The Yale Art Gallery

Couldn’t resist another trip down town! I had some business to take care in New Haven today so while I was in the area I stopped by the Yale Art Gallery on Chapel Street. The gallery is located directly across the street from the British Art Gallery. When I began this journey at the British Art Gallery, I didn’t have enough time to visit both museums on the same day.

The Yale Art Gallery is recognized all around the world and contains renaissance art, ancient and medieval, African art, Asian Art, American art, Contemporary and much more. This building was also designed by Louis I Kahn and you can see the similarities between the two galleries. They are made from the same materials which are mirrored glass and steel, and the interior has that same earthy feel.

There are four floors with a tubular stair case in the middle and elevators if needed. I was not allowed to take pictures on four floors and other areas of the gallery. I kept asking the curators to make sure, I was told that not all the art on display is owned by Yale and therefore may not be photographed. There was no admission for this gallery but a helpful hint…turn off your cell phone the you are not allow to use them past the reception area.

The first buildings for Yale were erected in 1718. The buildings had become badly deteriorated and were knocked down in 1750 and what some remember as The Old Campus was built. Old Brick Row, as artist and designer John Trumble and many others named the first ever planned college campus was constructed. The Yale Art Gallery was founded in 1832 by Trumble and stood on the old campus from 1832-1901.

Currently on view on the fourth floor of the gallery is Picasso and the Allure of Language. There was also the Tea Culture of Japan: Chanoyu Past and Present on view January 20–April 26, 2009 on the first floor.

Monet Women in a garden Oil on Canvas 1867
(not in Yale Art Gallery)

An artist I was excited to see was Claude Monet. Like Van Gogh, Monet made use of lighting to add dimension to his paintings. Born in Paris in 1840, his father wanted him to work in the family grocery store but Monet wanted to be an artist. From the start of his painting career, Monet has created many paintings of Camille, who would later become his wife. Monet’s style of painting changed the way impressionistic styles of painting were created. The addition of light gave the painting depth and the feel that it was real. A popular painting from this artist is water lilies which is not in this gallery.

Waterlilies to the right not in Yale Art Gallery.
It appears in his painting of Camille on the beach, the light is coming from the upper right hand corner giving the impression the sunlight is hitting the left side of her body . You will notice Camille’s leg is crossed over the other and lighter colors have been used to show the sunlight hitting her knee. Darker tones have been used for the sand behind her and lower portions of her dress putting the sun to her left.

I was wondering how this trip would go conisidering I was on my own this time, but I ended up knowing one of the curators and was able to spend time with a friend and learn about the art in the gallery. I recommended stopping by the Yale Art Gallery, there are many beautiful things to see and there are always new exhibits showcased!


For more information follow the links below...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Monet
http://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/bio.html
http://www.yale.edu/museums/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_University_Art_Gallery

The Wadsworth Antheneum

Sunday March 1, 2009
I woke up today to find that some family members had other things going on and so this Sunday dinner would be a quiet one. Since the museum didn’t open until later in the day, I decided to spend some time with my family and then I picked up my friend Anthony and we visited The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.

The museum is located in the capitol area of Hartford Connecticut and once again was very easy to get to! Take I91 N all the way to exit 28A. It’s a quick right off the exit and you will see the back of the museum ahead of you. It was cold today and it did snow a tiny bit but I’m glad that we went. There was a small admission for this museum; $10.00 for adults, students $5.00, and children always free.

The Wadsworth is three floors of colorful rooms and hallways to venture down. Each room contains a different theme and genera of art, from medieval, to biblical depictions to paintings of George Washington. The Wadsworth really is a great museum to visit! This museum contains early furniture making and tapestries along with different cultural arts such as Russians ballet costumes.

You will also see a wide range of paintings from different time periods with names you will recognize such as Salvador Dali ,Pablo Picasso and James M. W. Wright, whose paintings are on a previous blog of mine on the Yale British Art Gallery. Other artist in the museum are Jackson Pollock, Robert Matta and Dutch painter Aelbert Cuyp.

Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a BeachArtist: Salvador Dalí(Spanish, 1904-1989)

Picasso Picasso

A paintng I noticed was by Chilean artist and sculptor, Robert Matta, 1911-2002. Matta was originally an architect before he began painting. Matta was a surrealist and is a major contributor to the abstract expressionism movement. Matta practiced "automatism", painting as fast as possible, to reveal the subconscious. He describes his paintings as ,''the subconscious in its burning, liquid state; a conscious. Daytime substitution of the phenomenon of dreams.''(1) He liked to be as spontaneous as possible un like other paintings styles that have thought behind it. Matta has influenced painters such as Jackson Pollock, Rothko, William Baziotes, Robert Motherwell and Arshile Gorky.

His paintings were a start to another form of painting and is a unique style. Very different from the more traditional paintings we are used to. If you take your first right up the adjacent hallway you will see Jackson Pollock, a surrealist and abstract expressionistic American painter from Rhode Island.

Daniel Wadsworth (1771-1848), founder,also started the Connecticut Historical Society and the Young Men’s Institute which is now the Hartford Public Library. The Antheneum is America’s oldest public art museum. It has been in existence since 1842 and has art within donated by J.P. Morgan and Elizabeth Colt, wife of Samuel Colt. Daniel

The Wadsworth was also the first American museum to acquire works by Salvador Dali, Frederic Church and others. It was in 1927 under Director a Everett Austin Jr. that the allowed the museum to evolve and in 1931 the it held the first Surrealism exhibition in America allowing for surealist and abstact styles of painting to further advance in the states.

Jackson Pollock

Robert Matta practicing automatism

Unite by Robert Matta

Oliver and Abigail Wolcott Ellsworth

To learn more about this topic you can follow the links below!

(1)Http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D06E1D81139F936A15752C1A9649C8B63
http://www.matta-art.com/
http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/learn/museum-history.php
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-Matta.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock