We could all use a little inspiration in our busy lives, and benefit from the context that art can bring to bear on our world, our times, and our history. Join us and museum directors from around the United States as we explore some of our greatest artistic treasures. We’ll take a closer look at a new masterpiece every two weeks, so be sure to tune in, learn more, be inspired and discuss with friends and family.
Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment
At Bank of America, we believe in the power of the arts to help economies thrive, educate and enrich societies, and create greater cultural understanding. That’s why we’re proud to introduce Bank of America's Masterpiece Moment—a new video series that celebrates great works of art. Please join us throughout the year as we examine a varied array of masterpieces from museum collections across the United States.
Be sure to sign up for alerts so you’ll never miss a moment.
Art inspires, educates, and helps us see our world in a new way
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Audio: Jazz music playing
Graphic: Bank of America presents Masterpiece Moment
Video: Exterior and interior shots of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
On-screen text: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
On-screen text: Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669), Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692, Oil on oak panel, 35 5/16 x 28 15/16 inches
Video: Peggy Fogelman, Norma Jean Calderwood Director, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, standing next to the Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
On-screen text: Peggy Fogelman, Norma Jean Calderwood Director, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Audio— Peggy Fogelman: Hello, I’m Peggy Fogelman, the Norma Jean Calderwood Director of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Welcome to Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment. Today I’d like to talk about one of my favorite works from our collection, Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait, and tell you why I think it’s truly a masterpiece.
Video: A black-and-white photographic portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner
Audio: In 1903, Isabella Stewart Gardner opened the…
Video: An archival photograph of the museum under construction
Audio: …first American museum ever established by a woman.
Video: A portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner
Audio: She rejected traditional methods of displaying art according to time period or region…
Video: Interior shots of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Audio: and instead prioritized a sense of intimacy and emotion, inviting visitors to have their own personal responses to the works of art, as she herself did. She combined paintings, textiles, furniture and antiquities, and continually rearranged them as the collection grew…
Video: A shot of the museum’s courtyard
Audio: …housed in a new, Venetian-style Palazzo…
Video: An archival photograph of the museum exterior
Audio: …in Boston’s Fens, where she lived among her treasures.
Video: A black-and-white photographic portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner
Audio: As part of her will, she stipulated that artworks remain displayed as she left them…
Video: A shot of the museum’s courtyard
Audio: …and no items may be acquired or sold by the museum.
Video: A portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner
Audio: In 1896, Gardner bought the first work of art specifically purchased for the museum that she was building.
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
Audio: It is this Self-Portrait, Age 23 by the celebrated Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn.
Video: Peggy Fogelman, Norma Jean Calderwood Director, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, standing next to the Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
Audio: As a savvy collector, Gardner knew that Rembrandts were the blue-chip currency of the American Gilded Age art market.
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
Audio: By the end of her life, she managed to acquire not just this work…
Video: The Rembrandt painting The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, 1633
Audio: …but four Rembrandts…
Video: The Rembrandt paintings A Lady and a Gentleman in Black, 1633; and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, c. 1633
Audio: …for the collection.
Video: Peggy Fogelman, Norma Jean Calderwood Director, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, standing next to the Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
Audio: Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait became a cornerstone of her Dutch Room installation upon the opening of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1903, and it remains here today.
Video: Interior shots of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Audio: On March 18, 1990, two men disguised as police officers…
Video: The Édouard Manet painting Chez Tortoni; the Govaert Flinck painting Landscape with an Obelisk, 1638; and the Edgar Degas painting Study for the Programme de la Soirée artistique du 15 juin 1884 (Galerie Ponsin), 1884
Audio: …stole 13 works of art from the Museum…
Video: The Rembrandt paintings Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, c. 1633; A Lady and a Gentleman in Black, 1633; and The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, 1633
Audio: …including three works by Rembrandt.
Video: Interior shots of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Audio: They cut the paintings from their frames. The thieves tried to steal Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait the very same way…
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
Audio: …but they couldn’t cut it out of its frame because it was painted on solid wood. This self-portrait was painted early in Rembrandt’s career before he could afford canvas, and wood was a common substitute.
Video: Close-up views of Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
Audio: Even in the age of the Instagram selfie, this portrait continues to amaze me. In this painting, Rembrandt is ambitious and young—he’s barely able to grow that fuzzy mustache that sits on his upper lip—and he holds our attention with his penetrating gaze. His face seems to glow from within, which is the effect of the artist’s emphatic contrasts of light and dark known as chiaroscuro. Rembrandt’s masterful brushwork shines through. By limiting his palette to greys and browns, he evokes a spectacular variety of tone and texture, which is a true hallmark of Rembrandt’s work. On a bright, sunny day, it almost seems like the spotlight on the artist’s shoulder and his cheek is coming from the natural light that streams into the gallery.
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait in a Gorget, c. 1629
Audio: During his lifetime, Rembrandt completed more self-portraits…
Video: The Rembrandt painting A Young Rembrandt, c. 1628
Audio: …than any other painter in the entire history of European art.
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, 1630
Audio: Even though he had already produced several by this early stage in his career…
Video: Peggy Fogelman, Norma Jean Calderwood Director, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, standing next to the Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
Audio: …this one was the largest. You may not realize, but it’s painted on wood, rather than canvas.
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
Audio: This choice allowed him to push the boundaries of oil paint…
Video: Close-up views of Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
Audio: …and achieve very precise details on the smooth surface of the wood panel. If you look closer at the billowing feather, you can see that he not only applied white paint in masterful strokes, but he actually dug into the paint surface with the back of his brush.
The technique creates a contrast in tone and surface texture that gives the image plausible three-dimensionality. Look closely too at the other materials he evokes: blue velvet under the brim of his cap; the gauzy silk scarf woven with gilded threads; and the gold chain he wears around his neck. This particular piece of jewelry was traditionally given by court patrons to their painters and was of special interest to the artist.
Video: Peggy Fogelman, Norma Jean Calderwood Director, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, standing next to the Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
Audio: Despite painting members of the court, Rembrandt himself was not actually an official court painter, so he wasn’t actually eligible for such a gift. In a cheeky gesture, he “awards” this chain of accomplishment to himself, attesting to his self-confidence. In fact, we can think of this portrait as an early advertisement for the young painter’s incredible talent.
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
Audio: He could show it to potential clients as a demonstration of his superlative ability to depict everything from sensuous fabrics to probing, intimate explorations of personality and expression.
Video: Peggy Fogelman, Norma Jean Calderwood Director, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, standing next to the Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
Audio: One year after he painted this self-portrait, Rembrandt opened a local painting workshop with fellow artist Jan Lievens and was soon accepting students of his own.
Video: The Rembrandt painting The Artist in Oriental Costume, with a Poodle at His Feet, 1631
Audio: In 1629, Rembrandt’s work came to the attention of the royal court at The Hague, resulting in an enormous boost for his reputation and business.
Video: The Rembrandt painting Portrait of Haesje Jacobsdr van Cleyburg, 1634
Audio: He then moved to Amsterdam, flourishing as a painter…
Video: The Rembrandt painting The Girl in a Picture Frame, 1641
Audio: …celebrated for his innovative technique…
Video: A painting in the style of Rembrandt, Rembrandt (1606–1669) as a Young Man, c. 1630–35
Audio: and his numerous self-portraits,
Video: The Rembrandt painting Nicolaes Ruts, 1631
Audio: …portraits of his contemporaries…
Video: The Rembrandt painting Belshazzar’s Feast, c. 1636–8
Audio: and biblical scenes,
Video: The Rembrandt painting The Descent from the Cross by Torchlight, 1654
Audio: …not to mention his remarkable accomplishments as a printmaker.
Video: The Rembrandt painting Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple, 1635
Audio: In fact, it was these more cheaply produced and easily distributed works on paper…
Video: The Rembrandt painting The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds, 1634
Audio: …that were key to his international fame.
Video: The Rembrandt painting The Night Watch, 1642
Audio: Though he never left the Dutch Republic in his lifetime, he became known throughout Europe.
Video: The Baldassare Franceschini (called Il Volterrano) painting Portrait of Cosimo III de' Medici in Grand Ducal Robes, 1676–77
Audio: Even the famed Grand Duke of Tuscany paid him a visit in 1667.
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait in a Flat Cap, 1642
Audio: Sadly, Rembrandt’s personal life never matched the glory of his talent.
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, 1650
Audio: He married and had several children,
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar, 1659
Audio: …only one of whom survived infancy, losing his wife shortly after the birth.
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, 1669
Audio: He would go on to have lovers and another child out of wedlock, but he never remarried.
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait with Two Circles, 1665–1669
Audio: Despite his success as a painter, Rembrandt’s penchant for collecting art and antiquities meant he lived far beyond his means, at one point losing his house and printing press as a result.
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait at the Age of 63, 1669
Audio: Though he continued to paint throughout his lifetime, he died penniless in 1669, and his remains were buried in an unmarked grave.
Video: The Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
Audio: Yet his accomplishments live on to this day through his paintings, prints and drawings—and especially through his self-portraits, like this one.
Video: Peggy Fogelman, Norma Jean Calderwood Director, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, standing next to the Rembrandt painting Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692
Audio: I want to thank you for taking the time to watch today and to learn more about Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait here at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the work with friends and family. And please visit the Bank of America Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and ensure that you will never miss a single moment.
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On-screen text:
Title treatment art:
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859–1937)
The Arch, 1919 (detail)
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alfred W. Jenkins, 32.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 32.10_SL1.jpg)
Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669)
Self-Portrait, Age 23, 1692, oil on oak panel, 35 1/4” x 29” (89.7 x 73.5 cm) panel
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, 1633, oil on canvas, 63” x 50 3/8” (160 x 128 cm)
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
A Lady and a Gentleman in Black, 1633, oil on canvas, 51 7/8” x 43” (131.6 x 109 cm)
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, c. 1633, etching, 1 3/4” x 2” (4.5 x 5 cm)
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Self-Portrait in a Gorget, c. 1629, oil on panel, 15” x 12 1/8” (38.2 x 31 cm)
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg
A Young Rembrandt, c. 1628, oil on oak, 8 3/4” x 7 3/8” (22.4 x 18.5 cm)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Self-Portrait, 1630, oil on copper, 6 1/8” in x 7 3/8” (15.5 x 18.5 cm)
Nationalmuseum, Mauritshuis, The Hague
The Artist in Oriental Costume, with a Poodle at His Feet, 1631, oil on panel, 26 1/8” x 20 1/2” (66.5 x 52 cm)
Musée du Petit Palais, Paris
Portrait of Haesje Jacobsdr van Cleyburg, 1634, oil on panel, 27” x 21” (68.6 cm x 53.4 cm)
Purchased with the support of the Stichting Jubileumfonds Rijksmuseum, the State of the Netherlands, the VerenigingRembrandt, the Rijksmuseum-Stichting, the Grote Loterij Nederland, the Stichting Klaver Vier, the Stichting Teleslag, the business community and private collectors.
The Girl in a Picture Frame, 1641, oil on panel, 41 1/2” x 30” (105.4 x 76.2 cm)
Collection Royal Castle, Warsaw
Nicolaes Ruts, 1631, oil on panel, 46” x 34 3/8” (116.8 x 87.1 cm)
Purchased by The Frick Collection, 1943
Belshazzar’s Feast, c. 1636–8, oil on canvas, 66” x 82 1/2” (167.6 x 209.2 cm)
National Gallery, London, bought with a contribution from the National Art Collections Fund, 1964.
