Selected paintings for the executive offices.
Posted on 10/06/2009 11:41:59 AM PDT by Baladas
The White House on Tuesday released a list of 45 artworks that first lady Michelle Obama, working with curators from the White House and area museums, has selected for the private residence, the offices in the West Wing and East Wing. They are all loans, the White House said.
The choices, which provide the first inkling of the Obamas' artistic taste, are not a survey of American or European art but concentrate mainly on artists who are well known and mainstream. In the residence, for example, are 11 pieces by George Catlin, the American 19th-century painter who specialized in Native American scenes. There are also three works by Josef Albers, the German-born American artist who fled Germany when Hitler closed down the Bauhaus art school; he went on to paint seminal "square" abstractions that were hugely influential on American abstraction. Also acquired are four pieces by William H. Johnson, the 20th-century African American artist whose work ranged from vivid landscapes to scenes of ordinary people.
In addition, the Oval Office is now home to a patent model of Samuel F. B. Morse's telegraph, on loan from the National Museum of American History, as well as several examples of Native American pottery.
The inclusion of almost a dozen pieces by Catlin is sure to reopen the debate that always accompanies his work, namely whether it was a sincere homage to the Native American or a touristy view.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Caitlin is the only one that remotely represents art. The rest are your surburban princess majors in art at ivy league for $80K a year kind of choices. Wow, how cheap things get when you let academics teach what is nothing more than a trade. There are inspired and talented artists and then there are the academically produced artist. With few exceptions, the later are hokey, predictable, wrapped up in some theory and unimaginative. Give me an artist that studied with artists he/she admired and you are on to something.
LOL!
Here are examples of some of the work by (real) artists:
Portrait of Stu-mick-o-súcks, Buffalo Bull's Back Fat, chief of the Blood tribe, by George Catlin. The article has to put in the usual slam about him being 'just a tourist'. Nonsense. He did promote his paintings in London and New York, but he had to feed his family same as everyone else. And he did a tremendous service in memorializing the Plains Indians as they were before 'civilization' got hold of them.
Winslow Homer, one of THE greatest American artists. BOTH his oils and his watercolors are truly magnificent, and he was tremendously sensitive to the difference.
William H. Johnson's stuff, however, is totally lame. Why couldn't they get something by a black American artist who could actually PAINT, like Henry Ossawa Turner?
"The Banjo Lesson"
"The Annunciation"
Although Bamma would never have a Christian religious painting in the White House . . . .
I've got a steak dinner that says they no more personally chose these paintings than they flew to the Moon.
I think my stepson made that exact picture in 4K today!
Of Course, her all time favorite is one entitled "Lost Puppy."
Must be nice to be able to leisure around and look at US Art Collections books all day......
I’ve always liked Catlin and Homer. Haven’t seen Turner before, very nice. Thanks for posting!
Well... none of this stuff is anything that I’d like to have in my house, but I’m not going to spend any energy worrying about O’s odd artistic taste.
The selection of the Morse Telegraph for the Oval Office is surprising, almost. It’s clearly a key invention that changed history and improved life, and it’s a thoroughly American invention to boot. It’s something that if it were me I might have had on my shortlist of things to display as well. Mighty surprising, that.
I would’ve expected something more like a momento from the civil rights struggle.
Let me guess. Elvis on velvet along with the long legged pimp mac on the street corner with his skanks.
Is that Homer “Herring Net” part of the collection they chose?
Catlin was a genius at what he did - miniaturist-style portraits. I got to see the exhibition at the little museum just catty-corner from the White House a few years ago -- drove my family crazy because I just meandered from Indian portrait to Indian portrait, staring and staring and staring.
The boy was good. Very, very good.
I think hanging some of his Reconstruction art would be edgy, and daring, and I'm sure whoever was hired to choose would never do any such thing --
Never been a fan of Albers. The atrocious color combination in this one reminds me of some of Michelle’s outfits.
ROFLMAO!!!
“They are all loans, the White House “
Confiscations and bribes.
Michelle was just p’ssed that none of them were on black velvet!
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