Paintings by American artists of the 21st century. Contemporary art: USA

Each country has its own heroes of contemporary art, whose names are well-known, whose exhibitions attract crowds of fans and curious people, and whose works are sold to private collections.

In this article we will introduce you to the most popular contemporary artists USA.

Iva Morris

American artist Iva Morris was born into a large family far from art and art education I received it after school. She received her bachelor's degree in art from the University of New Mexico in 1981. Today, Iva has been engaged in art for more than 20 years, her works are known both at home and abroad, and have repeatedly brought her prizes and awards. You can see them in galleries in Albuquerque, Sante Fe, New Mexico, and Madrid.

Warren Chang

Born in 1957 in California, Urren Cheng received a BFA in painting from Pasadena College of Design and spent the next 20 years working as an illustrator for various companies, only beginning his career as a professional artist in 2009. Cheng's painting style is rooted in the work of the 16th century artist Johannes Vermeer - Warren Cheng works in a realistic manner, creating two main categories: biographical interior paintings and paintings depicting people at work. Currently teaches at the Academy of Art in San Francisco.

Christopher Traedy Ulrich

Los Angeles-based artist Christopher Ulrich is a surrealist with an iconographic bent. His work was greatly influenced by ancient mythology. Ulrich's first solo exhibition (joint with artist Billy Shire) took place in June 2009.

Michael DeVore

Young artist and Oklahoma City native Michael DeVore works in the classical realist tradition. He came to art with the help and support of his family, and before starting to study visual arts at Pepperdine University in Malibu, he won numerous awards in his home state. Then the artist continued his studies in Italy. Currently, his works are exhibited around the world and are in private collections. Michael DeVore is a member of the Oil Painters of America, the International Guild of Realism, the National Society of Oil and Acrylic Painters and the Society of Portrait Painters of America.

Mary Carol Kenney

Mary Carol Kenny was born in Indiana in 1953. By education, she is very vaguely related to the fine arts, but since 2002, driven by the desire to become an artist, she began taking sculpture and ceramics classes at Santa Barbara City College, and then began studying with Ricky Shtrikh. Today she is a member of The Santa Barbara Art Ass, the guild of Santa Barbara sculptors and the winner of many awards in sculpture and painting.

Patricia Watwood

Realist artist Patricia Watwood was born in 1971 in Missouri. She graduated with honors from the Academy of Fine Arts, studied in the workshop of Jacob Collins and Ted Seth Jacobs. The artist’s style is modern classicism: mythology, allegories and modern life. For the past few years, Patricia has lectured on classicism throughout the country and now lives with her family in Brooklyn.

Paula Rubino

Paula Rubino – modern American artist and writer - born in 1968 in New Jersey, raised in Florida. Has a doctorate in law. In the 90s she moved to Mexico and focused on painting. She studied the art of drawing in Italy, where she finished her first novel. A series of her short stories has also been published. Currently lives in Florida.

Patssi Valdez

Patssy Valdez was born in Los Angeles in 1951 and studied fine art at the Otis Art Institute, where she was named Distinguished Alumnus of the Class of 1980. In 2005, Valdez received the Latina Award and the title "Latina of Excellence in the Cultural Arts" from the United States Congressional Hispanic Forum. Has already become famous early stage his career while working with the avant-garde art group ASCO. He is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including those awarded by the J. Paul Getty Trust for the Visual Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. She received a Brody Fellowship in Visual Arts. Valdez's paintings are part of several major collections.

Cynthia Grilli

Artist Cynthia Grilli received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1992 and an MFA in painting from the New York Academy of Art by 1994. Her work has been published in numerous US publications, exhibited throughout the country, and is included in private and corporate collections in America and Europe. Cynthia is a two-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation.

Eric Fischl

Eric Fischl was born in New York in 1948. In 1972 he graduated from the California Institute of the Arts and received a bachelor's degree. After graduation, he worked for some time as a security guard at a Chicago museum. contemporary art. Having moved to Scotland, Fischl began teaching at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and began painting directly. His first personal exhibition took place in Scotland. The genres of his works are very diverse, but mainly figurative painting, episodes from modern American life.

If you think that all great artists are in the past, then you have no idea how wrong you are. In this article you will learn about the most famous and talented artists modernity. And, believe me, their works will remain in your memory no less deeply than the works of maestros from past eras.