The Descent from the Cross by Torchlight, 1654, etching and drypoint, sheet: 8 1/2” x 6 5/8” (21.6 x 16.8 cm) Image: 8 3/8” x 6 3/8” (21.3 x 16.2 cm)
Gift of Mrs. Mary B. Regan
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, www.lacma.org
Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple, 1635, etching, sheet: 5 1/2” x 6 3/4” (14.1 x 17.1 cm), image: 5 3/8” x 7” (13.6 x 17.7 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Felix M. Warburg and his family, 1941
The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds, 1634, etching and drypoint, sheet: 14 1/4” x 11 3/8” (36.2 x 28.9 cm), plate: 10 1/4” x 8 3/4” (26.1 x 22 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Sylmaris Collection, Gift of George Coe Graves, 1920
The Night Watch, 1642, oil on canvas, 12’ 5” x 14’ 10” (378 x 453 cm)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Self-Portrait in a Flat Cap, 1642, oil on canvas, 27 3/4” x 23 1/8” (70.4 x 58.7 cm)
Royal Collection of the United Kingdom
Self-Portrait, 1650, oil on canvas, 36 1/8” x 29 3/4” (91.9 x 75.4 cm)
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., the Widener Collection
Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar, 1659, oil on canvas, 33 1/4” x 25 7/8” (84.3 x 65.8 cm)
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Self-Portrait, 1669, oil on canvas, 25 3/4” x 23 3/4” (65.4 x 60.2 cm)
The Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague
Self-Portrait with Two Circles, 1665–1669, oil on canvas, 45” x 37” (114.3 x 94 cm)
Kenwood House, London
Self-Portrait at the Age of 63, 1669, oil on canvas, 33 7/8” x 27 3/4” (86 x 70.5 cm)
National Gallery, London
Style of Rembrandt (Dutch, c. 1630–35)
Rembrandt (1606–1669) as a Young Man, c. 1630–35, oil on wood, 8 5/8” x 6 1/2” (21.9 x 16.5 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Bequest of Evander B. Schley, 1952
Adolf de Meyer (American, b. France, 1868–1946)
Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1906, platinum print
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925)
Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1888, oil on canvas, 74 7/8” x 31 1/2” (190 x 80 cm), framed
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Otto Rosenheim (British, b. Germany, 1871–1955)
Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1906, gelatin silver print, 8” x 10” (20.3 x 25.4 cm)
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
© Estate of Otto Rosenheim
Dennis Miller Bunker (American, 1861–1890)
Portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1898, oil canvas, 23 1/2” x 19 1/4” (59.7 x 48.9 cm)
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917)
Study for the Programme de la Soirée artistique du 15 juin 1884 (Galerie
Ponsin), 1884, black chalk on paper, 9 7/8” x 12 3/8” (25.1 x 31.2 cm)
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–1675)
The Concert, c. 1663–1666, oil on canvas, 28 1/2” x 25 1/2” (72.5 x 64.7 cm)
incamerastock / Alamy Stock Photo
Édouard Manet (French, 1832–1883)
Chez Tortoni, oil on canvas, 10” x 13” (25.4 x 33 cm)
Art Collection 4 / Alamy Stock Photo
Govaert Flinck (Dutch, 1615–1660)
Landscape with an Obelisk, 1638, oil on oak panel, 21 1/2” x 28” (54.6 x 71.1 cm)
Svintage Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Baldassare Franceschini (called Il Volterrano) (Italian, 1611–1689)
Portrait of Cosimo III de' Medici in Grand Ducal Robes, 1676–77, 76 3/8” x 49 1/4” (193.8 x 125 cm)
Royal Castle, Warsaw, bequest of Andrzej Stanisław Ciechanowiecki
“Take the “A” Train”
Written by Billy Strayhorn
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Verve Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation.
Graphic: Bank of America logo
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.
Self-Portrait, Age 23 by Rembrandt van Rijn
Celebrated for his innovative techniques, completed across a range of media, Rembrandt is one of the most significant figures in art history. His oil on oak panel masterpiece, Self-Portrait, Age 23, is one of more than 100 self-portraits he created during his groundbreaking career.
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Audio: Jazz music playing
Graphic: Bank of America presents Masterpiece Moment
Video: Exterior and interior shots of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
On-screen text: Philadelphia Museum of Art
Video: The Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
On-screen text: Thomas Eakins (American, b. 1844), Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875, oil on canvas, 8 ft. x 6.5 ft.
Video: Timothy Rub, The George D. Weidner Director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
On-screen text: Timothy Rub, The George D. Weidner Director & Chief Executive Officer, The Philadelphia Museum of Art
Audio— Timothy Rub: Hello, I'm Timothy Rub, Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Welcome to Bank of America's Masterpiece Moment. Today I’d like to talk about one of my favorite works in our collection, the Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross…
Video: The Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: … widely known as The Gross Clinic, by Thomas Eakins and tell you why I think it is truly a masterpiece.
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: Thomas Eakins' monumental, 8 x 6½ foot 1875 portrait is a daring and ambitious work with a fascinating history. It was controversial when it was first exhibited in 1876, garnering both criticism and praise. But even then, it was seen as a masterpiece, and its reputation has only grown over the years, becoming an icon of American art and a symbol of the prominent role that Philadelphia has played in its development.
Video: The Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: This painting became part of the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2006, when it was purchased in partnership with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, supported by more than 3,600 donors who agreed that this work needed to stay in the city where it was made.
Video: An oil portrait of Thomas Eakins
Audio: Thomas Eakins was born in Philadelphia in 1844, the son of a writing master.
Video: An illustration of Central High School in Philadelphia, 1852
Audio: He attended the city's elite honors high school, Central High. After graduating in 1861…
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: ...he attended drawing classes…
Video: An illustration of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia
Audio: …at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts…
Video: An illustration of Tivoli Theater, Jefferson Medical College, 1752 and an illustration of the dissecting room at Jefferson Medical College
Audio: …as well as dissection classes and surgeries at Jefferson Medical College.
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: Thus beginning a lifelong fascination with the human body.
Video: A portrait of Samuel D. Gross
Audio: And that is where he first met Dr. Samuel Gross, the central hero of this painting.
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: Determined to become a painter, Eakins went…
Video: An 1866 map of Paris
Audio: … to Paris in 1866 and studied there at the prestigious…
Video: An illustration of École des Beaux-Arts
Audio: …École des Beaux-Arts under the great academic master…
Video: The Jean-Léon Gérôme painting Ave Caesar! Morituri te Salutant, 1859
Audio: …Jean-Léon Gérôme.
Video: A photographic portrait of Thomas Eakins
Audio: When Eakins returned to Philadelphia in the summer of 1870, he was committed to becoming a new "Old Master" for the United States.
Video: A series of illustrations related to the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, including buildings, scenes of crowds and a cartoon
Audio: Back in Philadelphia, his first great opportunity came with the announcement of the forthcoming Centennial Exposition to be held in Philadelphia in 1876, the first great World's Fair in this country that would celebrate both the 100th anniversary of its founding and a century of American progress.
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: In the run-up to the Exposition, American artists were invited to submit their best work to an international exhibition of fine arts.
Video: A photographic portrait of Thomas Eakins
Audio: In response, Eakins began to plan a spectacular entry that would win him a reputation: a portrait of Dr. Samuel Gross.
Video: A photographic portrait of Samuel D. Gross
Audio: Gross was probably the most famous surgeon in the world at that time. Known as "The Emperor of American Surgery," he was the author of a textbook…
Video: The first page of the Samuel D. Gross textbook
Audio: …that had been translated into eight languages.
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: And as the senior professor at Jefferson Medical College…
Video: An archival photograph of bandage-wrapped cadavers on tables in a classroom at the Jefferson Medical College
Audio: … the largest medical school in America, he had taught about a quarter of the practicing surgeons in the country.
Video: The Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: The surgery portrayed by Eakins showcases one of his most brilliant insights.
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: A bone infection was at this time still life-threatening and required drastic treatment, most often the amputation of a limb.
Video: The Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: Gross' study of recent discoveries about bone renewal made him realize that simply cleansing the site of the infection would allow the bone to heal itself. A relatively simple procedure would yield an immeasurably better outcome. While The Gross Clinic was shocking to many viewers in 1876…
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: …and to some even today, Eakins' work…
Video: The Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: …Gross' remarkable medical innovations in a masterful, academic painting style.
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: Eakins' brilliant use of natural light —as in the work of his heroes…
Video: The Rembrandt painting Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, 1632
Audio: …Rembrandt…
Video: The Velázquez painting Las Meninas, 1656
Audio: …and Velázquez…
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: …serves a powerful emotional purpose while remaining true to his commitment to realism.
Video: The Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: The light from the oculus above falls on Dr. Gross' forehead, emphasizing his intelligence, and it magically turns his hair into a halo, conveying the worshipful respect that he won from his students and his colleagues.
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: With these artistic devices —light, composition and telling detail —Eakins demonstrates his own formidable professional skills, complementing those…
Video: The Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: …of his subject. And in this, his first masterpiece, he argued convincingly that the heroism —and heroic figures — of modern American life were as worthy of being memorialized by painting as the great figures and events of the past. It also pointed the way to the future and foreshadowed many advances in medical science soon to come.
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: Some of these can be seen in Eakins' other great "clinic" painting…
Video: A black-and-white archival photograph of Thomas Eakins, The Agnew Clinic, 1889, on display
Audio: … his portrait of Dr. Hayes Agnew of the University of Pennsylvania.
Video: The Thomas Eakins painting The Agnew Clinic, 1889
Audio: Painted in 1889, just thirteen years after The Gross Clinic, The Agnew Clinic depicts this celebrated surgeon and his assistants in clean white gowns using sterilized instruments, thus heralding the advent of antiseptic medicine, one of the great innovations of that time.
Video: The Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: Eakins hoped that The Gross Clinic would be a resounding success but was sorely disappointed in the response to this painting, which was rejected by the jury of the art exhibition, evidently because it was too frightening.
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: Disappointingly, it was installed…
Video: An archival photograph of The Gross Clinic on display in a hospital room
Audio: …among a display of medical instruments and illustrations in a model U.S. Army field hospital.
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: Eakins sold the painting to Jefferson Medical College for a pittance —about enough to pay for the cost of the frame —where it was seen and admired by physicians and their students but rarely, if ever, by the public.
Video: A poster for and a ticket to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago
Audio: Years later, on the occasion of the country's next World's Fair, in 1893…
Video: A photograph of crowds at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago
Audio: …Eakins borrowed The Gross Clinic and sent it with a group of his paintings to the art exhibition…
Video: An illustration of the grounds at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago
Audio: … at the Exposition in Chicago.
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: By this time, the courage, vision and artistic mastery of his work were recognized, and he won a medal.
Video: A photographic portrait of Thomas Eakins
Audio: From this point forward, the reputation of the artist and the painting would grow. Today, the greatest painting by Philadelphia's greatest painter is proudly displayed…
Video: The Thomas Eakins painting The Agnew Clinic, 1889
Audio: …at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Video: Timothy Rub standing in front of the Thomas Eakins painting Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Audio: I want to thank you for taking the time to watch today and to learn more about The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins. I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the work with friends and family. And please visit the Bank of America Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and ensure that you never miss a moment.
Audio: Music playing
On-screen text:
Title treatment art:
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859–1937)
The Arch, 1919 (detail)
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alfred W. Jenkins, 32.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 32.10_SL1.jpg)
Thomas Eakins (American, 1844–1916)
Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875
Oil on canvas
8’ x 6 1/2’ (243.8 x 198.1 cm)
An illustration of Central High School in Philadelphia, 1852
Alpha Stock / Alamy Stock Photo
An illustration of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia
Alpha Stock / Alamy Stock Photo
An illustration of Tivoli Theater, Jefferson Medical College, 1752
History and Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
An illustration of the dissecting room at Jefferson Medical College
Alpha Stock / Alamy Stock Photo
A portrait of Samuel D. Gross
Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo
The Environs of Paris, 1866
Published By J.H. Colton & Co.
The History Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
An illustration of École des Beaux-Arts, Paris
Created by Andrew, Best and Leloir, published in Le Magasin pittoresque, Paris, 1838
Old Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Thomas Eakins (American, 1844–1916)
Self Portrait, c. 1880
Platinum print
6 1/8” x 4” (15.7 x 10 cm)
agefotostock / Alamy Stock Photo
An illustration of Judges Hall at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
The Illustrated London News
Antiqua Print Gallery / Alamy Stock Photo
Crowds coming into the main entrance to the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
Hand-colored woodcut of a nineteenth century illustration
North Wind Picture Archives / Alamy Stock Photo
The Stride of a Century, c. 1876
A cartoon celebrating the centennial of the United States. The figure of Brother Jonathan, a precursor of Uncle Sam, straddles the towers of the main building at the Philadelphia World’s Fair of 1876.
Lithograph
Published by Currier & Ives, c. 1876
Chronicle / Alamy Stock Photo
An illustration of President Ulysses S. Grant opening the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
ClassicStock / Alamy Stock Photo
Machinery Hall at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago
Engraving
Old Paper Studios / Alamy Stock Photo
A photographic portrait of Samuel D. Gross
The History Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
Thomas Eakins, The Agnew Clinic, 1889, on display at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago
Everett Collection Historical / Alamy Stock Photo
Thomas Eakins (American, 1844–1916)
The Agnew Clinic, 1889
Oil on canvas
84 1/4” x 120 1/4” (213.9 x 305.4 cm)
Courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania Art Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Poster for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago
Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Ticket to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago
Glasshouse Images / Alamy Stock Photo
A photograph of crowds at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago
Süddeutsche Zeitung Photo / Alamy Stock Photo
An illustration of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago
(This image is a digitally improved reproduction of the original from 1895.)
Historical image collection by Bildagentur-online / Alamy Stock Photo
Thomas Eakins (American, 1844–1916)
Self Portrait, 1889–94
Platinum print
agefotostock / Alamy Stock Photo
“Take the “A” Train”
Written by Billy Strayhorn
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Verve Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation.
Graphic: Bank of America logo
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.
Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic)
Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic) by Thomas Eakins is an oil-on-canvas painting of one of the most famous surgeons of the 19th century. The portrait was deemed too frightening for viewers in 1876, so it didn’t gain recognition until years later.
May 10th–June 21st, 2021
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Audio: Jazz music playing
Graphic: Bank of America presents Masterpiece Moment
Video: Exterior and interior shots of the Pérez Art Museum Miami
On-screen text: Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)
Video: The Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
On-screen text: Frank Stella (b. 1936), Protractor, Variation I, 1969, acrylic and graphite on canvas, 96” x 192 1/2” x 3”
Video: Franklin Sirmans, Director of the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) standing in front of the Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
On-screen text: Franklin Sirmans, Director, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)
Audio— Franklin Sirmans: Hello, I am Franklin Sirmans, Director of the Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum Miami. Welcome to Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment.
Video: Interior shots of the Pérez Art Museum Miami ending with a view of the Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: Today I would like to talk about one of my favorite works from our collection, Frank Stella’s Protractor, Variation I…
Video: Franklin Sirmans standing in front of the Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: …and tell you why I think it is truly a masterpiece.
Video: Exterior and interior shots of the Pérez Art Museum Miami
Audio: Pérez Art Museum began operating as an institution in Downtown Miami in 1984 and began collecting in 1994. Since 2013, we have been located on Biscayne Bay in our unique and innovatively designed building by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron.
Video: The Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: Protractor, Variation I is a monumental acrylic and graphite painting on canvas…
Video: Franklin Sirmans standing in front of and facing the Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: …that spans sixteen feet wide by eight feet tall and…
Video: The Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: …as its name suggests, it’s a work in a series by the great American painter…
Video: Frank Stella posing in front of one of his other Protractor, Variation works
Audio: …Frank Stella.
Video: The Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: The painting was bequeathed to the Pérez by Jan Cowles in 2018…
Video: Franklin Sirmans standing in front of the Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: …an important patron of the museum. She had it displayed in her Park Avenue apartment for almost fifty years. Frank Stella was born in 1936 and…
Video: A black-and-white photograph showing a family on a riverbank feeding ducks
Audio: …grew up in Malden, Massachusetts.
Video: Franklin Sirmans standing in front of the Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: He spent his formative teenage years at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. There, he was surrounded by modern abstract painting at the on-campus…
Video: The building exterior of the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy Andover
Audio: …Addison Gallery of American Art, the first museum in America…
Video: Franklin Sirmans standing in front of the Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: …to exhibit the work of Bauhaus…
Video: The Josef Albers painting Homage to the Square, 1958
Audio: …artist Josef Albers.
Video: Franklin Sirmans standing in front of the Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: While there, he also…
Video: The Hans Hofmann paintings Composition in Blue, c. 1945; Color Intervals at Provincetown, 1943; and Exaltment, 1947
Audio: …encountered the art of Hans Hofmann, who, like Albers, was deeply concerned with color and abstraction. These two artists as espoused by the Gallery became hallmarks of Stella’s engagement with modern art.
Video: Franklin Sirmans standing in front of the Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: After graduating from Phillip’s Academy, Stella attended Princeton University. He began attending exhibitions at New York galleries and museums. He emulated the preeminent Abstract Expressionist painters of the moment…
Video: The Jackson Pollock painting Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist), 1950
Audio: …such as Jackson Pollock…
Video: The Franz Kline painting Nijinsky, 1950
Audio: …and Franz Kline…
Video: The Frank Stella painting Abstract Composition, c. 1950s
Audio: …working his own way through what was…
Video: The Frank Stella painting Your Lips are Blue, 1958
Audio: …being created, by imitation.
Video: Franklin Sirmans standing in front of the Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: By 1958, while still at Princeton, he was on his way to redefining art history…
Video: The Frank Stella paintings Tomlinson Court Park I, 1959; Die Fahne hoch!, 1959; and The Marriage of Reason and Squalor (second version), 1959
Audio: …with a series of paintings that were wholly his own.
Video: Black-and-white archival photographs and video footage of Frank Stella painting and working in his studio
Audio: Rather than replicating the gestures and movements as painted by his predecessors, Stella went the opposite direction and began to explore the properties and materials he used—the color of the paint, the flatness of the canvas. He presented the painting as an object rather than something that represented a scene, an action or emotion and became one of the preeminent painters of the Minimalist movement.
Video: The Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: Protractor, Variation I was made in 1969. He arrived at this colorful painting after he had already exhausted other styles and ways of making abstract paintings. Stella has constantly probed the liminal space where painting meets sculpture…
Video: Black-and-white archival video footage of Frank Stella in his studio
Audio: …in terms of form and dimension. Two other works from our collection by Stella also explore this territory…
Video: The Frank Stella painting Chodorów II, 1971
Audio: …Chodorów II, 1971…
Video: The Frank Stella painting The Quadrant, 1988
Audio: …and The Quadrant, from 1988.
Video: The Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: Stella is an astounding innovator. He never settled comfortably in one place. He moves rapidly from irregular and regular shaped paintings into multiple forms that eventually lead…
Video: A color photograph of Frank Stella posing with some of his works in his studio
Audio: …to relief paintings that had pluridimensionality.
Video: Franklin Sirmans standing in front of the Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: This particular work is exemplary of Stella’s practice…
Video: The Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: …from 1967 to 1971, a period defined by his Protractor paintings and arguably the prolific artist’s most important and well-known…
Video: The Frank Stella paintings Hagamatana II, 1967, and Damascus Gate (Stretch Variation I), 1970
Audio: …series of works. It is one of 27 different variations…
Video: Black-and-white archival video footage of Frank Stella creating one of his Protractor paintings
Audio: …using the tool of math students everywhere.
Video: The Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: The rhythmic bands of color in Protractor, Variation I form a latticework that is complex and yet derived from the simplicity of the protractor. This is not the abstraction of the Expressionists: The paint is applied perfectly, manicured and clean.
Video: Black-and-white archival photograph of Frank Stella in his studio
Audio: In 1969, Stella said, “My main interest has been to make what is popularly called decorative painting…
Video: Franklin Sirmans standing in front of the Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: …truly viable in unequivocal abstract terms.”
Video: The Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: The scale of this work gives it an architectural function. Perhaps it is unsurprising that…
Video: The Frank Stella paintings Flin-Flon IV, 1970 and Harran II, 1967
Audio: …the Protractors, a group of nearly 100 paintings, in three distinct motifs…
Video: The Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: …are the largest series of paintings Stella made to date.
Video: Franklin Sirmans standing in front of the Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: The Roman numeral I in the title identifies the work as part of a specific design group designating its surface patterning; in this case…
Video: The Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: …the semicircle of the protractor resting firmly on its rectilinear base. This half circle—rather than the full circle—is the primary unit of all the formats. Yet, no matter how complex these interweavings become, their color and hard edges between bands of color give them a clarity of thought and composition that is remarkable.
Video: Franklin Sirmans standing in front of the Frank Stella painting Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Audio: I want to thank you for taking the time to watch today and to learn more about Protractor, Variation I by Frank Stella. I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the work with friends and family. And please visit the Bank of America Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and ensure that you never miss a moment!
Audio: Music playing
On-screen text:
Title treatment art:
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859–1937)
The Arch, 1919 (detail)
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alfred W. Jenkins, 32.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 32.10_SL1.jpg)
Yinka Shonibare (British, b. 1962)
Venus de Arles (Venus of Arles), 2018
Fiberglass, hand-painted with Dutch wax pattern, bespoke hand-colored globe and steel
54 1/4” x 24” x 24” (137.8 x 61 x 61 cm)
© 2021 Yinka Shonibare CBE. All Rights Reserved, DACS/ ARS, NY 2021
Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)
Protractor, Variation I, 1969
Acrylic and graphite on canvas
96” x 192 1/2” x 3” (243.8 x 489 x 7.62 cm)
Collection Pérez Art Museum Miami, bequest of Jan Cowles
© 2021 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Frank Stella poses in front of one of his works at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg in Wolfsburg, Germany, September 6, 2012
Photo: MATTHIAS LEITZKE
Image: dpa picture alliance archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Feeding the Ducks, Fellsmere Reservoir, Malden, Mass.
Detroit Publishing Company postcards 10000 Series. Date Issued: 1898–1931
Image: agefotostock / Alamy Stock Photo
Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy Andover in Andover, Massachusetts
Image: Auk Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Josef Albers (German, 1888–1976)
Homage to the Square, 1958
Acrylic on Masonite
National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome
© The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, 2021
Image: NICK FIELDING / Alamy Stock Photo
Hans Hofmann (American, b. Germany, 1880–1966)
Composition in Blue, c. 1945
Screenprint, tempera on wove paper
17” x 14 1/8” (43.1 x 35.8 cm)
Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, gift of Maud and Patrick Morgan, 1987.192
With permission of the Renate, Hans & Maria Hofmann Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Image: Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA / Art Resource, NY
Hans Hofmann (American, b. Germany, 1880–1966)
Color Intervals at Provincetown, 1943
Ink and crayon on wove paper
11” x 14” (27.9 x 35.6 cm)
Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, museum purchase, 1948.13
With permission of the Renate, Hans & Maria Hofmann Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Image: Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA / Art Resource, NY
Hans Hofmann (American, b. Germany, 1880–1966)
Exaltment, 1947
Oil on canvas
59 3/4” x 47 3/4” (151.7 x 121.2 cm)
Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, museum purchase, 1960.6
With permission of the Renate, Hans & Maria Hofmann Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Image: Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA / Art Resource, NY
Jackson Pollock (American, 1912–1956)
Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist), 1950
Oil, enamel and aluminum on canvas
87” x 118” (221 x 299.7 cm)
© 2021 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Image: B Christopher / Alamy Stock Photo
Franz Kline (American, 1910–1962)
Nijinsky, 1950
Oil on canvas
45 1/2” x 34 7/8” (115.6 × 88.6 cm)
© 2021 The Franz Kline Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Image: Peter Horree / Alamy Stock Photo
Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)
Abstract Composition, c. 1950s
Oil on Homasote panel
31 3/4” x 12” (80.6 cm x 30.4 cm)
Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, gift of A. Bernard Ackerman, M.D. (PA 1954), a classmate of Frank Stella at both Phillips Academy and Princeton University, 2003.45
© 2021 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Image: Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA / Art Resource, NY
Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)
Your Lips are Blue, 1958
Oil on canvas
90” x 72” (228.6 x 182.9 cm)
© 2021 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Image: Art Resource, NY
Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)
Tomlinson Court Park I, 1959
Matte black enamel paint on canvas
86 5/8” x 110 1/4” (220 x 280 cm)
© 2021 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Image: Malcolm Park editorial / Alamy Stock Photo
Page Break
Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)
Die Fahne hoch!, 1959
Enamel on canvas
121 5/8” x 72 7/8” (308.9 x 184.9 cm)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene M. Schwartz and purchase, with funds from the John I. H. Baur Purchase Fund; the Charles and Anita Blatt Fund; Peter M. Brant; B. H. Friedman; the Gilman Foundation, Inc.; Susan Morse Hilles; The Lauder Foundation
© 2021 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Digital image: © Whitney Museum of American Art / Licensed by Scala / Art Resource, NY
Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)
The Marriage of Reason and Squalor (second version), 1959
Enamel on canvas
90 3/4” x 132 3/4” (230.5 x 337.2 cm)
© 2021 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Image: Art Resource, NY
Hollis Frampton (American, 1936–1984)
(028 painting Getty Tomb) [unpublished print], from The Secret World of Frank Stella
1958–1962 negative; printed 1991
Gelatin silver print
7 3/8” x 7 1/2” (18.7 x 18.8 cm)
Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, gift of Marion Faller, Addison Art Drive, 1991.204.4
Copyright Estate of Hollis Frampton
Image: Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA / Art Resource, NY
Hollis Frampton (American, 1936–1984)
#22 (017 Tomlinson Court Park), from The Secret World of Frank Stella, 1958–1962
Gelatin silver print
7 1/2” x 9 1/2” (18.9 x 24 cm)
Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, gift of Marion Faller, Addison Art Drive, 1990.34.22
Copyright Estate of Hollis Frampton
Image: Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA / Art Resource, NY
Hollis Frampton (American, 1936–1984)
#42 (163 Cedar Street Tavern) from The Secret World of Frank Stella, 1958–1962
Gelatin silver print
9 1/2” x 7 1/2” (24.1 x 19 cm)
Gift of Marion Faller, Addison Art Drive. 1990.34.42
Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA, U.S.A.
