In the author’s latest book “In the Land of the Cyclops,” I want to see what Knausgaard sees, even when I’m overwhelmed by it or disagree.
Author Archives: Bridget Quinn
Bridget Quinn is a writer, critic and art historian living in San Francisco. She’s the author of She Votes: How U.S. Women Won Suffrage, and What Happened Next, illustrated by 100 women artists, and Broad Strokes: 15 Women Who Made Art and Made History (in That Order). You can find her on her websiteor follow her on twitter.
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Roni Horn’s Memories and Meditations About Weather
Prosaic and profound, Horn’s book “Island Zombie” feels like standing before art again.
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Rereading Georgia O’Keeffe’s Biography in a New Light
Roxana Robinson’s biography of the artist features letters from a young O’Keeffe to a lover, which offer some unexpected art historical insights.
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A Witty and Refreshingly Feminist Look at Artemisia Gentileschi
The art historian Mary Garrard’s lively account of Artemisia Gentileschi is timely in its exploration of her art which was composed of anger, accusation, and even humor.
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Mary Cassatt’s Independent, Feminist Spirit
“If the world is to be saved, it will be the women who save it,” said the American Impressionist, who led a headstrong life as a woman abroad.
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Alice Trumbull Mason, a Pioneer of Abstraction, Makes a Triumphant Return
Emily Mason remembers her mother saying, “I’ll be famous when I’m dead.” Though fame may not be quite secured (yet), the artist’s first-ever monograph acts as bulwark against forgetting her legacy.
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An Idiosyncratic Selection of California Art Presses
California has a rich history of artful book making. Here’s a small sampling of presses old and new.
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A Gripping Memoir Dives Into LA’s Graffiti Subculture of the ’90s
Artist and scholar Stefano Bloch has written a story that is personal, but also a primer on graffiti’s history and artistic and social import.
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Meet Sylvia Fein, One of the Last Surrealists Still Painting
Fein, who turns 100 years old today, may be the last Surrealist artist still standing.
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A New Book on Women Artists Is Welcome, But Uneven
The title of Great Women Artists is complete with a strikethrough across “women,” to indicate that the artists within are “great artists” regardless of gender. Visually, it’s arresting, but its intention is murky.
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James Tissot’s Weirdly Sexy, Astonishingly Cinematic, and Spiritual Paintings
The show is essentially a love story, arranged both chronologically and thematically, and unfolds almost like a serial novel. A precursor to Proust, say, in paint.
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Inmates Annotate an Archive of Prison Photos With Their Own Stories
The results are arresting, as the writers, who are also men in prison, make anonymous images their own, speaking out of their own experiences, bringing insights and empathy that no outside critic or art historian could.