Artist Stories

Photography

Through the Lens of Activism: Zanele Muholi in 5 Photographs

Zanele Muholi is not only one of South Africa’s most celebrated contemporary artists but also a leading voice in the global conversation around...

Carlotta Mazzoli 12 June 2025

Women Artists

Anni Albers: The Artist Who Transformed Textiles

Anni Albers once referred to textile-making as “rather sissy”. Fortunately she later had a change of heart. From the Bauhaus in Germany...

Emily Snow 12 June 2025

Women Artists

Marion Mahony Griffin: No Apology in the World of Men

The name Marion Mahony Griffin (1871–1961) may not ring any immediate bells for you, but she was responsible for creating the unique look and feel...

Joanna Kaszubowska 12 June 2025

Artist Stories

What Art Has to Do with Politics: Gustave Courbet and the Paris Commune

The painter Gustave Courbet, a central figure of Realism, is known for his paintings in which he reveals the true lives of peasants and ordinary...

Rute Ferreira 10 June 2025

Artist Stories

Powerful or Problematic? Robert Mapplethorpe’s Photographs

Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe shocked the world with his images of bondage, gay sex, female bodybuilders and naked black men. Technically brilliant or politically problematic, what do you think?

Candy Bedworth, Guest Author 9 June 2025

Surrealism

Queen of Chicago: American Surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie

Gertrude Abercrombie’s barren landscapes, cats, female figures in long dresses, and other repeated imagery built a complex body of haunting...

Theodore Carter 5 June 2025

Women Artists

Rachel Ruysch in 5 Paintings

Rachel Ruysch was a Dutch still-life artist renowned for her elaborate and lifelike floral paintings. Her talent earned her a position as a court...

Nikolina Konjevod, 3 June 2025

Women Artists

Maria Sibylla Merian—An Artist Who Changed Science Forever

In the 17th century, it has been widely believed that insects were just spontaneously born of mud, dirt, or rotting flesh, but that notion has been...

Nicole Ganbold 3 June 2025

Artist Stories

Whistler vs. Ruskin: How to Fling a Pot of Paint and Win a Trial

After paying a visit to the newly inaugurated Grosvenor Gallery in London, John Ruskin wrote a stinging review of the modernist exhibition. The...

Ruxi Rusu 2 June 2025

North American Art

The Magical World of Maxfield Parrish in 10 Artworks

Maxfield Parrish was an influential American artist and illustrator known for whimsical mythological scenes and vibrant colors in his artworks.

Katerina Papouliou 29 May 2025

Women Artists

How Louise Nevelson Constructed Her Sculptures and Her Past

Born in Pereiaslav, today’s Ukraine, Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) is recognized as one of America’s most innovative sculptors. Her most famous...

Magda Michalska 29 May 2025

yoko ono Women Artists

Yoko Ono—A Multifaceted Artist of Peace

Visual artist, singer-songwriter, writer, and filmmaker, Yoko Ono cannot be reduced to the role of the wife of the English musician John Lennon...

Montaine Dumont 29 May 2025