Where have you heard this artist's name before?

I happened to come across these two paintings listed in a Skinner's  auction catalog. The paintings, while pleasant and competent, might not seem that striking. The name of the artist, Edward Darley Boit, may not immediately ring a bell with most people.

Lot 1016: Edward Darley Boit (American, 1842-1916) Hillside Landscape

Lot 1362: Edward Darley Boit (American, 1840-1915) Villa, San Remo 

What makes them of interest is the connection the artist has to a very well known painting, possibly the most famous painting in Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Yes, those are his daughters in the famous Sargent painting.

The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit (1882)
John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925)

In Praise of the Small Museum

Rose Art Museum

There is a tendency sometimes, maybe often, to overlook things in our own back yard, Even though only 30 miles away, this past weekend I finally visited the Rose Art Museum on the campus of Brandeis University in Waltham.

Sometimes museums are grand and overpowering, sometimes quirky. The Rose is small, and the architecture crisp and timeless. The setting on a wooded hillside makes it look like a white and glass box floating on the ground,. Once inside, it is easy to fantasize that you are not in a museum, but in the house of a sophisticated art collector.

Current exhibits include

http://www.brandeis.edu/rose/exhibitions/2017/bodytalk.html

This exhibit, with works drawn from the museum's collection, has the human body as its theme.

Immortal City by Kevork Mourad

Immortal City is an exhibition of new paintings by acclaimed Syrian-Armenian artist Kevork Mourad (b. Syria, 1970). The prominent work is a black and white, three dimensional drawing/painting resembling a stage set. The images evoke the cultural loss and destruction due to the war in Syria. http://www.brandeis.edu/rose/exhibitions/2017/immortal-city.html

You can see more about the Rose and its exhibit schedule at:

http://www.brandeis.edu/rose/index.html

Reusable Universes: Shih Chieh Huang Worcester Art Museum

Is this Contemporary Art of the future ? ?  Worth viewing the exhibit to appreciate the possibilities of recycling . 

June 24 - November 12, 2017
Contemporary Gallery

Reusable Universes: Shih Chieh Huang features the work of Shih Chieh Huang, who combines his longstanding fascination with technology and the materials of modern life to transform mundane manufactured objects into novel and remarkably complex sculptural forms. Huang elevates circuit building, transistor rewiring, and other hardware operations into an art that connects not only with our senses but our sense of humanity between today's virtual and analog existence.

 For more information go to :

http://www.worcesterart.org/exhibitions/reusable-universes-shih-chieh-huang/

Sprinkler Factory Sculpture Garden

This winter there is an exhibit at the Sprinkler Factory in Worcester, where they have turned their large gallery space into an "Indoor Sculpture Garden" featuring sculptures and large-scale paintings.

Those of you in the Contemporary Art class (and those of you in Art Appreciation who have skipped ahead to the chapters on contemporary art) may find this interesting. As I looked at the works in the gallery, there were a number of them where I could see which artists may have influenced them - Keith Haring, Nam June Paik, Robert Rauschenerg, among others.

If you have a chance, the exhibit is on through February 25. http://www.sprinklerfactory.com/ for more information.