Wojciech Babski

Wojciech Babski is a contemporary Polish artist. He completed his studies at the Silesian Polytechnic Institute, but associated himself with. IN Lately draws mainly women. Focuses on the expression of emotions, strives to obtain the greatest possible effect using simple means.

Loves color, but often uses shades of black and gray to achieve best experience. Not afraid to experiment with different new techniques. Recently, he has been gaining increasing popularity abroad, mainly in the UK, where he successfully sells his works, which can already be found in many private collections. In addition to art, he is interested in cosmology and philosophy. Listens to jazz. Currently lives and works in Katowice.

Warren Chang

Warren Chang is a contemporary American artist. Born in 1957 and raised in Monterey, California, he graduated with honors from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in 1981, where he received a BFA. Over the next two decades, he worked as an illustrator for various companies in California and New York before embarking on a career as a professional artist in 2009.

His realistic paintings can be divided into two main categories: biographical interior paintings and paintings of people at work. His interest in this style of painting dates back to the work of the 16th century artist Johannes Vermeer, and extends to subjects, self-portraits, portraits of family members, friends, students, studio interiors, classrooms and homes. His goal is to create mood and emotion in his realistic paintings through the manipulation of light and the use of muted colors.

Chang became famous after switching to traditional fine arts. Over the past 12 years, he has earned numerous awards and honors, the most prestigious of which is the Master Signature from the Oil Painters of America, the largest oil painting community in the United States. Only one person out of 50 is given the opportunity to receive this award. Warren currently lives in Monterey and works in his studio, and he also teaches (known as a talented teacher) at the San Francisco Academy of Art.

Aurelio Bruni

Aurelio Bruni – Italian artist. Born in Blair, October 15, 1955. He received a diploma in scenography from the Institute of Art in Spoleto. As an artist, he is self-taught, as he independently “built a house of knowledge” on the foundation laid in school. He began painting in oils at the age of 19. Currently lives and works in Umbria.

Bruni's early paintings are rooted in surrealism, but over time he begins to focus on the proximity of lyrical romanticism and symbolism, enhancing this combination with the exquisite sophistication and purity of his characters. Animated and inanimate objects acquire equal dignity and look almost hyper-realistic, but at the same time they do not hide behind a curtain, but allow you to see the essence of your soul. Versatility and sophistication, sensuality and loneliness, thoughtfulness and fruitfulness are the spirit of Aurelio Bruni, nourished by the splendor of art and the harmony of music.

Aleksander Balos

Alkasander Balos is a contemporary Polish artist specializing in oil painting. Born in 1970 in Gliwice, Poland, but since 1989 he has lived and worked in the USA, in Shasta, California.

As a child, he studied art under the guidance of his father Jan, a self-taught artist and sculptor, so from an early age, artistic activity received full support from both parents. In 1989, at the age of eighteen, Balos left Poland for the United States, where his school teacher and part-time artist Kathy Gaggliardi encouraged Alkasander to enroll in art school. Balos then received a full scholarship to the University of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he studied painting with philosophy professor Harry Rozin.

After graduating in 1995 with a bachelor's degree, Balos moved to Chicago to study at the School of Fine Arts, whose methods are based on the work of Jacques-Louis David. Figurative realism and portrait painting formed the majority of Balos' work in the 90s and early 2000s. Today Balos uses the human figure to highlight features and show flaws. human existence without offering any solutions.

The subject compositions of his paintings are intended to be independently interpreted by the viewer, only then will the paintings acquire their true temporal and subjective meaning. In 2005, the artist moved to Northern California, since then the subject matter of his work has expanded significantly and now includes freer painting methods, including abstraction and various multimedia styles that help express ideas and ideals of existence through painting.

Alyssa Monks

Alyssa Monks is a contemporary American artist. Born in 1977, in Ridgewood, New Jersey. I began to be interested in painting when I was still a child. She studied at The New School in New York and Montclair State University, and graduated from Boston College in 1999 with a bachelor's degree. At the same time, she studied painting at the Lorenzo de' Medici Academy in Florence.

Then she continued her studies in the master's degree program at the New York Academy of Art, in the department of Figurative Art, graduating in 2001. She graduated from Fullerton College in 2006. For some time she lectured at universities and educational institutions throughout the country, teaching painting at the New York Academy of Art, as well as Montclair State University and Lyme Academy of Art College.