Copyright Estate of Hollis Frampton
Image: Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA / Art Resource, NY
Page Break
Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)
Chodorów II, 1971
Acrylic, canvas, felt, and enamel on shaped canvas
108” x 106” (274.3 x 269.2 cm)
Collection Pérez Art Museum Miami, gift of Mimi and Bud Floback
© 2021 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)
The Quadrant, 1988
Mixed media on aluminum
100” x 83” x 45” (254 x 210.8 x 114.3 cm)
Collection Pérez Art Museum Miami, gift of Jorge M. Pérez
© 2021 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
American artist Frank Stella, painter and sculptor, poses in his studio in New York, October 29, 1991
Luc Novovitch / Alamy Stock Photo
Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)
Hagamatana II, 1967
Polymer and fluorescent polymer paint on canvas
120 1/4” x 180 3/8” x 3” (305.4 x 458 x 7.5 cm)
Museu Coleção Berardo, Portugal
© 2021 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Image: M. Sobreira / Alamy Stock Photo
Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)
Damascus Gate (Stretch Variation I), 1970
Acrylic on canvas on shaped stretcher
10’ x 50’ (304.8 x 1524 cm)
© 2021 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Image: EThamPhoto / Alamy Stock Photo
Malcolm Lubliner (American, b. 1933)
Portrait of Frank Stella in his studio, 1969
© 2021 Malcolm Lubliner
Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)
Flin-Flon IV, 1970
Acrylic on canvas
108” x 108” (274.5 x 274.5 cm)
Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
© 2021 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Photo: Christian Bahier / Philippe Migeat
Image: © CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY
Page Break
Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)
Harran II, 1967
Polymer and fluorescent polymer paint on canvas
10’ x 20’ (304.8 x 609.6 cm)
Gift, Mr. Irving Blum, 1982
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
© 2021 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Image: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation / Art Resource, NY
USA: Artists: Episode #5: The New Abstraction: Frank Stella and Larry Poons
Video clips copyright and courtesy THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC and The WNET Group*.
*All video footage in the Frank Stella video remains the sole property of WNET. No portion of this production, in part or in whole, can be reused or reproduced, without prior permission.
“Take the “A” Train”
Written by Billy Strayhorn
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Verve Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation.
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Audio: Jazz music playing
Graphic: Bank of America presents Masterpiece Moment
Video: Exterior and interior shots of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
On-screen text: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Video: The Damascus Room at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
On-screen text: Damascus Room, Syrian, dated A.H. 1119 / A.D. 1707
Wood (poplar) with gesso relief, gold and tin leaf, glazes and paint; wood (cypress, poplar and mulberry), mother-of-pearl, marble and other stones, stucco with glass, plaster ceramic tiles, iron and brass
Video: Max Hollein, Marina Kellen French Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, standing outside the Damascus Room
On-screen text: Max Hollein, Marina Kellen French Director, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Audio— Max Hollein: Hi. I am Max Hollein, Marina Kellen French Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Welcome to Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment. Today I would like to talk to you about one of my favorite works from our collection, the Damascus Room, and tell you what inspires me and why I believe it is truly a masterpiece.
To me, one of the most incredible things about The Met is that, walking through the galleries, you can feel transported to different times and places all over the world—perhaps nowhere more...
Video: A Roman fresco of a bedroom
Audio: ...than in the Museum’s period rooms, which range from an ancient Roman bedroom…
Video: The Frank Lloyd Wright Room, 1912–1914
Audio: …to a twentieth-century living room designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Minnesota.
Video: Max Hollein standing outside the Damascus Room
Audio: So I am standing here outside the Damascus Room, which dates to 1707 from Syria, an important province of the vast Ottoman Empire.
Video: Close-up views of the Damascus Room
Audio: Not only is it an architectural jewel, but it is strikingly well preserved and among the earliest surviving rooms of its type. This space was designed as a reception room, and one can easily imagine that it was part of a monumental house of a powerful, affluent family. The complex construction provided an elegant atmosphere for welcoming guests into this remarkably large setting, with its harmoniously balanced proportions and refined decoration. Common for such reception rooms, called qaʿas, of its time, the space is divided into two areas: a raised square seating area, or tazar; and a small antechamber, or ‘ataba, with a door on the side.
Video: A Syrian courtyard
Audio: This door connects the room with a large courtyard that commonly dominates Syrian houses…
Video: Close-up views of the Damascus Room
Audio: …and around which spaces and rooms are articulated.
Video: Max Hollein standing outside the Damascus Room
Audio: The opening from which visitors view the room today in the museum would originally have been a wall with a cupboard.
Video: Close-up views of the Damascus Room
Audio: The floors are paved in colorful marble and other stones, while the wooden paneling and ceilings of the room are elaborately decorated. These areas are worked in luxurious gesso relief, called ‘ajami, incorporating reflective gold and tin leaf, transparent colored glazes and bright egg tempera paints, now darkened over time, to create a variety of surface effects. Poetic Arabic inscriptions along floral motifs are finely applied on the wood. And near the ceiling, polychrome glass set in stucco form floral-patterned windows, which delightfully filter the light. The art resides in the fineness of the details, decoration or calligraphy, and the complexity of the patterns, considered a high art form and characteristic of Islamic art.
The opulent decorative repertoire and expensive materials suggest that the Damascus Room was designed for the home of a powerful merchant, to host his visitors or other important male guests. Luxurious objects, such as Eastern ware or fancy Chinese porcelain, would be displayed in the built-in shelves—all aimed to impress the guests with Near Eastern hospitality. Imagine you are among the audience, seated on the low cushions. You taste delicious appetizers served in small bowls and presented on a large round tray; you sip from a glass of rose water, while listening to a musical performance. The air is imbued with incense or other enchanting perfume, and the sound of the water resonates in the room. The flowers on the wall recreate a virtual garden, blossoming all year long. The Arabic poetry decoration recalls the Gardens of Paradise and invokes blessings for the owner and the Prophet Muhammad. This luxurious chamber thus becomes a metaphor for a heaven on earth, a place where all the senses would engage and a welcome reprieve from the hectic city.
Video: Max Hollein standing outside the Damascus Room
Audio: Damascus was a bustling metropolis with a rich antique past that stood out…
Video: An archival black-and-white illustration of a panoramic view of Damascus City
Audio: …as a prosperous commercial center on the Silk Road and the route to Mecca.
Video: Max Hollein standing outside the Damascus Room
Audio: This room reflects that cultural heritage. Records indicate that it came from a private house in the area southwest of the famous Great Mosque in Damascus…
Video: Image of a colorful mosaic of a mosque
Audio: …known for its splendid mosaics.
Video: A black-and-white image of a damaged building in Damascus after French bombing, c. 1925
Audio: In 1925, part of this neighborhood was destroyed in a French aerial bombardment aimed at suppressing a Syrian resistance movement.
Video: A black-and-white image of Damascus after French bombing, c. 1925
Audio: The room was probably salvaged from the wreckage of the airstrike or from a later campaign to widen the narrow streets.
Video: Close-up views of the Damascus Room
Audio: By the early 1930s, the room had been removed from its original setting and was sold to an Armenian-American dealer, who brought it to New York. He added the fountain in the lower antechamber, which is a couple of centuries older from the Mamluk period. Made of opus sectile finely cut mosaic stonework, it reflects the spirit of such reception rooms, and particularly the ones in noble residences, which include a similar fountain. Period rooms like this one have a unique power to evoke the spirit of an era and the people who once created and inhabited these spaces. I hope you will have a chance to visit The Met and experience your own journey through time.
Video: Max Hollein standing outside the Damascus Room
Audio: I want to thank you for taking the time to watch today and to learn more about The Met’s Damascus Room. I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the unique installation with friends and family. And please visit the Bank of America Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and ensure that you never miss a moment.
Audio: Music playing
On-screen text:
Title treatment art:
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859–1937)
The Arch, 1919 (detail)
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alfred W. Jenkins, 32.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 32.10_SL1.jpg)
Damascus Room, A.H. 1119 / A.D. 1707
Syrian
Wood (poplar) with gesso relief, gold and tin leaf, glazes and paint; wood (cypress, poplar and mulberry), mother-of-pearl, marble and other stones, stucco with glass, plaster ceramic tiles, iron and brass
Overall: 22’ 5/8” × 16’ 8 1/2” × 26’ 4 5/8” (671.6 × 509.2 × 804.2 cm)
Gift of the Hagop Kevorkian Fund, 1970
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Cubiculum (bedroom) from the villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale, c. 50–40 B.C.
Roman
Fresco
8’ 8 1/2” × 10’ 11 1/2” × 19’ 1 7/8” (265.4 × 334 × 583.9 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1903
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Frank Lloyd Wright (American, 1867–1959)
Frank Lloyd Wright Room, 1912–1914
Living room from the Mr. and Mrs. Francis W. Little house in Wayzata, Minnesota
Installed in the American Wing (Gallery 745) of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Emily Crane Chadbourne Bequest, 1972
© 2021 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Artists Rights Society.
Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Source: Art Resource, NY
Damascus Room images: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Umayyad Mosque or Grand Mosque of Damascus. Syria.
Image: Dallet-Alba / Alamy Stock Photo
Panoramic of Damascus City
Engraving published in L’Univers Arabia in 1841
Image: Old Books Images / Alamy Stock Photo
“Take the “A” Train”
Written by Billy Strayhorn
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Verve Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation.
Graphic: Bank of America logo
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Audio: Jazz music playing
Graphic: Bank of America presents Masterpiece Moment
Video: Exterior and interior shots of the Denver Art Museum
On-screen text: Denver Art Museum
Video: The sculpture Bodhisattva of Compassion (Guanyin) Seated in Royal Ease, tenth century
On-screen text: Bodhisattva of Compassion (Guanyin) Seated in Royal Ease, 10th Century, Chinese, Polychromed wood
Video: Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the Denver Art Museum,
standing next to the sculpture Bodhisattva of Compassion (Guanyin) Seated in Royal Ease
On-screen text: Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director, Denver Art Museum
Audio—Christoph Heinrich: Hello, I’m Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the Denver Art Museum. Welcome to the Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment. Today I would like to talk about one of my favorite works from our collection, the Bodhisattva of Compassion Seated in Royal Ease, also called Guanyin Posa,and I would like to tell you why I think this is truly a masterpiece.
Video: The sculpture Bodhisattva of Compassion (Guanyin) Seated in Royal Ease, tenth century
Audio: This tenth-century sculpture is carved from two pieces of wood, quite likely boxwood, a common material used during this time, and fitted together perfectly. It stands about 17 inches tall, and it was once beautifully painted, and if you look carefully you can still see traces of color. In Buddhist teachings, bodhisattvas are wise and compassionate, and they are beings who are capable of enlightenment but postpone it in order to help ordinary people along the Buddhist path. Given its age, this sculpture remains in remarkably good condition. As I mentioned, traces of pigment remain, indicating that its original appearance would have been brightly painted – draped fabric, necklace, and crown….
Video: Image of a piece of cinnabar (vermilion)
Audio: ….in red cinnabar….
Video: The sculpture Bodhisattva of Compassion (Guanyin) Seated in Royal Ease, tenth century
Audio: ….details like the belt and some swaths of the fabric in green….
Video: Image of a piece of the mineral malachite
Audio: ….possibly the mineral malachite.
Video: The sculpture Bodhisattva of Compassion (Guanyin) Seated in Royal Ease, tenth century
Audio: Guanyin’s arms and upper torso were probably white, and details in black pigment. Trace amounts of gold show us that gilt elements added reflective brightness and vibrancy. While most of the color is lost, its elegance and beauty persist.
Video: Close-up of a late tenth–eleventh century Chinese scroll with an ink and color depiction of a palace banquet
Audio: We can only imagine the wonder it might have inspired in devotees who approached the Guanyin for merciful blessings.
Video: A colorful map of China in 908 CE that shows the Five Dynasties
Audio: This masterpiece was made in China during the Five Dynasties period, when China was split into small kingdoms that were engaged in constant conflict.
Video: A faded Chinese mural depicting two Buddhist donors
Audio: Buddhism had come to China around the first century of the Common Era or earlier, likely via Buddhist monks and pilgrims….
Video: A black-and-white map illustrating the Silk Road from Damascus to Khan Fou
Audio: ….traveling with merchant caravans alongside the Silk Road trade routes.
Video: A faded Chinese mural depicting musicians and a dancer
Audio: It became a major cultural force in China, mingling with local belief systems to develop a distinctly Chinese form of Buddhism, flourishing over the centuries,….
Video: The exterior of a Chinese temple
Audio: ….and leading to the creation of many temples….
Video: The sculpture Bodhisattva of Compassion (Guanyin) Seated in Royal Ease, tenth century
Audio: ….furnished with sculptures like this one.
Video: The sculpture Attendant Bodhisattva, tenth–eleventh century
Audio: The popular Chinese form of Buddhism emphasized bodhisattvas as an accessible source of help and guidance.
Video: A sculpture of Guanyin seated
Audio: Guanyin, whose name means “the one who always hears,” was particularly beloved.
Video: A sculpture of Guanyin standing
Audio: Guanyin is usually depicted elegantly dressed and sumptuously ornamented, a style influenced by earlier representations in India.
Video: The sculpture Bodhisattva of Compassion (Guanyin) Seated in Royal Ease, tenth century
Video: Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the Denver Art Museum,
standing next to the sculpture Bodhisattva of Compassion (Guanyin) Seated in Royal Ease
Audio: Sitting serenely on a lotus throne in the posture of royal ease, Guanyin gazes downward, as if listening attentively to the devotees who pray for release from their suffering.
Video: The sculpture Bodhisattva of Compassion (Guanyin) Seated in Royal Ease, tenth century
Audio: The figure and the throne were carved separately from different sections of solid wood, fitting together perfectly to display this beloved bodhisattva. Among all the known examples of Guanyin from this period, this one is certainly among the finest. The unknown maker of this sculpture was exceptionally skilled at imbuing the work with sensitivity and with grace.
Video: A mural depicting Buddhist monasteries
Audio: And it was likely one of the skilled specialist artisans whose works were displayed in temples and shrines for the devotion of Chinese Buddhists.
Video: The sculpture Bodhisattva of Compassion (Guanyin) Seated in Royal Ease, tenth century
Audio: Seeing the Guanyin, I’m reminded that there is a timelessness to the notion of compassion for oneself and for others. It remains as relevant today as it did when this symbol of mercy was made, over 1,000 years ago.
Video: Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the Denver Art Museum,
standing next to the sculpture Bodhisattva of Compassion (Guanyin) Seated in Royal Ease
Audio: I want to thank you for taking the time to watch today and to learn more about the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Guanyin. I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the work with those you know. And please visit the Bank of America Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and ensure that you never miss a moment.
Audio: Music playing
On-screen text:
Title treatment art:
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859–1937)
The Arch, 1919 (detail)
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alfred W. Jenkins, 32.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 32.10_SL1.jpg)
Bodhisattva of Compassion (Guanyin) Seated in Royal Ease
Chinese, tenth century
Polychromed wood
17” x 9” x 8” (43.1 x 22.8 x 20.3 cm)
Walter C. Mead Collection
Denver Museum of Art
Guanyin
Chinese (Shanxin), twelfth century
Painted and gilded wood
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
PRISMA ARCHIVO / Alamy Stock Photo
Image of a piece of cinnabar (vermilion)
JENYA / Alamy Stock Photo
Image of a piece of the mineral malachite
Ivan Vdovin / Alamy Stock Photo
Unknown
Chinese, active late tenth–eleventh century
Palace banquet
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Ex coll.: C. C. Wang Family, Gift of Oscar L. Tang Family, 2010
Map of China in 908 CE
Credit: Pavo Xie
Mural from Cave 98 at Mogao Caves, Gansu, China
Buddhist donors
Five Dynasties to early Northern Sung dynasty
Tenth century
The Picture Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
Map illustrating the Silk Road from Damascus to Khan Fou
INTERFOTO / Alamy Stock Photo
Mural from Yulin Cave 12n at Mogao Caves, Gansu, China
Musicians and dancer
Five Dynasties to early Northern Sung dynasty
Tenth century
ART Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
The Guanyin Pavilion of Dule Temple, China
Credit: Xin
China, Five Dynasties (907–960 CE) or Liao dynasty (907–1125 CE)
Attendant Bodhisattva, tenth–eleventh century
Willow with gesso and pigment; single woodblock construction
59” high (149.9 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Alfonso Vicente / Alamy Stock Photo
Guanyin (standing figure)
Pictures Now / Alamy Stock Photo
Mural from Cave 61 at Mogao Caves, Gansu, China
Tang Buddhist monasteries of Mount Wutai, Shanxi province
Five Dynasties to early Northern Sung dynasty
Tenth century
“Take the “A” Train”
Written by Billy Strayhorn
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Verve Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation.
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Audio: Jazz music playing
Graphic: Bank of America presents Masterpiece Moment
Video: Exterior and interior shots of the Seattle Asian Art Museum
On-screen text: Seattle Asian Art Museum
Video: The Katsushika Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
On-screen text: Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849), Five Beautiful Women, 1804–1810, ink and color on silk, 18” x 71”
Video: Amada Cruz, Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director and CEO of the Seattle Art Museum, standing in front of the Katsushika Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
On-screen text: Amada Cruz, Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director and CEO, Seattle Art Museum
Audio—Amada Cruz: Hello, I am Amada Cruz, Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director and CEO of the Seattle Art Museum. Welcome to Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment. Today, I would like to talk about one of my favorite works from our collection, Five Beautiful Women by Katsushika Hokusai, and tell you why I think it is truly a masterpiece. Before we begin our discussion, I would like to tell you a little more about our newly renovated and expanded Seattle Asian Art Museum, one of the few museums in North America exclusively dedicated to Asian art.
Video: Exterior and interior shots of the Seattle Asian Art Museum
Audio: This beautiful 1933 Art Deco building was SAM’s original home, and in 1994, after a new museum building opened in downtown Seattle, this facility reopened as the museum’s center for Asian art and cultural activities. In 2020, we reopened this gem after a major renovation, and now each gallery presents artworks from ancient to contemporary, and from across Asia, including Japan, China, Korea, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Himalaya and the Middle East. The museum’s Asian art holdings are among the finest in the United States, and its Japanese collection is one of the top ten outside of Japan.
Video: Amada Cruz standing in front of the Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: As part of our collection, we are honored to have one of Katsushika Hokusai’s masterpieces….
Video: The Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: …. Five Beautiful Women. It’s painted on fine silk with vibrant colors, and it’s about 18 inches wide and 71 inches tall.
Video: Amada Cruz standing in front of the Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: Hokusai is a household name in Japan and also widely known worldwide.
Video: The Hokusai painting Under the Wave off Kanagawa, also known as The Great Wave, c. 1830–1832
Audio: For many of us, the name Hokusai brings to mind the iconic prints of the Great Wave….
Video: The Hokusai painting South Wind, Clear Day, also known as Red Fuji, c. 1830–1832
Audio: ….or Red Fuji, of which SAM fortunately has fine impressions in its collection thanks to Seattle collectors Mary and Allan Kollar.
Video: Amada Cruz standing in front of the Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: This painting was acquired in 1956 from the highly regarded Japanese dealer Mayuyama, who supplied top-notch Japanese art to museums such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art and, of course, the Seattle Asian Art Museum.
Video: The Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: Born in 1760, Hokusai entered the art world at the age of 19 and enjoyed a prolific career that spanned 70 years. He produced an estimated tens of thousands of woodblock prints and was no doubt a master of the Pop art of his time, ukiyo-e, or pictures of the floating world.
Video: Amada Cruz standing in front of the Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: Soon after his death in 1849, many of the prints found their way to Europe, where….
Video: The Claude Monet painting The Japanese Footbridge, 1899
Audio: ….Impressionists such as Claude Monet were fascinated by his work.
Video: Amada Cruz standing in front of the Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: Hokusai’s creative energy and genius can also be found in his paintings. Unlike prints, his paintings were not produced in multiples and thus in a less greater number, but they are marvelous, such as the one we have here. Hokusai painted Five Beautiful Women around 1810, about two decades before he created….
Video: The Hokusai painting Under the Wave off Kanagawa, also known as The Great Wave, c. 1830–1832
Audio: …. the famed Great Wave.
Video: Amada Cruz standing in front of the Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: Here, he ingeniously composed five women of different social backgrounds in an intriguing hierarchy, differentiated by their clothing.
Video: The Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: At the top is a woman from a high-ranking warrior family. She wears a kimono decorated with an iris design and a lavish obi sash and is poised with a writing brush and paper in hand. The next is a young woman from a wealthy merchant family in a shibori tie-dyed kimono, engaged in flower arrangement. The third woman in a black kimono with floral designs and a butterfly-shaped hat is a lady-in-waiting in the residence of a shogun or daimyo, a Japanese feudal lord. Beneath her reclines a high-class courtesan, identified by her front-tied obi that bears a peacock feather pattern. At the bottom is a middle-aged woman in a simple, brown kimono with a checkered obi sash. She is reclining on the floor, reading a book. Her somber-colored robes and plucked eyebrows lead some scholars to suggest she is a widow.
Video: Amada Cruz standing in front of the Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: All the remarkable detailing of the garment patterns we see here is a trademark of deluxe ukiyo-e painting. Painted on silk with expensive pigments….
Video: The Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: …. this painting is among the finest works that Hokusai made for his wealthiest clients. It is a pivotal work of the popular genre, beautiful women.
Video: Amada Cruz standing in front of the Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: In fact, the gallery we are in right now is titled Are We What We Wear?
Video: A display of hanging kimonos
Audio: The array of garments and accessories here prompts us to think about clothing and the relationships to our identity.
Video: The Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: Hokusai’s painting does this so eloquently and beautifully.
Video: Image of a sheet of the 1974 “famous works of art” commemorative stamps, that which includes Hokusai‘s Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: Along with seven other paintings by masters such as Raphael and Goya, Five Beautiful Women appeared on the 1974 “famous works of art” commemorative stamps illustrating the theme of “Letters mingle souls” to mark the centennial of the Universal Postal Union.
Video: Amada Cruz standing in front of the Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: I want to thank you for taking the time to watch today and to learn more about Hokusai’s Five Beautiful Women. I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the piece with family and friends. And please visit the Bank of America Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and ensure that you never miss a moment.
Video: The Hokusai painting Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Audio: Music playing
On-screen text:
Title treatment art:
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859–1937)
The Arch, 1919 (detail)
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alfred W. Jenkins, 32.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 32.10_SL1.jpg)
Jung Yeondoo (South Korean, b. 1969)
Bewitched #2 Seoul, 2001
C-print
62 5/8” × 51 9/16” (159.1 × 131 cm)
Seattle Art Museum, Purchased with funds from the Estate of Rosa Ayer
Courtesy of the Seattle Asian Art Museum
Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849)
Five Beautiful Women, c. 1810
Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk
71” × 18 1/4” (180.3 × 46.4 cm)
Seattle Art Museum, Margaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund
Photograph of Seattle Asian Art Museum exterior
© 2021 Tim Griffith
Do Ho Suh (Korean, b. 1962)
Some/One, 2001
Stainless steel military dog-tags, nickel-plated copper sheets, steel structure, glass fiber reinforced resin and rubber sheets
Diameter at base: 24’ 4” (741.7 cm); Height: 81” (205.7 cm)
Seattle Art Museum, Gift of Barney A. Ebsworth
© 2021 Do Ho Suh. Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, and London.
Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849)
Under the Wave off Kanagawa, also known as The Great Wave, c. 1830–1832
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
10 3/16” × 14 15/16” (25.7 × 37.9 cm)
Seattle Art Museum, Gift of Mary and Allan Kollar, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849)
South Wind, Clear Day, also known as Red Fuji, c. 1830–1832
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
9 7/8” × 14 3/4” (24.9 × 36.2 cm)
Seattle Art Museum, Gift of Mary and Allan Kollar, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum, 2010.15
Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926)
The Japanese Footbridge, 1899
Oil on canvas
32” × 40” (81.3 × 101.6 cm)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Gift of Victoria Nebeker Coberly, in memory of her son John W. Mudd, and Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg
“Take the “A” Train”
Written by Billy Strayhorn
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Verve Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation.
Graphic: Bank of America logo
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.
March 15th–April 26th, 2021
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Audio: Jazz music playing
Graphic: Bank of America presents Masterpiece Moment
Video: Exterior and interior shots of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
On-screen text: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
On-screen text: Caravaggio (Italian, 1571–1610), Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness, 1604–1605, Oil on canvas
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia, Director of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
On-screen text: Julián Zugazagoitia, Director, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Audio— Julián Zugazagoitia: Hello. I am Julián Zugazagoitia, Director of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art here in Kansas City, Missouri. Welcome to Bank of America's Masterpiece Moment. Today I would like to talk about one of my favorite works in our collection, Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness by Caravaggio, and tell you why it moves me so deeply and why it is truly a masterpiece.
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: Painted in Rome, at the end of Caravaggio's career, Saint John the Baptist represents Caravaggio's mature style.
Video: The Caravaggio painting The Supper at Emmaus, 1601
Audio: It differs from his early work, where the theatricality of highly dynamic multi-figure scenes establish him….
Video: The Caravaggio painting The Musicians, 1597
Audio: ….as an innovator artist, very different from his classic predecessors, whether of the Renaissance or the more immediate Mannerist.
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: His sense of intense contrast of light, his use of everyday people as models and his realism launch what we call now the Baroque era.
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: This later painting, while retaining all of Caravaggio's attributes, it's indeed more subdued and representative of his later work.
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: It is characterized by its monumental size, the compositional stability, the limited use of colors, the restrained gesture of the figure, and his signature dramatic chiaroscuro, the technique depicting contrasting light to place emphasis in certain areas of the scene….
