Books
Illustrating the Greatest Bookstores in the World
Cartoonist Bob Eckstein illustrated 75 of the world's most beautiful, strange, and beloved local bookstores, many of which are in danger of closing.
Painting
Art
Paintings that Embrace the Impossibility of Painting
Jaya Howey takes painting very seriously, and so he finds himself in a very serious corner.
Art
Figurative Painting That’s Emphatically Human
New York City galleries are raining down a smattering of group shows that showcase figurative painting.
Art
J.M.W. Turner's Unloved Late Paintings; or, The Whales
Some days ago — never mind the count — having not much purpose in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and nothing in its galleries otherwise to interest me, I thought I would wander a little and found myself in the most watery part of the institution.
In Brief
Trove of 14,000-Year-Old Animal Paintings Found in Spanish Cave
Archaeologists in Spain have come across an extraordinary series of Paleolithic-era paintings in Basque Country's Atxurra cave that they estimate date as far back as 14,000 years.
Art
Deluxe Redux: 'Asia in Amsterdam' at the Peabody Essex
SALEM, Mass. — The Dutch East India Company wrested control of the Asian spice trade from the Spanish and Portuguese, went on to own virtually all of Indonesia, and monopolized trade with Japan for 200 years.
Art
A Rare Encounter with an Aaron Douglas Painting that References Slavery’s Past
Lavender and gold silhouettes of soldiers on horseback, waves, and a kneeling figure overlap on the flat plane of Aaron Douglas's "Let My People Go" (1935–39).
In Brief
Oh Shit! British Royal Collection Finds Pooper Hidden in 17th-Century Painting
It turns out that Isack van Ostade’s “A Village Fair With a Church Behind” (1643) — as the painting was perhaps cheekily titled — shows a man with his pants down relieving himself in the middle of a busy street.
In Brief
Happy Little eClouds: First Episode of ‘Joy of Painting’ Goes on YouTube
Today is a good day. Not just because it's Friday, but because the very first episode of the very first season of Bob Ross's The Joy of Painting is now online.
Art
Seeing the Art for the Trees
CHICAGO — In the entire history of art, how many works depict a tree as their main subject?
Art
Abstract Paintings that Reflect the Rhythms of Our Time
In terms of freewheeling, soul-bearing angst, Abstract Expressionism might once seemed to have had the final word.
Art
A Refreshing Dose of Cynicism-Free Abstraction
Clare Grill is a painter based in Queens. She has shown consistently, if not quietly, over the last few years.