“Using filters such as glass, vinyl, water and steam, I distort the human body. These filters allow you to create large areas abstract design, with islands of color peeking through - parts of the human body.

My paintings change the modern view of the already established, traditional poses and gestures of bathing women. They could tell an attentive viewer a lot about such seemingly self-evident things as the benefits of swimming, dancing, and so on. My characters press themselves against the glass of the shower window, distorting their own bodies, realizing that they thereby influence the notorious male gaze on a naked woman. Thick layers of paint are mixed to imitate glass, steam, water and flesh from afar. However, up close, the amazing physical properties oil paint. By experimenting with layers of paint and color, I find a point where abstract brushstrokes become something else.

When I first started painting the human body, I was immediately fascinated and even obsessed with it and believed that I had to make my paintings as realistic as possible. I “professed” realism until it began to unravel and reveal contradictions in itself. I am now exploring the possibilities and potential of a style of painting where representational painting and abstraction meet – if both styles can coexist at the same moment in time, I will do so.”

Antonio Finelli

Italian artist – “ Time Observer” – Antonio Finelli was born on February 23, 1985. Currently lives and works in Italy between Rome and Campobasso. His works have been exhibited in several galleries in Italy and abroad: Rome, Florence, Novara, Genoa, Palermo, Istanbul, Ankara, New York, and can also be found in private and public collections.

Pencil drawings " Time Observer"Antonio Finelli takes us on an eternal journey through inner world human temporality and the associated scrupulous analysis of this world, the main element of which is the passage through time and the traces it makes on the skin.

Finelli paints portraits of people of any age, gender and nationality, whose facial expressions indicate passage through time, and the artist also hopes to find evidence of the mercilessness of time on the bodies of his characters. Antonio defines his works with one, general title: “Self-portrait”, because in his pencil drawings he not only depicts a person, but allows the viewer to contemplate real results the passage of time within a person.

Flaminia Carloni

Flaminia Carloni is a 37-year-old Italian artist, the daughter of a diplomat. She has three children. She lived in Rome for twelve years, and for three years in England and France. She received a degree in art history from the BD School of Art. Then she received a diploma as an art restorer. Before finding her calling and devoting herself entirely to painting, she worked as a journalist, colorist, designer, and actress.

Flaminia's passion for painting arose in childhood. Her main medium is oil because she loves to “coiffer la pate” and also play with the material. She recognized a similar technique in the works of artist Pascal Torua. Flaminia is inspired by great masters of painting such as Balthus, Hopper, and François Legrand, as well as various artistic movements: street art, Chinese realism, surrealism and Renaissance realism. Her favorite artist is Caravaggio. Her dream is to discover the therapeutic power of art.

Denis Chernov

Denis Chernov - talented Ukrainian artist, born in 1978 in Sambir, Lviv region, Ukraine. After graduating from Kharkov art school in 1998 he remained in Kharkov, where he currently lives and works. He also studied at the Kharkov State Academy of Design and Arts, Department of Graphic Arts, graduating in 2004.

He regularly participates in art exhibitions; at the moment there have been more than sixty of them, both in Ukraine and abroad. Most of Denis Chernov's works are kept in private collections in Ukraine, Russia, Italy, England, Spain, Greece, France, USA, Canada and Japan. Some of the works were sold at Christie's.

Denis works in a wide range of graphic and painting techniques. Pencil drawings are one of his most favorite painting methods, a list of his topics pencil drawings is also very diverse, he paints landscapes, portraits, nudes, genre compositions, book illustrations, literary and historical reconstructions and fantasies.

