American Modernism at a glance always seems to be imbued with the sense of heterosexual masculinity. Think of the hearty regionalism of Thomas Hart Benton, the chaotic city scenes of a George Bellowes painting, or the angsty aggression of any … Continued

Anni Albers was one of the longest-living modernists of the Bauhaus school. She was nearly ninety-five when she died, and during her lifetime, she witnessed both world wars, the Cold War, and every social revolution imaginable. She also led an … Continued

Certain artists throughout history have been able to push their mediums in new and powerful ways. Over the course of western Modernism you can see periodic breakthroughs. For example, Manet introduced Impressionism, af Klint and Malevich reached total abstraction, Picasso … Continued

The Russian Revolution of 1917 was possibly one of the most seismic moments in twentieth-century history, and Bolshevik ideals trickled down into every aspect of the culture. Notably, Jewish people residing in Russia finally received some legal protections, and most … Continued

It isn’t often that a creative master is revealed to be talented in another form of art, but we do have examples. Jacques Henri Lartigue was a skilled painter, but he was made famous because of his photography. Serge Gainsbourg … Continued

Modernism, and all that it encompassed, was based on idealism and an elevation of the human mind and spirit. However, things didn’t go quite as planned. Movements like Art Deco and Futurism were co-opted by Fascism, cities in the United … Continued

Modernism was a global movement with communities in dialogue and absorbing various schools of thought and practices. However, canonically speaking, European modernism has always taken center stage. As much as Picasso or Matisse or Giacometti deserve credit, it is important … Continued

Collage (officially speaking) is over 100 years old. Whether Pablo Picasso or Georges Braque invented it first doesn’t really matter, but what became of this technique is much more interesting. Fritz Bultman, who lived from 1919 to 1985, is one … Continued

If you go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, you see all of the classics. “Cypresses” by Van Gogh and “The Death of Socrates” by Jacques Louis David. What you might not recognize is the exhibit entitled Marsden Hartley’s Maine. … Continued

The Mexican Revolution began in 1910 and lasted for most of the decade. More than a million people lost their lives, and the country was transformed, forcing electoral, land and labor reforms and the establishment of a new constitution in … Continued