Paul Gauguin—Master or Monster?
When Paul Gauguin visited Tahiti in the 1890’s was he a genius in search of paradise, or a seedy sex tourist? A painter, printmaker, sculptor,...
Candy Bedworth 25 April 2025
#19th Century
Turner at 250: The Best Anniversary Exhibitions
The year 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Mallord William Turner, arguably Britain’s greatest landscape painter.
Catriona Miller 23 April 2025
Six Things You Might Not Know About John Singer Sargent
There’s no question that John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) was an artistic superstar. Everyone knows his most famous painting Madame X, but do...
Alexandra Kiely 14 April 2025
A Capri Romance: John Singer Sargent and Rosina Ferarra
We are all dreaming of summer holidays, long walks along beaches, toes in the sand, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. Perhaps...
Charlotte Stace 14 April 2025
5 Famous Painters of American Realism
At the end of the 19th century in the United States, the romance of the Hudson River School gave way to artists determined to show the ordinary...
Theodore Carter 10 April 2025
The Spectacle of Victorian Spirit Photography
Is seeing believing? In 19th-century London, this question captivated everyone who entered Frederick Hudson’s spirit photography studio—from...
Emily Snow 9 April 2025
The Fascinating World of Victorian Cards & Postcards
Who doesn’t enjoy receiving a postcard from a loved one? An alternative to sending formal letters, postcards were first introduced during the...
Ruxi Rusu 9 April 2025
The Extreme North of Peder Balke
Norwegian painter Peder Balke (1804–1887) is an unjustly unknown name, obscure to most outside of Scandinavia. Classed as a Romantic painter,...
Edoardo Cesarino 3 April 2025
The Inked Ladies—Tattooed Women of the Victorian Era
Would it surprise you to learn that 59% of American women have at least one tattoo? That’s compared to 41% of American men. Perhaps unsurprising is...
Lauren Kraut 31 March 2025
Slava Raškaj: The Story of a Deaf Impressionist
In the final years of the 19th century, the art scene in Zagreb, Croatia, was pretty vibrant. The various ideas that circulated among artists...
Lana Pajdas 25 March 2025
Olga Boznańska: The Uneasy Story of a Polish Painter
Olga Boznańska was one of the most famous Polish female painters. Her multiple portraits of fragile women and children are permeated with notes of...
Magda Michalska, Aniela Rybak-Vaganay 25 March 2025
The Divine Sarah: Sarah Bernhardt, The First Artist Superstar
While we are all familiar with celebrity culture and can recognize all of the Kardashians by their silhouettes, the idea of ‘celebrity’ is not a...
Wendy Gray 21 March 2025