AMERICAN PAINTING
The first works of American painting that have come down to us date back to the 16th century; these are sketches made by participants in research expeditions. However professional artists appeared in America only at the beginning of the 18th century; the only stable source of income for them was a portrait; this genre continued to occupy a leading position in American painting until the beginning of the 19th century.
Colonial period. The first group of portraits executed using the technique oil painting, dates back to the second half of the 17th century; At this time, the life of the settlers was relatively calm, life stabilized and opportunities for practicing art appeared. Of these works, the most famous is the portrait of Mrs. Frick with her daughter Mary (1671-1674, Massachusetts, Worcester Museum of Art), painted by an unknown English artist. By the 1730s, cities on the east coast already had several artists working in a more modern and realistic manner: Henrietta Johnston in Charleston (1705), Justus Englehardt Kuhn in Annapolis (1708), Gustav Hesselius in Philadelphia (1712), John Watson in Perth Amboy in New Jersey (1714), Peter Pelham (1726) and John Smibert (1728) in Boston. The painting of the latter two had a significant influence on the work of John Singleton Copley (1738-1815), who is considered the first major American artist. From the engravings from the Pelham collection, young Copley gained an understanding of English ceremonial portraiture and the painting of Godfrey Kneller, a leading English master who worked in this genre at the beginning of the 18th century. In the painting Boy with a Squirrel (1765, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts), Copley created a wonderful realistic portrait, gentle and surprisingly accurate in conveying the texture of objects. When Copley sent this work to London in 1765, Joshua Reynolds advised him to continue his studies in England. However, Copley remained in America until 1774 and continued to paint portraits, carefully working out all the details and nuances in them. He then took a trip to Europe and settled in London in 1775; In his style, mannerism and features of idealization characteristic of English painting of that time appeared. Among the finest works Copley produced in England are large formal portraits reminiscent of the work of Benjamin West, including Brooke Watson and the Shark (1778, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts). Benjamin West (1738-1820) was born in Pennsylvania; After painting several portraits of Philadelphians, he moved to London in 1763. Here he gained fame as a history painter. An example of his work in this genre is the painting The Death of General Wolfe (1770, Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada). In 1792, West succeeded Reynolds as president of the British Royal Academy of Arts.
War of Independence and the beginning of the 19th century. Unlike Copley and West, who remained permanently in London, portrait painter Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) returned to America in 1792, making a career in London and Dublin. He soon became the leading master of this genre in the young republic; Stuart painted portraits of almost all prominent political and public figures America. His works are executed in a lively, free, sketchy manner, very different from the style of American works by Copley. Benjamin West willingly accepted young American artists into his London studio; his students included Charles Wilson Peale (1741-1827) and Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872). Peale became the founder of a dynasty of painters and a family art enterprise in Philadelphia. He painted portraits, was engaged in scientific research and opened a Museum natural history and painting in Philadelphia (1786). Of his seventeen children, many became artists and naturalists. Morse, better known as the inventor of the telegraph, painted several beautiful portraits and one of the most grandiose paintings in all American painting, the Louvre Gallery. In this work, about 37 canvases are reproduced in miniature with amazing precision. This work, like all of Morse's activities, had the goal of introducing the young nation to the great European culture. Washington Alston (1779-1843) was one of the first American artists to pay tribute to Romanticism; During his long travels across Europe, he painted sea storms, poetic Italian scenes and sentimental portraits. At the beginning of the 19th century. The first American art academies opened, providing students with professional training and taking a direct part in organizing exhibitions: the Pennsylvania Academy of Arts in Philadelphia (1805) and the National Academy of Drawing in New York (1825), whose first president was S. R. Morse. In the 1820s-1830s, John Trumbull (1756-1843) and John Vanderlyn (1775-1852) painted huge compositions based on scenes from American history, decorating the walls of the Capitol rotunda in Washington. In the 1830s, landscape became the dominant genre of American painting. Thomas Cole (1801-1848) wrote about the virgin nature of the north (New York). He argued that weather-beaten mountains and bright autumn forests were more suitable subjects for American artists than picturesque European ruins. Cole also painted several landscapes imbued with ethical and religious meaning; among them are four large paintings Life path(1842, Washington, National Gallery) - allegorical compositions depicting a boat going down the river, in which a boy is sitting, then a young man, then a man and finally an old man. Many landscape painters followed Cole's example and depicted American nature in their works; they are often combined into one group called the “Hudson River School” (which is not true, since they worked all over the country and wrote in different styles). Among the American genre painters, the most famous are William Sidney Mount (1807-1868), who painted scenes from the life of farmers on Long Island, and George Caleb Bingham (1811-1879), whose paintings are dedicated to the life of fishermen from the banks of Missouri and elections in small provincial towns. Before the Civil War, the most popular artist was Frederick Edwin Church (1826-1900), a student of Cole's. He painted mostly large-format works and sometimes used overly naturalistic motifs to attract and stun the public. Church traveled to the most exotic and dangerous places, collecting material to depict South American volcanoes and icebergs of the northern seas; one of his most famous works is the painting Niagara Falls (1857, Washington, Corcoran Gallery). In the 1860s, the huge canvases of Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) aroused widespread admiration for the beauty of the Rocky Mountains depicted in them, with their clear lakes, forests and tower-like peaks.