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: ….giving his characters both a historic and theatrical dimension, like we can see here.
Video: The Diego Velázquez painting An Old Woman Cooking Eggs, 1618
Audio: This innovation was widely used by many of his followers.
Video: The Orazio Borgianni painting Christ among the Doctors, c. 1609
Audio: Although no one really trained directly under Caravaggio, there were many who followed his technique….
Video: The Gerard van Honthorst painting The Dissolute Student, 1625
Audio: ….and this chiaroscuro, and they were known as the Caravaggisti.
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: This particular treatment of Saint John the Baptist would have also been very innovative and surprising at the time he painted it, as it represents the saint as a melancholic, brooding adolescent.
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: The painter's careful attention to realistic details, like the dirt on the toenails….
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: ….conveys the humanistic side of the saint, especially his doubting, to which viewers could immediately relate, while revealing also Caravaggio's insistence upon using live models he would pick up from the streets of Rome and bring back to his studio. This conception of Saint John the Baptist was remarkable also. The saint had hardly ever been depicted….
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: ….as an isolated figure, without the usual attributes.
Video: The Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) painting Saint John the Baptist, c. 1540–1542
Audio: Normally you would have seen him older, perhaps with a beard, or covered with a lambskin.
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: Here, you see the lambskin, but just very subtly, as an indicator of who he is.
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: The purpose of this painting was private devotion….
Video: The Bernardo Rebaudo painting Portrait of Ottavio Costa, n.d.
Audio: ….as it was commissioned by Ottavio Costa, a banker to the Popes….
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: ….as the altarpiece for their small oratory in the Costa fiefdom of Conscente on the Italian Riviera.
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: It is one of only seven paintings by Caravaggio in the United States, and considered by many among his best.
Video: The Caravaggio painting The Deposition, c. 1600–1604
Audio: Today, Caravaggio's name resonates widely and is very well known….
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy, c. 1595–1596
Audio: ….and is considered a defining artist of the Baroque. But this recognition has had its ups and downs throughout the centuries.
Video: An illustration of Caravaggio from Crabb’s Historical Dictionary, published 1825
Audio: And perhaps this has to do with the very intense and complex personal story of him.
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: Born in Milan in 1571, Caravaggio was orphaned by the plague at age 11 and taken by a painter who studied….
Video: An illustration of Caravaggio
Audio: ….under Titian, where he began his apprenticeship. He was a young, troubled man, violent person. He was involved with gangs and prone to fights and incessant conflict.
Video: The Ottavio Leoni chalk drawing Portrait of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, c. 1621
Audio: After wounding a police officer in 1592, a penniless 21-year-old Caravaggio fled to Rome to escape retaliation and justice.
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: In Rome, his youthful, innovative talent was quickly recognized, and his career flourished.
Video: The Caravaggio painting The Calling of Saint Matthew, c. 1599–1600
Audio: The church and patrons sought out his realistic, intimate, biblical scenes that provoke connection and contemplation.
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint Jerome, 1605–1606
Audio: I think he impressed his patrons then, and continues to touch us today, because he showed suffering so intimately well. Undoubtedly, he could depict what he had both suffered and inflicted.
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: His criminal behavior continued, but his wealthy patrons, so inspired by his work, continually bailed him out. Such was the case….
Video: The Étienne Baudet etching Portrait of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, late seventeenth century
Audio: ….until 1606, when he committed a murder and violent assault, and neither his patrons nor his talent could protect him anymore.
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: At the very peak of his career, at the age of 34, Caravaggio was forced to flee Rome. He spent the rest of his life as a fugitive, traveling from Naples to Malta to Sicily, before dying, likely of illness, at age 38 in 1610.
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: Our painting today can be dated actually at around the last years in Rome, around 1604, thanks to scientific research that was conducted in 2017. In preparation for an important retrospective, the Nelson-Atkins staff and scientists carried out technical studies of the painting to gain a better understanding of Caravaggio's working process.
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: Exciting details were uncovered about how the painting was structured and constructed. For example, there's some incised lines that were used to just guide him in placing the figure….
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: ….an infrared revealed of the paint strokes associated with early stages of the composition.
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: We also found evidence that Caravaggio thought about including….
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: ….a different type of leaf in the background instead of the oak leaves we see today.
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: As a result of these collaborative studies, Caravaggio experts were able to narrow the date of the Nelson-Atkins painting to around 1604, six years prior to his demise. One can only imagine and speculate what his art production would have been like, had he lived for many, many more years. And in a way, the serenity that we witness in this depiction of Saint John the Baptist can really be interpreted today like the calm in the middle of a storm….
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: …. calm that invites us to reflect and brings hope.
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: I want to thank you for taking time to watch and learn more about Saint John the Baptist and invite you to visit the Nelson-Atkins in person or online….
Video: The Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: ….and to find more fascinating aspects about this painting and our vast encyclopedic collections.
Video: Julián Zugazagoitia standing in front of the Caravaggio painting Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Audio: I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the works with your family and friends. And please visit the Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and ensure that you never miss an inspired moment brought by these magnificent works of art. Thank you.
Audio: Music playing
On-screen text:
Title treatment art:
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859–1937)
The Arch, 1919 (detail)
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alfred W. Jenkins, 32.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 32.10_SL1.jpg)
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) (Italian, 1571–1610)
Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness, 1604
Oil on canvas
68” × 52” (172.7 × 132.1 cm)
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) (Italian, 1571–1610)
The Supper at Emmaus, 1601
Oil and tempera on canvas
56” × 77 1/4” (141 × 196.2 cm)
Presented by the Hon. George Vernon, 1839
National Gallery, London
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) (Italian, 1571–1610)
The Musicians, 1597
Oil on canvas
36 1/4” × 46 5/8” (92.1 × 118.4 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1952
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Diego Velázquez (Spanish, 1599–1660)
An Old Woman Cooking Eggs, 1618
Oil on canvas
39 1/2” × 47” (100.5 × 119.5 cm)
Purchased with the aid of the Art Fund and a Treasury Grant 1955
National Galleries of Scotland
Orazio Borgianni (Italian, 1574–1616)
Christ among the Doctors, c. 1609
Oil on canvas
30 3/4” × 41 1/8” (78.2 × 104.6 cm)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Gerard van Honthorst (Dutch, 1592–1656)
The Dissolute Student, 1625
Oil on canvas
49 1/4” × 61 3/8” (125 × 156 cm)
Sammlung, Alte Pinakothek, Munich
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) (Italian, 1488/90–1576)
Saint John the Baptist, c. 1540–1542
Oil on canvas
79” × 46 7/8” (201 × 119 cm)
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Rome
Bernardo Rebaudo (Italian, b. 1573, death date unknown)
Portrait of Ottavio Costa, n.d.
Image courtesy Vides Ut Alta, Wikimedia Commons
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) (Italian, 1571–1610)
The Deposition, c. 1600–1604
Oil on canvas
118” × 80” (300 × 203 cm)
Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican City
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) (Italian, 1571–1610)
Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy, c. 1595–1596
Oil on canvas
37” × 51” (94 × 130 cm)
The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut
Illustration of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio from Crabb’s Historical Dictionary, published 1825
Classic Image / Alamy Stock Photo
Illustration of Caravaggio
Chronicle / Alamy Stock Photo
Ottavio Leoni (Italian, 1578–1630)
Portrait of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, c. 1621
Chalk on paper
Biblioteca Marucelliana, Florence
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) (Italian, 1571–1610)
The Calling of Saint Matthew, c. 1599–1600
Oil on canvas
134” × 126 3/4” (340 × 322 cm)
Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) (Italian, 1571–1610)
Saint Jerome, 1605–1606
45 5/8” × 60 1/4” (116 × 153 cm)
Galleria Borghese, Rome
Étienne Baudet (French, c. 1636–1711)
Portrait of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, late seventeenth century, from the engraving by Ottavio Leoni
Etching on paper
6 5/8” × 5” (16.7 × 12.7 cm)
The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia
“Take the “A” Train”
Written by Billy Strayhorn
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Verve Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation.
Graphic: Bank of America logo
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Audio: Jazz music playing
Graphic: Bank of America presents Masterpiece Moment
Video: Exterior shots of the Heard Museum
On-screen text: Heard Museum, Phoenix
Video: The Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
On-screen text: Allan Houser (Chiricahua Apache, 1914–1994), Earth Song, 1978, Alabama marble
Video: David Roche, the Dickey Family Director and CEO of the Heard Museum, standing in front of the Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
On-screen text: David Roche, Dickey Family Director and CEO, Heard Museum
Audio— David Roche: Hello, I'm David Roche, the Dickey Family Director and CEO of the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. Welcome to Bank of America's Masterpiece Moment. Today, I would like to talk about one of my favorite works from our collection, Earth Song by Chiricahua Apache artist Allan Houser, and tell you why I think it is truly a masterpiece.
Video: The Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: Earth Song arrived at the Heard in 1984, when it was generously gifted to the museum by the artist. This 48 ½ x 24 x 24 inch sculpture was carved in 1979 from Alabama Marble. It has graced the museum's entrance since its donation and greets all who visit the museum.
Video: David Roche standing in front of the Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: It is now our signature work, an ambassador of our collection and mission. It is so emblematic of the Heard Museum that our member magazine is named after it.
Video: Exterior and interior shots of the Heard Museum
Audio: The Heard is one of the oldest museums in Arizona, founded in 1929 by Dwight and Maie Bartlett Heard. The Heards understood the importance, beauty and creativity of the Indigenous cultures in the Southwest and wanted to share their appreciation with the public. The museum's collection contains more than 44,000 objects of Indigenous manufacture, and our library and archives house hundreds of thousands of artist files and documents that do not exist anywhere else. Our exhibitions and collections highlight the extraordinary breadth and variety of American Indian art, from objects made by North America's original inhabitants thousands of years ago, to cutting-edge works of contemporary art created within the last year.
Video: David Roche standing in front of the Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: Allan Houser is a legendary figure in the world of contemporary Native American art.
Video: Allan Houser standing in front of his sculpture As Long as the Waters Flow at the Oklahoma State Capitol
Audio: Often referred to as the grandfather of contemporary Native American sculpture….
Video: An archival photograph of Allan Houser sculpting
Audio: ….he was born Allan Capron Haozous on June 30, 1914.
Video: David Roche standing in front of the Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: Haozous, in the Apache language, describes the sound and sensation of pulling a plant from the earth at the point in which the earth gives way.
Video: An archival photograph of Allan Houser
Audio: The son of Blossom and Sam Haozous, he was the first member of his family to be born into freedom….
Video: David Roche standing in front of the Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: ….after the Chiricahua Apache peoples were held as prisoners of war by the U.S. Government for 27 years.
Video: An archival photograph of Allan Houser as a child
Audio: Houser was an inquisitive child who loved exploring the outdoors and drawing.
Video: David Roche standing in front of the Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: In 1934, he saw a notice at the Indian Office in Anadarko, Oklahoma, inviting applicants to join the Painting School at the Santa Fe Indian School. Much to his father's chagrin, he applied and was accepted.
Video: An archival photograph of Allan Houser
Audio: Houser began his formal art training at the school's newly formed studio class, later known as "The Studio,"….
Video: An archival photograph of Dorothy Dunn
Audio: ….taught by a young Chicago Art Institute graduate named Dorothy Dunn.
Video: David Roche standing in front of the Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: He attended the Indian School from 1934 to 1938, during which time he changed his name from Haozous to Houser, having been suggested to do so by school administrators.
Video: The Allan Houser painting Fancy Dancer, 1954
Audio: Houser and the students of The Studio became known for their distinct painting style of pastel colors that were outlined to create a flat and two-dimensional quality. This style of painting later became known as "Traditional Indian Painting."
Video: An archival photograph of Allan Houser and Anna Marie Houser
Audio: In 1939, Houser married Anna Marie Gallegos.
Video: David Roche standing in front of the Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: During this time, Houser befriended students and faculty at the Pasadena Art Center, where he was exposed to the work of world-renowned modernist sculptors such as….
Video: The Jean Arp sculpture Giant Pip, 1937
Audio: ….Jean Arp….
Video: The Constantin Brancusi sculpture Sleeping Muse, 1910
Audio: ….Constantin Brancusi….
Video: The Henry Moore sculpture Mother and Child, 1930
Audio: ….Henry Moore….
Video: The Isamu Noguchi sculpture Mitosis, 1962
Audio: ….Isamu Noguchi….
Video: The Barbara Hepworth sculpture The Family of Man, 1970
Audio: ….and Barbara Hepworth.
Video: David Roche standing in front of the Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: This exposure laid the foundation for what would later become Allan Houser's own take on modernist sculpture. Houser was at the height of his painting career, but it was at this moment he began to experiment with three-dimensional media. He first experimented with wood carvings, later working in stone and bronze.
Video: An archival photograph of Allan Houser standing in front of his sculpture Comrade in Mourning, 1948
Audio: In 1948, he was commissioned to create his first monumental piece for Haskell Indian College in Lawrence, Kansas, entitled Comrade in Mourning.
Video: David Roche standing in front of the Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: Houser went on to have a highly successful career as an artist.
Video: An archival photograph of the IAIA Art Department faculty, 1962
Audio: He was a member of the 1962 inaugural faculty at the Institute of American Indian Art,
Video: An archival photograph of Allan Houser teaching students
Audio: ….where he taught painting and sculpture to hundreds of students, many of whom –….
Video: The Doug Hyde sculpture Navajo Water Girl, c. 1990s
Audio: ….like the renowned Nez Perce, Assiniboine, Chippewa sculptor Doug Hyde – went on to establish their own successful practices.
Video: The Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: In Earth Song, you can see the influences of Mexican muralists….
Video: The Diego Rivera painting The Flower Vendor (Girl with Lilies), 1941
Audio: ….such as Diego Rivera….
Video: The Henry Moore sculpture Mother and Child: Block Seat, 1983–84
Audio: ….as well as the British artist Henry Moore….
Video: The Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: ….both of whom influenced Houser's distinctive sculptural style. It depicts an Apache man singing a song of respect, a prayer to Mother Earth. He is seen beating a water drum with a pounder, which measures the rhythm of his prayer as he sings to thank the Earth for sustaining all living forms. The model of Earth Song was San Carlos Apache artist Delmar Boni, a good friend of Houser's. Houser's subjects are grounded in a respect for his Apache culture and for all Indigenous people, while his themes are based on stories he heard as a child about the lifeways….
Video: An archival photograph of Allan Houser sculpting
Audio: ….of the Apache people before the arrival of the Europeans.
Video: David Roche standing in front of the Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: In 1997, Earth Song was included in the exhibition series, Twentieth Century American Sculpture at The White House.
Video: Art conservators working on the Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: And in 2015, Earth Song was one of eight sculptures in the museum's collection that benefited from a grant from the Bank of America Art Conservation Project….
Video: The Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: ….and we are so grateful for that support that enabled us to safeguard this important work.
Video: David Roche standing in front of the Allan Houser sculpture Earth Song, 1978
Audio: I want to thank you for taking the time to watch today and to learn more about Earth Song by Allan Houser. I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the work with family and friends. And please visit the Bank of America Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and ensure that you never miss a moment.
Audio: Music playing
On-screen text:
Title treatment art:
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859–1937)
The Arch, 1919 (detail)
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alfred W. Jenkins, 32.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 32.10_SL1.jpg)
Allan Houser (Chiricahua Apache, 1914–1994)
Unconquered II, 1994
Bronze, applied patina
Height: 10’ (304.8 cm)
Heard Museum Collection
On loan from the private collection of Tia
© 2021 Chiinde LLC, a Houser/Haozous family corporation
Roxanne Swentzell (Santa Clara Pueblo, b. 1962)
Window to the Past, 1999
Bronze, ed. 7/8
32” × 26” × 34” (81.3 × 66 × 86.4 cm)
Heard Museum Collection
Gift of David and Sara Lieberman, 4481-1
© 2021 Roxanne Swentzell
Allan Houser (Chiricahua Apache, 1914–1994)
Gift of the Earth, 1991
Bronze, 10/12
21” × 24” × 23” (53.3 × 61 × 58.4 cm)
Heard Museum Collection
Bequest of Ann B. Ritt, 4690-31
© 2021 Chiinde LLC, a Houser/Haozous family corporation
Allan Houser (Chiricahua Apache, 1914–1994)
Earth Song, 1978
Alabama marble
48 1/2” × 24” × 24” (123.2 × 61 × 61 cm)
Heard Museum Collection
Gift of Gallery Wall
© 2021 Chiinde LLC, a Houser/Haozous family corporation
Tony Jojola (Isleta, b. 1958)
Rosemary Lonewolf (Santa Clara, b. 1953)
Indigenous Evolution, 2005
Glass and micaceous clay
8’ × 30’ (243.8 × 914.4 cm)
Heard Museum Collection
© 2021 Tony Jojola
© 2021 Rosemary Lonewolf
Eric-Paul Riege (Diné, b. 1994)
jaatłoh4Ye'iitsoh no. 1-6, 2020
Muslin, mixed fabrics, polyester fill, faux fur, synthetic hair, artist’s hair, churro wool and churro yarn
Collection of the artist
© 2021 Eric-Paul Riege
Ian Kuali’i (Kanaka Maoli, b. 1977)
Monument/Pillar, 2020
Hand-cut paper
Collection of the artist
© 2021 Ian Kuali’i
Allan Houser at the public dedication of As Long as the Waters Flow at the Oklahoma State Capitol in 1989
Courtesy of the Allan Houser Foundation archives
© 2021 Chiinde LLC, a Houser/Haozous family corporation
Allan Houser working on the wax original of Navajo Runner, c. 1976
Courtesy of the Allan Houser Foundation archives
© 2021 Chiinde LLC, a Houser/Haozous family corporation
Harold Kellogg, Allan Houser, Chiricahua Apache artist, New Mexico, 1939
Courtesy of the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA), Negative No. 077509
Allan Houser with brother Alfred and cousin Mildred Imach (Cleghorn)
Courtesy of the Allan Houser Foundation archives
Ina Sizer Cassidy, Allan Houser (Apache) painting Breaking Camp during Wartime mural in the Indian Arts and Crafts Room of the United States Department of the Interior building, 1938
Courtesy of the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA), Negative No. 016855
Allan Houser (Chiricahua Apache, 1914–1994)
Fancy Dancer, 1954
Casein on Masonite
65” × 46” (165.1 × 116.8 cm)
A-167; BIA Collection Property Transfer (lntermountain Indian School), 1985
Image courtesy of the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, NM
© 2021 Chiinde LLC, a Houser/Haozous family corporation
Allan and Anna Marie Houser, c. 1985
Jean Arp (French, 1886–1966)
Giant Pip, 1937
Bronze
63 7/8” × 49 1/4” × 30 3/8” (162.2 × 125 × 77 cm)
© 2021 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Image: Hemis / Alamy Stock Photo
Constantin Brancusi (French, b. Romania, 1876–1957)
Sleeping Muse, 1910
Bronze
6 3/4” × 9 1/2” × 6” (17.1 × 24.1 × 15.2 cm)
© Succession Brancusi - All rights reserved (ARS) 2021
Image: © 2021 CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY
Henry Moore (English, 1898–1986)
Mother and Child, 1930
Ham Hill stone
Height: 31” (78.7 cm)
© The Henry Moore Foundation. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2021 / www.henry-moore.org
Image: Trinity Mirror / Mirrorpix / Alamy Stock Photo
Isamu Noguchi (American, 1904–1988)
Mitosis, 1962
Bronze
14 1/2” × 22 1/4” × 16 1/2” (36.8 × 56.5 × 41.8 cm)
© 2021 The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Image: © 2021 The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by Scala/Art Resource, NY
Barbara Hepworth (English, 1903–1975)
The Family of Man, 1970
Bronze
Snape Maltings, Suffolk, England
Barbara Hepworth © 2021 Bowness
Image: Robert Bird / Alamy Stock Photo
Allan Houser with Comrade in Mourning, 1948
Courtesy of the Allan Houser Foundation archives
© 2021 Chiinde LLC, a Houser/Haozous family corporation
IAIA Art Department faculty, 1962
RG 03-IAIA Photographic Materials, Image courtesy of IAIA Archives, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Allan Houser teaching sculpture at IAIA, c. 1972
RG 03-IAIA Photographic Materials, Image courtesy of IAIA Archives, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Doug Hyde (Nez Perce/Assiniboine/Chippewa, b. 1946)
Navajo Water Girl, c. 1990s
Limestone
66 1/2” × 24” × 27” (168.9 × 61 × 68.4 cm)
© 2021 Doug Hyde
Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886–1957)
The Flower Vendor (Girl with Lilies), 1941
Oil on Masonite
48” × 48” (121.9 × 121.9 cm)
© 2021 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Image: Archivart / Alamy Stock Photo
Henry Moore (English, 1898–1986)
Mother and Child: Block Seat, 1983–84
Bronze
Height: 96” (244 cm)
© The Henry Moore Foundation. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2021 / www.henry-moore.org
Image: DBURKE / Alamy Stock Photo
Allan Houser sculpting, 1991
2000-017-B12-F10-4, Lee Marmon Collection, Special Collections and Center for Southwest Research, University of New Mexico Libraries.
“Take the “A” Train”
Written by Billy Strayhorn
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Verve Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation.
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Audio: Jazz music playing
Graphic: Bank of America presents Masterpiece Moment
Video: Exterior and interior shots of the Art Institute of Chicago
On-screen text: Art Institute of Chicago
Video: The Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
On-screen text: Georges-Pierre Seurat (French, 1859–1891), A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884, 1884–1886, Oil on canvas, 81 3/4 x 121 1/4 inches
Video: James Rondeau, President and Eloise W. Martin Director of the Art Institute of Chicago standing in front of the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
On-screen text: James Rondeau, President and Eloise W. Martin Director, The Art Institute of Chicago
Audio— James Rondeau: Hello, I’m James Rondeau, President and Eloise W. Martin Director of the Art Institute of Chicago. Welcome to Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment. Today, I would like to talk about one of my favorite works from our collection….
Video: The Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: ….Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat and tell you why I think it is truly a masterpiece.
Video: James Rondeau standing in front of the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: Georges Seurat has created a scene of leisure set on a small section of an elongated island in the Seine River just beyond Paris's city limits.
Video: The Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: Seurat's canvas is filled with figures, including three dogs, eight boats, forty-eight people and, oddly, one monkey, who gather on a Sunday afternoon to enjoy and parade around in nature.
Video: James Rondeau standing in front of the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: A Sunday on La Grande Jatte was painted in 1884 and is generally considered to be Seurat's masterpiece and certainly one of the greatest paintings of the nineteenth century.
Video: The Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: Like many of his Impressionist contemporaries such as Claude Monet, Seurat embraced the subject matter of modern life. Seurat, however, went beyond their prevailing concerns for translating in paint the qualities of light in the city or in nature. Seurat, inspired by recently published research in optical and color theory, developed his own "scientific" style called Pointillism, from the French word for "point" or "dot." Tackling the issues of color, light and form, Seurat's method juxtaposed tiny dabs of color, often complementary colors, to create hues that he believed, through optical blending, were more intense and luminous.
Video: A poster and catalog for the 8th Exposition, written in French
Audio: In 1886, Seurat debuted the painting at the eighth and final Impressionist exhibition. He was only twenty-six years old.
Video: James Rondeau standing in front of the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: It shocked the Paris art world when it was first shown. "Bedlam," "scandal," "hilarity" were among the epithets used by critics to describe what is now considered to be the artist's greatest work.
Video: The Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: Recognized for its unusual technique, simplified figure types and enormous scale, this monumental work is a manifesto of a new style of painting that broke with Impressionism and would open the door for a more expansive European Modernism employed by the likes….
Video: The Vincent van Gogh painting Garden at Arles, July 1888
Audio: ….of Vincent van Gogh….
Video: The Paul Cézanne painting Mont Sainte-Victoire and Château Noir, c. 1904–1906
Audio: ….Paul Cézanne….
Video: The Pablo Picasso painting The Flower Seller, 1901
Audio: ….and Pablo Picasso.
Video: The Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: This picture was only rarely seen in the three decades following the artist's death in 1891.
Video: James Rondeau standing in front of the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: When Art Institute trustee Frederic Clay Bartlett purchased the painting in 1924, he wrote to then museum director Robert Harshe, exclaiming that he had attained, and I quote, "almost by a miracle the finest picture in France," close quote. So the picture was placed on loan here at the Art Institute and gifted to the museum in 1926.
Video: The Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: For nearly a century, this innovative and enigmatic painting has continued to intrigue, elude….
Video: Museum visitors looking at the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: ….and inspire — drawing millions of visitors to see it.
Video: A photographic portrait of Georges Seurat
Audio: Georges Seurat was born in Paris in December 1859 into a family that supported him throughout his life as an artist.
Video: A painted portrait of Georges Seurat
Audio: He studied at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, receiving a classical training in the arts.
Video: A drawing of Georges Seurat
Audio: After a year and a half, Seurat quit school. Following one year of military service, he returned to painting.
Video: The Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: It is extraordinary to think that just four years after abandoning art school, Seurat was poised to begin….
Video: A Georges Seurat drawing for A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: ….the two-year period of intensive preparation that culminated in this landmark achievement.
Video: The Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: The flickering color creates a sense of vibrancy that belies the actual stillness of the scene. Of all the figures, only one girl in an orange dress appears to be in active motion. The other figures seem almost frozen in place. Seurat sought to evoke a sense of permanence in his depiction of the figures by recalling the art of the past….
