"Belfry"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

Now I know it's not nice to stare but I have this thing about fabrics.  Especially patterned, colorful fabrics.  I followed this woman around the galleries - enamored by her sari and layers of different jewel-toned wraps.  She reminded me of how elegant Georgia O'Keeffe was in her later years.

From the Art Institute of Chicago, a woman stands besides O'Keeffe's Church Steeple, 1930.  The painting belongs to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

American Art Collector Magazine Article

I'm very proud of this article in the March issue of American Art Collector Magazine featuring my upcoming solo show Sargentology  at Robert Lange Studios in Charleston SC.

 

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"Giant"

9 x 12"

oil on panel
sold

Speaking of Presidential portraits.... my painting features John Singer Sargent's Theodore Roosevelt.

In February 1903, at the invitation of the first family, Sargent was a White House guest for a week - there to complete Teddy Roosevelt's official Presidential portrait. It apparently wasn't easy - Sargent had trouble choosing a suitable place to paint, with good lighting and wanted to check out the second floor's options.  As the President and the artist climbed the stairs, Roosevelt told Sargent he didn't think the artist knew what he wanted. Sargent replied that Roosevelt didn't realize what was involved in posing for a portrait. At the top of the stairs, Roosevelt swung his body around, placing his hand on the newel and bellowed 'Don't I!'.  At that moment, Sargent told the President not to move, that would be the pose and the location for the sittings.

Despite a frustrating week for Sargent, in the end, Roosevelt considered the portrait a complete success. 

This painting will be included in my solo show Sargentology, opening March 2nd at Robert Lange Studios in Charleston.

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"Dress Envy"

8 x 10"

oil on panel
sold

Included in my upcoming solo show Sargentology,  featuring a portrait of Lady Agnew of Lochnaw by John Singer Sargent.  

Andrew Noel Agnew, a lawyer who had inherited the title of Baron and the estates of Lochnaw, commissioned the portrait of his wife, Gertrude.  In 1893, the painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy and made Sargent a big name for himself, soon becoming the most sought-after portrait artist in high society. 

It took only six sittings for Sargent to complete Gertrude's portrait.  Interestingly, she was in poor health at the time, recovering from a severe bout of influenza, which may explain the slight paleness of her skin in the painting.  It really is her silk dress and purple sash that stand out - and the portrait elevated Gertrude in high society circles, as a beauty and a fashionista.  

Here's the kicker - Andrew and Gertrude spent so much on lavish parties that they ended up in debt, having to sell off many works of art, including this portrait.  The Scottish National Gallery purchased the painting in 1925, thankfully.

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"Wartorn"

18 x 8" 

oil on panels
sold

Included in my upcoming solo show Sargentology - a triptych featuring John Singer Sargent's large-scale painting Gassed, painted in 1919 - a commission by the British government, one of many propoganda works of art depicting the realities and suffering of the Great War.

Sargent was 62 years old when, after months of procrastinating, traveled to the Western front, in the midst of WWI to gather images for his commission.  There he witnessed this scene with his own eyes, the aftermath of a terrible mustard gas attack - soldiers leading each other with their hands on the shoulder of the man in front of him, blinded by the gas.  The atmosphere of the mustard/grey toned sky and ironically, the football game being played in the far distance, as if nothing happened - reminds me of the scene in Apolcalypse Now of the agent orange bombs in the background while soldiers surfed in the sea.

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"Drama Queen"

8 x 24"

oil on panel
sold

Of all the paintings by John Singer Sargent, this one, which I got to see in person, blew me away like no other - depicting the famous Shakespearean actress Dame Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth. 

Sargent attended the production of Macbeth at the London Lyceum and immediately wanted to paint the actress and convinced her to sit for him.  His pose of Terry holding a crown on her head, after the murder of Duncan, the Scottish king, didn't happen in the play, but he wanted a dramatic pose, concentrating on her intense gaze and that spectacular costume of green and blue embroidered silk.

Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth hangs in the Tate Britian.

My new painting will be included in the upcoming solo show Sargentology  opening March 2nd at the Robert Lange Studios.

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