Collier's Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .

See what "AMERICAN PAINTING" is in other dictionaries:

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• English and American painting in the Washington National Gallery (paperback), E. G. Milyugina, The Washington National Gallery has the world's largest collections of high-quality English and American painting artistic level. The collections reflect both the history of world painting,… Category:

By the mid-19th century, landscape became the dominant genre of American painting. Many artists of that time are united in the group “Hudson River School,” which included more than 50 landscape painters of two generations.

The most famous American landscape artist of those years can be considered Thomas Cole (1801-1848),

born in England and moved to America at the age of 17 with his parents. He studied painting with a traveling artist, was self-taught, traveled a lot around the country, visited England and Italy,

But he considered American nature much more picturesque than European nature.

The closest thing to Cole's style was his friend Asher Duran(1796-1886), who started as a graphic artist,

But after traveling with a friend through the mountains of America, he became interested in landscapes and painted a lot from life.

The artist painted this painting in memory of his deceased friend; at auction in 2007, $35 million was paid for it.

One of the central figures in the Hudson River School was Frederic Edwin Church, who became Cole’s student at the age of 18.
From spring to autumn he traveled around the country and the world,

First alone, and then with his family, often on foot, he made sketches, and in winter he painted his large bright pictures and sold them successfully.

Albert Bierstadt(1830-1902) also traveled a lot around the country and Europe, willingly painted the Alps, but his real love was the Rocky Mountains,

Wild West, Indians.

He managed to convey this love on his large canvases, masterfully using the effect of light and shadow.

Thomas Moran(1836-1926), emigrated with his parents from England as a child, worked as an apprentice woodcarver as a teenager, and began painting landscapes at an early age.

While studying in England, he was greatly influenced by the works of William Turner and his ability to fill his canvases with light.
Moran paints landscapes of England, views of Venice,

but most of his works are devoted to Wild West and the beloved Rocky Mountains. His participation in the exploration expedition to these places and his drawings contributed to the transformation of Yellowstone into national park.

John Frederick Kensett(1816-1872), representative of “luminism” * in American landscape painting of the Hudson River School. He received his first artistic education from his father, working in his engraving workshop, but he dreamed of painting landscapes.

He goes to England, then to France, admires Dutch and English landscape painting, and travels through Italy.

Returning to America, continuing to paint calm landscapes filled with pure light and executed in an exquisite manner, Kensett gained popularity among collectors, success and wealth.

John F. Francis(1808 -1906), a self-taught artist who began as a portrait painter, is known for his still lifes.

It was portrait painting that awakened in him the interest in small details that he developed so successfully in his work.

Still life was popular at the time, Francis's paintings were in demand, and he became a leading artist in the genre of "table" still life, depicting fruits, nuts, cheese, cookies and other products.

Martin Johnson Heed(1819-1904), born into the family of a storekeeper, also began as a portrait painter, maintained friendly relations with the artists of the Hudson River School and painted romantic seascapes,

traveled through Europe, wandered along the American shores. After traveling in the tropics, the main themes of his work became Florida landscapes,

tropical birds (about 40 paintings with hummingbirds alone) and flowers, especially magnolias.

He did not become a recognized and famous artist during his lifetime, but today his works can be found in largest museums, and sometimes even in garages and flea markets.

Thomas Eakins(1844-1916), one of the founders of the realistic movement, painter, graphic artist, sculptor, photographer, teacher,

He was one of the first to turn to depicting urban life in America. He received his education in Philadelphia, continued it in Paris, traveled around Europe, admired the works of the Spanish realist masters Velazquez and Ribera, and the effect of light and shadow in Rembrandt.

It was from them that he learned to depict a naked body in motion, the drama of the action taking place, and to contrast the dark interior in a portrait with intense light directed at the face and figure.

Eakins did not receive much recognition during his lifetime, but later descendants appreciated his realistic style.

Winslow Homer(1838-1910), eminent American landscape artist and an engraver who worked in a realistic style.

He received his initial artistic education from his mother, who painted talented watercolors, and from her he inherited a strong-willed, sociable character and a sense of humor. His career began with graphics; he worked as an illustrator for 20 years; during the Civil War, he made sketches and drawings about the war and its consequences, on the basis of which he later created paintings.

