returned from Europe, he increasingly devoted more of his attention to painting the human figure. He used Renaissance and Baroque paintings as the basis for his own cubist reinterpretations. These works display a forceful dynamism, suggesting active movement and dancing light—effects that can be seen in Venus. Dawson was not only interested in transforming the figure, he also attempted to change the shadows and voids around it.

Still Life

Still Life by Charles Sheeler

Do you ever look at familiar objects from a new angle?

The still lifes that Sheeler produced in the mid-1920s were based on a few straightforward elements, usually combining a tabletop arrangement of fruits or flowers with simple pieces of glassware or pottery. In these deceptively simple paintings, curves play against straight lines, edges and reflections intersect, and shadows are expressed by fields of jewel-like color. Sheeler carefully controlled his arrangements, choosing each piece for its ability to contribute to the overall composition.

Girl with Comb

Girl with Comb by Max Weber

What kind of space does this person occupy?

Weber painted a series of unidentified sitters set against simple backgrounds. The subject in this painting resembles the artist’s wife, Frances. She may have served as the inspiration for some of Weber’s unidentified portraits. While portraits make up a smaller portion of Weber’s body of work, these works illustrate his enduring interest in the work of artists he admired, such as Henri Matisse, Henri Rousseau, and Paul Cézanne, as well as his ongoing interest in folk art.

Girl with Comb

Girl with Comb by Max Weber

What kind of space does this person occupy?

Weber painted a series of unidentified sitters set against simple backgrounds. The subject in this painting resembles the artist’s wife, Frances. She may have served as the inspiration for some of Weber’s unidentified portraits. While portraits make up a smaller portion of Weber’s body of work, these works illustrate his enduring interest in the work of artists he admired, such as Henri Matisse, Henri Rousseau, and Paul Cézanne, as well as his ongoing interest in folk art.

Highland Light

Highland Light by George C. Ault

Is this painting about place or shape?

Ault’s mature style focused on a Precisionist rendering of cityscapes and industrial subjects. He also produced rural views that emphasized geometric forms, such as Highland Light. In the years between the two world wars, Precisionist artists such as Ault, Charles Sheeler, and Charles Demuth balanced a common appreciation for urban views and technological development with an interest in rural America and our shared historical past.

The Road

The Road by Xavier Martinez

Where will you go to find opportunity?

Like many San Francisco painters, Martínez lost his studio in the 1906 earthquake and subsequent fires. Following this disaster, he left San Francisco for Piedmont across the bay. In The Road, he shows the hills of the East Bay in muted colors, their smooth masses resembling unformed clay. This is a new piece of the California dream, ready to be shaped by growth and development.