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Our growing archive of info about art, design, and culture.

  • California: The History of its Art

    California: The History of its Art

    Long before California appeared on European maps, before gold or missions or highways, it was a land of visual cultures—plural, specific, and deeply embedded in place. The earliest surviving art in the…

  • Inspiration: “Absynt,” by Zygmunt Andrychiewicz

    Inspiration: “Absynt,” by Zygmunt Andrychiewicz

    Zygmunt Andrychiewicz began his studies at the Warsaw School of Drawing while working as a decorative painter. From 1884 to 1886, thanks to a scholarship from the “Towarzystwo Zachęty Sztuk Pięknych ”…

  • Inspiration: “The Picture Book,” by William Brymner

    Inspiration: “The Picture Book,” by William Brymner

    THE PICTURE BOOKWilliam Brymner1898CanadianWatercolor, oil and resin on linenNational Gallery of Canada *** Born in Greenock, Scotland, the son of Douglas Brymner the first Dominion Archivist and Jean Thomson, he moved with his family to Melbourne, Canada East in 1857. In…

  • Inspiration: “After The Misdeed,” by Jean Béraud

    Inspiration: “After The Misdeed,” by Jean Béraud

    Jean Béraud’s After the Misdeed is a powerful exploration of human emotion, morality, and the societal expectations of its time. Renowned for his detailed depictions of Parisian life during the Belle Époque,…

  • How to Teach Cartooning and Comic Art to Kids

    How to Teach Cartooning and Comic Art to Kids

    The art of cartooning has deep historical roots, stretching far beyond the 20th century. Political caricatures date back to at least the 1700s, with English artists like James Gillray and George Cruikshank…

  • Biography: Jean Béraud

    Biography: Jean Béraud

    Jean Béraud (1849-1935) was a French painter known for his depictions of life in Paris during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was associated with the French academic and realist…