Soon after the war, Homer went to Paris, where he continued to paint landscapes and scenes of city life; his work was close to the Barbizon school. Although he actively uses the play of light in his paintings, characteristic of the impressionists, there is no evidence of their influence on his work; by that time he had already developed his own independent style.

His greatest fame was brought to him by his paintings of marine themes,

Scenes from rural life, and from a trip to England he brought paintings telling about the life of fishing villages, seascapes and watercolors.

He travels extensively throughout the United States and Central America, painting tropical and snowy landscapes, children and animals. It is believed that Homer was one of a generation of artists who created their own American art school.

James Whistler(1834-1903), born into the family of a famous engineer,

At the age of eight, he moved with his parents to St. Petersburg, where his father was invited to work in the railway department. There, young Whistler first took private drawing lessons, and at the age of 11 he entered the Imperial Academy of Arts. For some time he lived with his mother in London, continuing to study art, draw and collect books about painting.

After his father's death from cholera, Whistler's family returned to America, lived modestly, and he entered the Military Academy at West Point, but he was not physically, externally, or mentally ready for a military career and was expelled. Then he firmly decided that art would be his future, began creating etchings, left for Paris and never returned to his homeland. There Whistler rented a studio in the Latin Quarter, led a bohemian life, smoked and drank a lot, but also painted copies of paintings by great masters in the Louvre to earn money, studied art, worshiped Courbet and Corot, admired Japanese graphics and oriental art in general.

After moving to London and successfully participating in the exhibition, Whistler soon made a name for himself not only as an artist, but also made many friends among artists and writers thanks to his wit, dress sense and generosity. He traveled a lot to study the work of great masters and paint pictures; in 1869 he began signing his paintings with a monogram - a butterfly, consisting of his initials.

His favorite colors are gray, black and brown. Whistler preached “art for art’s sake,” pure, unencumbered by ideas, appealing to artistic feelings rather than emotions, and often gave his paintings musical titles.

It is believed that he was close to impressionism in the mood of his paintings, but not in the color scheme and lighting effects.
In this slideshow you can see more paintings by all the artists mentioned.

Finally, I came to my favorite topic - "Impressionists", but that's for next time. To be continued.

*Luminisim- a direction in American landscape painting, characterized by saturation of light, the use of aerial perspective and the concealment of visible strokes. (

American artists are very diverse. Some were clearly cosmopolitan, like Sargent. American by origin, but lived almost his entire adult life in London and Paris.

Among them there are also authentic Americans who depicted the lives of only their compatriots, like Rockwell.

And there are also artists who are not of this world, like Pollock. Or those whose art has become a product of consumer society. This is, of course, about Warhol.

However, they are all Americans. Freedom-loving, daring, bright. Read about seven of them below.

1. James Whistler (1834-1903)

Whistler can hardly be called a real American. Growing up, he lived in Europe. And he spent his childhood... in Russia. His father built railway In Petersburg.

It was there that the boy James fell in love with art, visiting the Hermitage and Peterhof thanks to his father’s connections (at that time these were still palaces closed to the public).

What is Whistler famous for? Whatever style he writes in, from realism to tonalism*, he can be recognized almost immediately by two characteristics. Unusual colors and musical names.

Some of his portraits are imitation of old masters. Like, for example, his famous portrait"The Artist's Mother"

The artist created an amazing piece of work using colors ranging from light gray to dark gray. And a little yellow.

But this does not mean that Whistler loved such colors. He was an extraordinary person. He could easily appear in society wearing yellow socks and carrying a bright umbrella. And this was when men dressed exclusively in black and gray.

He also has much lighter works than “Mother”. For example, “Symphony in White”. This is what one of the journalists at the exhibition called the painting. Whistler liked this idea. Since then, he has titled almost all of his works musically.

But then, in 1862, the public did not like the Symphony. Again, because of Whistler’s peculiar color schemes. People thought it was strange to paint a woman in white on a white background.

In the picture we see Whistler's red-haired mistress. Quite in the spirit of the Pre-Raphaelites. After all, at that time the artist was friends with one of the main founders of Pre-Raphaelism, Gabriel Rossetti. Beauty, lilies, unusual elements (wolf skin). Everything is as it should be.

But Whistler quickly moved away from Pre-Raphaelism. Since it was important to him not outer beauty, but mood and emotions. And he created a new direction - tonalism.

