Pretty as a Picture

Back from Chicago.

Beyond the 100th birthday party and seeing the world premiere production of War Paint, I also spent about three hours at the Chicago Art Institute, which isn't close to enough.  It's quite a remarkable place -- not just for all the amazing artwork, but also how beautifully and creatively it's presented.

They have a new exhibit there called, "After the Fall."  It's American art after the stock market crashed in 1929 and during the Depression.  Some of the work was familiar -- for instance they moved their painting of "American Gothic" there -- but most were paintings I hadn't see.  What was so good about the exhibit was seeing all of the dispersed work together in one show.

For instance, this is the painting, "Gas," by Edward Hopper, who's best known for his painting, "Nighthawks," (the one with lonesome customers in a diner late at night), which is also in the museum's collection.

I'll try to post a few more from this special exhibit later.  But I thought I'd pass this one along which I've always been intrigued by.

This below has always one of the more interesting paintings there that I like a lot from the museum's regular collection.  I think most people would never guess who painted it.  Maybe they’d guess Andrew Wyeth and a New England seascape.  Or something like that.  I’ll say who it is after you take a look –

That’s by, of all people, Vincent Van Gogh!!  Very peaceful, very pastoral.  No frenzied, swirling lines.  It’s from somewhat early in his career, when he went to Paris and stayed with his brother Theo.  Yes, that’s in Paris.  It’s not even a seascape.  It’s “Terrace and Observation Deck” in Montmartre.  

​More to come...