“Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art”

As the popularity of the True Crime genre continues to hold its spell over documentarians and podcasters, it can be a challenge to wade through the vast cornucopia of options. They can’t all be good, right? That said, I am happy to recommend a documentary that is exceptional in its storytelling and compelling in its […]

A Closer Look at Famous Paintings – Part 2

Please visit The Wandering Art Historian YouTube channel to watch my newest web series – A Closer Look at Famous Paintings, Part 2! Every Tuesday in May, a new video was published examining a few of my favorite paintings. In Part 2 of this series, I focused on paintings that are discussed in my online […]

“The Hearing Trumpet” by Leonora Carrington

Leonora Carrington was not only a prolific artist, but also a talented writer who applied her Surrealist principles to both her paintings and her writings. The Hearing Trumpet, first published in 1974, was rereleased in January of this year and it is an unreal romp through a world only Carrington could have dreamed up… get […]

THIS IS A ROBBERY

This is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist is a four-part true crime documentary currently streaming on Netflix. Writing a review or recommendation for this series is a bit challenging because I don’t want to give anything away and there are definitely surprises in store for anyone who watches. I would wager that most […]

My Covid Classic – #17

The Wandering Art Historian book club is chugging right along through 2021! April’s book club pick was The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland and wow… what a story! I first became acquainted with the work of Emily Carr two years ago when contemporary artist, Jessica Campbell, referenced her in some new work at the MCA […]

Madonna & the Art of Tamara de Lempicka

In my class From Muse to Master: Celebrating Women Artists vol. 2 we discuss the portraits of artist Tamara de Lempicka. Nicknamed “The Baroness with the Brush,” de Lempicka painted the young, liberated women of Europe in the flapper years of the 1920’s. Drawing on neoclassical female nudes for inspiration, de Lempicka crafted her own […]

Laurie Simmons Homage

You may recall from past blog posts that I sometimes attempt to create artwork in the same style or following similar methods as well-known artists. I often find that this plays an incredibly helpful role in understanding their methods and techniques when I am researching them from an art historical standpoint. Previously, I have emulated […]

Betye Saar & Art That Disrupts

Betye Saar is a living legend. Born in 1926, Saar has been challenging, not only art enthusiasts and dedicated museum goers, but the art world at large with her profound commentary on race in the United States. Utilizing a found object format, Saar’s assemblages pay homage to the art historical tradition that precedes them. Duchamp’s […]

“WandaVision” & Leonora Carrington

The life story of Leonora Carrington is so fascinating that I am dumbfounded as to why it hasn’t been made into a film or multi-episode limited series. As a film it screams “Oscar bait” and as a limited series it would fit perfectly into the current trend of glamorous, yet provocatively emotional prestige television. That […]

My Covid Classics – #16

The Wandering Art Historian book club tackled Irving Stone’s Lust for Life last week and I am having big feelings. I can’t remember if this was my third or fourth time reading this book, but I do know that it was my first since researching, writing and producing my four-week class, The Legacy of Vincent […]