His landscape nocturnes in the style of tonalism are truly like music. Monochrome, viscous.

Whistler himself said that musical titles help focus on the painting itself, lines and colors. At the same time, without thinking about the place and people who are depicted.

But she remained true to her style to the end. Impressionism. Soft pastel. Mothers with children.

For the sake of painting, Cassatt abandoned motherhood. But her feminine increasingly manifested itself in such tender works as “Sleeping Child.” It’s a pity that conservative society once confronted her with such a choice.

3. John Sargent (1856-1925)

John Sargent was sure that he would be a portrait painter all his life. My career was going well. Aristocrats lined up to order from him.

But one day, according to society, the artist crossed the line. It is now difficult for us to understand what is so unacceptable in the film “Madame X”.

True, in the original version the heroine had one of her straps down. Sargent “raised” her, but this did not help matters. Orders have dried up.

What obscene thing did the public see? And the fact that Sargent depicted the model in an overly self-confident pose. Moreover, translucent skin and a pink ear are very eloquent.

The picture seems to say that this woman with increased sexuality is not averse to accepting the advances of other men. Moreover, being married.

Unfortunately, contemporaries did not see the masterpiece behind this scandal. A dark dress, light skin, a dynamic pose - a simple combination that only the most talented craftsmen can find.

But every cloud has a silver lining. Sargent received his freedom in return. I began to experiment more with impressionism. Write to children in immediate situations. This is how the work “Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose” appeared.

Sargent wanted to capture a specific moment of twilight. Therefore I only worked 2 minutes a day when the lighting was suitable. Worked in summer and autumn. And when the flowers withered, I replaced them with artificial ones.

IN last decades Sargent developed such a taste for freedom that he began to abandon portraits altogether. Although his reputation has already been restored. He even rudely dismissed one client, saying that he would be more happy to paint her gate than her face.

Contemporaries treated Sargent with irony. Considering it obsolete in the age of modernism. But time has put everything in its place.

Now his works are worth no less than the works of the most famous modernists. Well, there’s nothing to say about the love of the public. Exhibitions with his works are always sold out.

4. Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)

It is difficult to imagine a more popular artist during his lifetime than Norman Rockwell. Several generations of Americans grew up with his illustrations. Loving them with all my soul.

After all, Rockwell portrayed ordinary Americans. But at the same time showing their lives from the most positive side. Rockwell did not want to show either evil fathers or indifferent mothers. And you won’t meet any unhappy children with him.

His works are full of humor, rich colors and very skillfully captured facial expressions from life.

But it is an illusion that the work was easy for Rockwell. To create one painting, he might first take up to a hundred photographs of his subjects to capture the right gestures.

Rockwell's works had a tremendous influence on the minds of millions of Americans. After all, he often spoke out through his paintings.

During World War II, he decided to show what his country's soldiers were fighting for. Having also created the painting “Freedom from Want”. In the form of Thanksgiving, where all family members, well-fed and satisfied, rejoice at the family holiday.

After 50 years of work at the Saturday Evening Post, Rockwell left for the more democratic Look magazine, where he was able to express his views on social problems.

The most brilliant work those years - “The problem we live with.”

This real story a black girl who went to a white school. Since a law was passed stating that people (and therefore educational establishments) should no longer be segregated along racial lines.

But there was no limit to the anger of the townsfolk. On the way to school, the girl was guarded by the police. This is the “routine” moment that Rockwell showed.

If you want to know the life of Americans in a slightly embellished light (as they themselves wanted to see it), be sure to watch Rockwell’s paintings.

Perhaps, of all the painters presented in this article, Rockwell is the most American artist.

5. Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009)

Unlike Rockwell, Wyeth was not as positive. A recluse by nature, he did not try to embellish anything. On the contrary, he depicted the most ordinary landscapes and unremarkable things. Just a wheat field, just wooden house. But he even managed to glimpse something magical in them.

His most famous work is “Christina’s World.” Wyeth showed the fate of one woman, his neighbor. Paralyzed since childhood, she crawled around her farm.

So there is nothing romantic in this picture, as it might seem at first. If you look closely, the woman is painfully thin. And knowing that the heroine’s legs are paralyzed, you understand with sadness how far she is still from home.

At first glance, Wyeth wrote the most ordinary thing. Here is an old window of an old house. A shabby curtain that has already begun to turn into shreds. The forest is dark outside the window.

