Tom Anderson

Author

Tom has a PhD in Physiology, is a serial entrepreneur in the life sciences, teaches biology at junior colleges in California, and is a fan of the painters of the Dutch Golden Age. He takes particular joy in finding the hints that artists leave us to help us understand the stories they are telling us. Contact him at [email protected].

Articles by Tom

Contemporary Art

Amy Sherald: American Sublime at the Whitney Museum

Amy Sherald (b. 1973) has identified herself as “an American realist painter painting American people.” The current retrospective of her work...

Tom Anderson 5 May 2025

Review

What Can Art Tell Us About Love?

This aptly titled book examines ideas about love through the eyes of various artists: idealized love, passionate love, unrequited love, resentments...

Tom Anderson 28 April 2025

News

The Feel of the Newly-Restored Frick Collection

There has been plenty of press around the reopening of the Frick Collection in New York this month. There is a lot to say: $220 million spent over...

Tom Anderson 17 April 2025

Painting

A New Take on the Iconic Girl Reading a Letter by Vermeer

The recently restored Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window by Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) is often said to be that of a young woman reading a...

Tom Anderson 13 April 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Music Lesson by Johannes Vermeer

Music was a big part of daily life in Holland in Johannes Vermeer’s time. As a testament to that, 14 Vermeer paintings include a musical...

Tom Anderson 13 April 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Sentry by Carel Fabritius

Carel Fabritius (Dutch, 1622–1654) died at age 32 in a gunpowder explosion in Delft, a disaster that presumably destroyed many of his paintings. We...

Tom Anderson 17 March 2025