American Art

        I thought today may be a good day to look at American Art. With no rhyme or reason, I picked a few of my favorite artists and decided to share. I think these works are among the most poignant  pieces of art our country has produced. Eakins, Hopper, Nevelson, Ryman -- just some of my faves, and of course master art teacher- Robert Henri.

These ( above)  are by Thomas Eakins.

After Eakins, above, are by Edward Hopper.

Some Nevelson pieces (above).

A white painting by Robert Ryman.

And of course, a figure by Robert Henri, who was a master teacher and who wrote the very inspirational book " The Art Spirit"

Faces and Film

Much has been written about the face of Greta Garbo. Indeed, quite a monument for beauty. my students were commenting on her  "architectural face" and how lovely  it was  few days ago.  I teach EVOLUTION OF FASHION, a history course of clothing ranging from Mesopotamia to present day. I  teach mostly through film. Although the art form of film in itself is beautiful, our concern in this class is the costume design. This week, we watched THE WOMEN starring Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford. There seems to be a dislike for Crawford's "hard" look, and a feeling that it detracts from the gorgeous clothes by Gilbert Adrian made for this classic movie. ADRIAN, as was called, outfitted Crawford through most of his career. At any rate , I found some photos of Miss Crawdord taken before she was  "mommy dearest" ----- before she had the menacing brows.....taken before her lupine madness emerged.... She was, however, an AMERICAN beauty and a consummate actor. I try to focus on American Style right now in order to show my students that as Americans we have the talent and skill to create and be and do and imagine all that is authentic, original, rewarding, and fulfilling..... ; ) 

More American Beauty

Despite the beautiful dress being Italian, Angelina Jolie was just beautiful at the Golden globes on January 15, 2012. Here she is :

Today is American Beauty Day

Italian American beauty, Cristina Ferrarae

Cristina Ferrarae is the the beauty icon of the day.....

American Style

Thought I'd focus on American Style Icons as a reminder that we, too, can be chic...Today, the icon is LOUISE BROOKS,

A movie star of the 1920s

Raoul Pene Du Bois: My first Inspiration

TEXT--FROM WIKIPEDIA------

Images- From Living Room

Raoul Pene Du Bois (November 29, 1914^[1] – January 1, 1985) was an American costume designer and scenic designer for the stage and film. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.^[2]

He was born on Staten Island, New York, the son of René Pène Du Bois, a banker. He started his career as a costume designer when he was 14, by designing four showgirl costumes for the Ziegfeld Follies.^[3] He went on to design the costumes for the Broadway revues Ziegfeld Follies of 1934, his first show and Ziegfeld Follies of 1936.[edit]Career

Du Bois designed the costumes and/or the scenery for some 48 Broadway shows, starting in 1934 with the Ziegfeld Follies of 1934 and his last, Reggae in 1980; his designs were used in Jerome Robbins' Broadway in 1989. Among his work wasGypsy (1959) and many other musicals starring Ethel Merman. He worked on Billy Rose's Aquacade for the New York World's Fair (1939–40).

He won the 1971 Tony Award and Drama Desk Award, Best Costume Design for No, No, Nanette and the 1953 Tony Award, Best Scenic Design, for Wonderful Town and was nominated for the Tony Award, Costume Design, for Sugar Babies (1980),Doctor Jazz (1975) and Gypsy (1960), and for scenic design for The Student Gypsy (1964).