But there is some mystery in all this. Some other look.

This is how children know how to look at the world with an open mind. Wyatt looks the same way. And we are with him.

All of Wyeth's affairs were handled by his wife. She was a good organizer. It was she who contacted museums and collectors.

There was little romance in their relationship. The muse had to appear. And she became the simple but extraordinary-looking Helga. This is exactly what we see in numerous jobs.

It would seem that we are seeing only a photographic image of a woman. But for some reason it’s hard to tear yourself away from her. Her look is too complicated, her shoulders tense. It’s as if we are internally tense together with her. Trying to find an explanation for this tension.

Depicting reality in every detail, Wyeth magically endowed it with emotions that cannot leave anyone indifferent.

The artist was not recognized for a long time. With its realism, albeit magical, it did not fit into the modernist trends of the 20th century.

When museum workers bought his works, they tried to do it quietly, without attracting attention. Exhibitions were rarely organized. But to the envy of the modernists, they always had resounding success. People came in droves. And they still come.

6. Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)

Jackson Pollock cannot be ignored. He crossed a certain line in art, after which painting could not be the same. He showed that in art it is generally possible to do without boundaries. When I laid the canvas on the floor and splashed it with paint.

And this American artist began with abstract art, in which the figurative could still be traced. In his work of the 40s, “Stenographic Figure,” we see the outlines of both the face and hands. And even symbols that we understand in the form of crosses and zeros.

His work was praised, but people were in no hurry to buy it. He was as poor as a church mouse. And he drank shamelessly. Despite happy marriage. His wife admired his talent and did everything for her husband’s success.

But Pollock was initially a broken personality. From his youth it was clear from his actions that early death- his destiny.

This brokenness will ultimately lead to his death at the age of 44. But he will have time to make a revolution in art and become famous.

And he did it during a period of two years of sobriety. He was able to work fruitfully in 1950-1952. He experimented for a long time until he came to the drip technique.

Laying out a huge canvas on the floor of his barn, he walked around it, as if being in the painting itself. And splashed or simply poured paint.

These unusual paintings They began to willingly buy from him for their incredible originality and novelty.

Pollock was overwhelmed by fame and fell into depression, not understanding where to move next. The deadly mixture of alcohol and depression left him no chance of survival. One day he got behind the wheel very drunk. Last time.

7. Andy Warhol (1928-1987)

Only in a country with such a cult of consumption as in America could pop art be born. And its main initiator was, of course, Andy Warhol.

He became famous for taking the most ordinary things and turning them into a work of art. This is what happened with a can of Campbell's soup.

The choice was not accidental. Warhol's mother fed her son this soup every day for more than 20 years. Even when he moved to New York and took his mother with him.

After this experiment, Warhol became interested in screen printing. From then on, he took pictures of pop stars and painted them in different colors.

This is how his famous painted Marilyn Monroe appeared.

A countless number of such Marilyn acid flowers were produced. Warhol put art on stream. As it should be in a consumer society.

Warhol did not come up with painted faces out of nowhere. And again, it was not without the influence of the mother. As a child, during her son’s protracted illness, she brought him packs of coloring books.

This childhood hobby grew into what became his calling card and made him fabulously rich.

He painted not only pop stars, but also the masterpieces of his predecessors. I got it too.

“Venus”, like Marilyn, has been done a lot. The exclusivity of a work of art was “erased” into powder by Warhol. Why did the artist do this?

To popularize old masterpieces? Or, conversely, try to devalue them? Immortalize pop stars? Or spice up death with irony?

His colored works of Madonna, Elvis Presley or Lenin are sometimes more recognizable than the original photographs.

But the masterpieces were hardly eclipsed. All the same, the pristine “Venus” remains priceless.

Warhol was an avid party animal, attracting a lot of marginalized people. Drug addicts, failed actors or simply unbalanced individuals. One of which shot him once.

Warhol survived. But 20 years later, due to the consequences of a wound he had once suffered, he died alone in his apartment.

US melting pot

Despite short story American art, the range turned out to be wide. Among American artists there are the impressionists (Sargent), the magical realists (Wyeth), the abstract expressionists (Pollock), and the pioneers of pop art (Warhol).

Well, Americans love freedom of choice in everything. Hundreds of denominations. Hundreds of nations. Hundreds of art styles. That's why it is the melting pot of the United States of America.

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