art history

What’s Ahead for A Long Look?

October 10, 2024October 14, 2024

“A Long Look” returns with new episodes soon! Meanwhile, I’ve been looking down the road trying to figure out the future of the show and… Read More »What’s Ahead for A Long Look?

Looking down the length of a three-story atrium viewed from the second floor. It is lit by skylights and large hanging lights and the floor is patterned with a geometric white and black pattern. The mezzanines on either side and above us are filled with display cases bathed in amber light.

American Art Museum Finale

July 20, 2024July 20, 2024

Well, we’ve reached the end of our brief tour of the Smithsonian American Art Museum! I hope you’ve enjoyed it. It was a lot of… Read More »American Art Museum Finale

Three paintings are cropped into horizontal bars with the word 150 in white text superimposed over the middle image.

Happy Anniversary, Impressionism!

May 18, 2024May 18, 2024

Just in time for your Memorial Day travels, here’s an extended episode celebrating the anniversary of Impressionism! We take another look at three of the… Read More »Happy Anniversary, Impressionism!

A young woman in a white dress belted with a pale pink sash sits on craggy white boulders overlooking a shimmering blue-green sea on a bright sunny day. Her back is to us and she raises her gloved right hand to touch the brim of her ivory white hat.

The South Ledges, Appledore by Childe Hassam

April 20, 2024April 20, 2024

It’s starting to get warm out so the seaside’s on my mind! In the latest episode we visit Appledore on the Isles of Shoals with… Read More »The South Ledges, Appledore by Childe Hassam

Two young teenage girls with pale skin and dark hair stand among tall poles draped with fluttering pink and green ribbons in a desolate landscape. Beyond them is a crumbling brick wall with a narrow body of water and distant hills visible behind it and a hazy blue sky overhead.

Confrontation by Hughie Lee-Smith

February 17, 2024March 2, 2024

Putting ordinary people in odd, unsettling surroundings was the specialty of Hughie Lee-Smith. In today’s episode we look at his “Confrontation” from the Smithsonian American… Read More »Confrontation by Hughie Lee-Smith

A group of people and angels look down at a baby lying on the floor of an open-sided wooden structure.

The Nativity by Petrus Christus

December 16, 2023April 19, 2024

Merry Christmas! For this year’s holiday episode we’re looking at this kind of unusual Nativity scene jammed packed with the detail those Northern European Renaissance… Read More »The Nativity by Petrus Christus

Bowls of fruit, drinking goblets, and pewter platters of food spread across a long table. In the upper right is a peacock sitting in a caramel-brown pie.

Still Life with Peacock Pie by Pieter Claesz

November 18, 2023November 21, 2023

Just in time for Thanksgiving, we take a look at this sumptuous feast by one of the stars of still-life painting, Pieter Claesz. We’ll find… Read More »Still Life with Peacock Pie by Pieter Claesz

A chubby baby sits on a bed of pink and white flowers in an amber-colored boat with fistfuls of blossoms in his upraised hands. A winged angel in a white robe with a glowing starburst over its heads stands behind him with one hand the tiller, steering them down a narrow river lined with flowers and plants.

The Voyage of Life: Childhood by Thomas Cole

October 21, 2023October 21, 2023

In today’s episode we’re looking at “Childhood” by Thomas Cole. It’s the first of a series of enormous paintings he did called “The Voyage of… Read More »The Voyage of Life: Childhood by Thomas Cole

A woman walks up a winding road with her back to us and her arms outstretched to either side. She wears a bright orange jacket over a berry-red sweater, long denim shorts, black tights, boots, and a cranberry-red hat. The road is bordered by trees in shades of gold, light green, and tan and the ground is covered with fallen leaves.

Changes in the Air!

October 14, 2023October 30, 2024

Autumn is a season of change, so it seemed like the perfect time to announce a few changes happening with the show! First, I’ve got… Read More »Changes in the Air!

Two Women Drinking Coffee by Edouard Vuillard

August 27, 2023August 27, 2023

This work by Edouard Vuillard reminds me of the old Magic Eye images that ran in the Sunday comics back in the ’90s. You’d be… Read More »Two Women Drinking Coffee by Edouard Vuillard