“Impression & Reality” at the Mennello

There’s an old joke from my long-ago museum education days that has always stuck with me. It goes something like, “If you want people to come to your museum, you have to have one of three things – dinosaurs, Ancient Egypt or Impressionism.” *insert laugh track here* It was with this bit of museum humor […]

My Covid Classics – #8

The Wandering Art Historian book club met last week to discuss Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper by Harriet Scott Chessman. This slim tome packs a mighty emotional punch that seems to resonate even more profoundly in 2020, despite the story being set in 1878. Told from the perspective of Mary Cassatt’s sister and frequent […]

Art Lovers Book Club 2019

This past Saturday I kicked off the 2nd annual Art Lovers Book Club at SoBo Gallery hosted by the Winter Garden Art Association. We had an amazing time discussing June’s book, Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper by Harriett Scott Chessman. You may remember that I posted about this book on the blog back in […]

Monet in March

Yesterday I took part in another edition of the Rediscovering the Masters series at Tildenville Marketplace in Winter Garden, FL. This month’s theme was “Monet in March” and it was a perfect spring day for an exploration of Impressionism. We kicked things off with a brief discussion of how Impressionism changed the art world forever […]

Degas: The Private Impressionist

A few weeks ago I visited the Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland, FL to view the exhibition Degas: The Private Impressionist. I then wrote about it for ArtScene Press. Here is a brief excerpt of that article… The preliminary sketches and studies in this exhibit exemplify Degas’ masterful draftsmanship, and some drawings could stand as […]

Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper

Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper by Harriet Scott Chessman offers the reader a new and somewhat surprising look at the life of Impressionist Mary Cassatt. Told from the perspective of her dear sister, Lydia, and inspired by five paintings for which Lydia posed, Chessman provides an intriguing look at Paris on the cusp of […]

Return to Mount Dora

The Wandering Art Historian wanders back to Mount Dora, FL this October with a very special Dine & Learn presentation titled, “Brushing Up on Impressionism.” This lecture celebrates the movement that changed the art world forever and continues to inspire to this very day. “Brushing Up on Impressionism!” Dine & Learn in Mount Dora, FL […]

Berthe Morisot

Have you ever heard of Berthe Morisot? Morisot was a highly acclaimed French Impressionist who was admired and respected by her peers. Her hero was Camille Corot and her brother-in-law was Edouard Manet. Her work appeared in every Impressionist show, but one – that year she was pregnant. One can view this painting by Morisot, […]

Cornell Fine Arts Museum

What a delight it was to explore the Cornell Fine Arts Museum last week with a group of members from the Winter Garden Art Association! In the hopes of offering more art-based outings for WGAA members, we decided to experiment with art meet ups. This was our first attempt and it went splendidly! We met at CFAM on […]

Female Impressionists and Modern Artists

Please join me for Session 2 of my women artists series, “From Muse to Master,” in Mount Dora, FL! Session 2 is devoted to the Impressionists and Modern Artists and celebrates artists who were often overlooked because of their significant others. Presented as a very special “Dine & Learn” opportunity and hosted by 1921 by Norman […]