Video: An Egyptian sculptural frieze and a Greek sculptural frieze
Audio: ….especially Egyptian and Greek sculptural friezes….
Video: The fresco The School of Athens by Raphael
Audio: ….and even Italian Renaissance frescoes.
Video: James Rondeau standing in front of the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: As he explained to the French poet Gustave Kahn, and here I quote Seurat, "I want to make modern people, in their essential traits, move about as they do on those friezes, and place them on canvases organized by harmonies of color," close quote.
Video: The Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: Two or three years after it was exhibited in 1886, Seurat restretched the canvas. To make the experience of the painting even more intense, he surrounded the canvas with a frame of hand-painted dashes and dots, which he, in turn, enclosed with a pure white wood frame, similar to the one with which the painting is exhibited today.
Video: James Rondeau standing in front of the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: Unlike many of his fellow Impressionists, drawing was also a foundational part of his process.
Video: A Georges Seurat drawing for A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: During the years 1884 and 1885, Seurat was hard at work on La Grande Jatte.
Video: James Rondeau standing in front of the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: The genesis of this large canvas, seven feet by ten feet, involved approximately twenty-eight drawings, twenty-four oil panels and three larger canvases. Within the Art Institute's collection, we have drawings related to two of the foreground figures.
Video: Georges Seurat drawings for A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: In drawing, for example, Seurat developed the expressive contours of the seated female figure holding a parasol that would ultimately occupy the center of the finished painting. He also worked through the proportions and the stance of the Woman Walking with a Parasol.
Video: A Georges Seurat painting study for A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: A small oil on a thin, wood panel in our collection is one of the twenty-four painted studies the artist made.
Video: James Rondeau standing in front of the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: These panels show the enormous changes to the composition as he worked out the placement of the figures.
Video: The Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: For example, the now-iconic man in a top hat and a woman oddly walking a monkey….
Video: James Rondeau standing in front of the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: ….were not included in the early sketch. Instead, the artist depicted two….
Video: A Georges Seurat painting study for A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: ….seated, elderly figures assuming the central right placement, with a bustled female figure approaching them.
Video: James Rondeau standing in front of the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: A 2004 exhibition at the Art Institute devoted to the making of La Grande Jatte shared numerous discoveries by painting conservators, showing how Seurat transferred and altered figures from studies to the final canvas and elucidated the exact nature of his pigments and….
Video: The Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: ….brushwork. Color scientists also examined how some of the pigments have changed over time on the surface, such as the yellow of the sunlit grass, which has darkened over time.
Video: James Rondeau standing in front of the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: This painting has inspired many, not only in painting, but in music and theater, notably the epic and iconic Broadway musical….
Video: Two actors performing in the play Sunday in the Park with George by Stephen Sondheim
Audio: ….Sunday in the Park with George by Stephen Sondheim.
Video: Characters from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off looking at the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: The painting's become a cultural touchstone, appearing in movies such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off….
Video: A parody image of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884 featuring characters from The Office
Audio: ….and referenced in television programs….
Video: Parody images of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: ….and, of course, now even in memes.
Video: Museum visitors looking at the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: The experience of seeing this painting, live and in person, has captured the imagination of millions of visitors, resulting in the countless references to it during the almost 100 years since it came to Chicago.
Video: James Rondeau standing in front of the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: I want to thank you for taking the time to watch today and to learn more about Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the piece with friends and family. And, please, visit the Bank of America Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and ensure that you never miss a single moment.
Video: The Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
Audio: Music playing
On-screen text:
Title treatment art:
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859–1937)
The Arch, 1919 (detail)
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alfred W. Jenkins, 32.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 32.10_SL1.jpg)
Georges-Pierre Seurat (French, 1859–1891)
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte–1884
1884–1886
Oil on canvas
81 3/4” x 121 1/4” (207.5 x 308.1 cm)
The Art Institute of Chicago
Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890)
Garden at Arles, July 1888
Oil on canvas
Framed: 32 5/8” x 40 1/8” (82.8 x 102 cm)
Peter Horree / Alamy Stock Photo
Paul Cézanne (French, 1839–1906)
Mont Sainte-Victoire and Château Noir, c. 1904–1906
Oil on canvas
26” x 32 1/4” (66.2 x 82.1 cm)
PAINTING / Alamy Stock Photo
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973)
The Flower Seller, 1901
Oil on millboard
13 1/4” x 20 1/2” (33.7 x 52.1 cm)
Peter Barritt / Alamy Stock Photo
© 2021 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Actors perform during the dress rehearsal for Sunday in the Park with George, by Stephen Sondheim, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, April 12, 2013. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes / Alamy Stock Photo
The movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, written and directed by John Hughes. Shown, Alan Ruck as Cameron Frye gazing at Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte in the Art Institute of Chicago. Initial theatrical release June 11, 1986. Screen capture. Paramount Pictures. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
The movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, written and directed by John Hughes. Shown from left: Alan Ruck as Cameron Frye, Mia Sara as Sloane Peterson and Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller in the Art Institute of Chicago. Initial theatrical release June 11, 1986. Screen capture. Paramount Pictures. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
The Office (US) © Universal Television LLC. All Rights Reserved.
“Take the “A” Train”
Written by Billy Strayhorn
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Verve Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation.
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Audio: Jazz music playing
Graphic: Bank of America presents Masterpiece Moment
Video: Exterior and interior shots of the Carnegie Museum of Art
On-screen text: Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh
Video: The Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
On-screen text: Joan Mitchell (American, 1925-1922), Low Water, 1969, oil on canvas
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
On-screen text: Eric Crosby, Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art
Audio— Eric Crosby: Hello. My name is Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. Welcome to Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment. Today I’d like to share one of my very favorite works from our collection, Low Water, by American artist Joan Mitchell. Let’s take a look at this masterpiece together.
Video: The Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: Low Water is a major oil painting that Mitchell created in 1969. This work, among other large-scale paintings by Mitchell, was first exhibited….
Video: Cover of the Pittsburgh International, 1970, Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute booklet
Audio: ….in the 1970 Carnegie International, our museum’s signature survey of contemporary art.
Video: Record card showing a listing of Joan Mitchell paintings that includes Low Water, 1969
Audio: Leon Arkus, then the Director of the museum, had the foresight to acquire this piece….
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: …. and since then, it has been featured in several important exhibitions, including the artist’s major retrospective organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2002.
Video: An archival photograph of Joan Mitchell in her studio
Audio: Born in Chicago in 1925, Joan Mitchell is best known for these large, abstract works, although she also made smaller paintings, and works on paper, and prints.
Video: An archival photograph of Joan Mitchell
Audio: She studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and in the late 1940s began traveling to France, as part of a fellowship, returning often in the following decades.
Video: An archival photograph of Joan Mitchell sitting at a café with a group of people
Audio: Despite a reputation for being somewhat isolated, and even a bit temperamental, Mitchell claimed to love trees and dogs more than people.
Video: A hand-written letter by Joan Mitchell
Audio: She was, in fact, very sociable and generous, especially to other artists, who she often hosted at her home in France.
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: Her career took off soon after graduating, when she exhibited work in the 1951 landmark….
Video: 9th Street exhibition poster
Audio: ….Ninth Street Show in New York, alongside such artists as Willem de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler and Jackson Pollock.
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: While she was technically a Second Generation Abstract Expressionist, known for dynamic canvases like this one, she flinched at the terminology, suggesting, “Abstract Expressionism was Old Hat” by the time she was on the scene.
Video: The Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: Low Water is a particularly important painting, as it marks a shift in Mitchell’s style.
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: Her larger works, made in France, offer up a much more expansive sense of space, and a resplendent spectrum of color.
Video: The Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: Here we see Mitchell starting to use rectangular blocks of color, in varying sizes, a motif that persisted throughout the 1970s. Mitchell would activate these swaths….
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: …. by allowing them to bump up against each other, and supplementing them with dynamic brushwork and dripping fields of paint.
Video: The Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: Her palette also became much more sophisticated at this time, including lavenders, oranges, greens, blues, purples and yellows that literally jump off the canvas.
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: The immediacy of Mitchell’s brushwork lends a sense of intimacy to the painting. It naturally draws you in, at first physically and then emotionally as you explore its variations of color and form. There’s something actually quite musical about the way Mitchell guides your eye across the surface of her painting.
Video: An archival photograph of La Tour, Joan Mitchell’s property in Vétheuil, 1967
Audio: It just so happens that Mitchell worked and resided in the same location as the French painter….
Video: The Claude Monet painting The Artist’s Garden at Vétheuil, 1881
Audio: …. Claude Monet, who lived there from 1878 to 1881.
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: Though many are quick to draw connections between the two artists because of this fact, Mitchell rejected the comparison.
Video: An archival photograph of Joan Mitchell
Audio: “I bought this house because I liked the view, not out of any love for Monet,” she told The New York Times, in 1991.
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: Despite her rejection of Monet, Mitchell’s style was very much influenced by her surroundings, and, in its embrace of color and beauty, echoes the work of her French countrymen…
Video: The Henri Matisse painting Landscape at Collioure, 1905
Audio: …. Henri Matisse….
Video: The Pierre Bonnard painting Sunlight, 1923
Audio: ….and Pierre Bonnard.
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: Mitchell herself once proclaimed, “Painting is French,” because of her immersion in this sensibility.
Video: The Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: Although her paintings of the time were inspired by the natural environment, Mitchell did not paint outside but rather inside a studio on her property.
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: The imaginary landscapes that she painted were very much an extension of her memory.
Video: An archival photograph of Joan Mitchell in her studio
Audio: She would often cover the windows to keep out the natural light, allowing her to focus on the immediacy of the work at hand.
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: While her brushwork is dynamic and gestural, she did not really consider herself to be an action painter. In fact, she painted slowly….
Video: The Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: …. taking time to stop and look, and to allow the painting to direct her next move.
Video: An archival photograph of Joan Mitchell in her studio
Audio: Mitchell had a habit of not naming her paintings until they were finished.
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: Even in May of 1970 as Leon Arkus prepared for the International, he expressed some frustration with the difficulty in discussing Mitchell’s works ‘cause they still had no titles.
Video: The Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: He said, “It is rather hard to carry colors in one’s mind.”
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: Low Water, as it was eventually named, evokes this wondrous feeling, I think, of….
Video: A photograph of a tide pool
Audio: …. staring down into a tide pool teeming with life.
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: In a rare moment of revealing her influence….
Video: The Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: …. Mitchell claims simply, “The painting is like a river.”
Video: Eric Crosby, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, standing in front of the Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: I want to thank you for taking the time to watch today and to learn more about Low Water by Joan Mitchell. I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the work with those you know. And please visit the Bank of America Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and make sure that you never miss a moment. Thank you.
Video: The Joan Mitchell painting Low Water, 1969
Audio: Music playing
Graphic: Bank of America logo
On-screen text:
Title treatment art:
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859–1937)
The Arch, 1919 (detail)
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alfred W. Jenkins, 32.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 32.10_SL1.jpg)
Sol LeWitt (American, 1928–2007)
Wall Drawing #450, A wall is divided vertically into four equal parts. All one-, two-, three-, and four-part combinations of four colors, 1985
Lascaux acrylic wash
354” × 864” (899.2 × 2194.6 cm)
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: Gift of Richard M. Scaife to honor Margaret R. Battle
© 2021 The LeWitt Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Kenneth Snelson (American, 1927–2016)
Forest Devil, 1977
Stainless steel tubes and aircraft cable
216” × 384” × 426” (548.6 × 975.4 × 1082 cm)
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: Gift of the Women's Committee
© Kenneth Snelson
René Magritte (Belgian, 1898–1967)
L’esprit de famille, 1963
Oil on canvas
21 5/16” × 25 5/8” (54.1 × 65.1 cm)
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Scaife
© 2021 C. Herscovici / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Thomas Schütte (German, b. 1954)
Zombie VIII, 2008
Bronze
29 1/2” × 33 1/2” × 41 5/16” (74.9 × 85.1 × 104.9 cm)
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: The Henry L. Hillman Fund
© 2021 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Asger Jorn (Danish, 1914–1973)
Incredible Energy, 1957
Oil on canvas
57 9/16” × 45 3/16” (146.2 × 114.8 cm)
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: Patrons Art Fund
© 2021 Donation Jorn, Silkeborg / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VISDA
Richard Long (British, b. 1945)
Elterwater Stone Ring, 1985
113 stones
Overall: 110 1/4” (280 cm)
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: Purchased with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. Edward N. Haskell
© 2021 Richard Long. All Rights Reserved, DACS, London / ARS, NY
Martin Puryear (American, b. 1941)
Untitled, 1970
Ponderosa pine
32 7/8” × 13” × 12” (83.5 × 33 × 30.5 cm)
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: Gift of John Hudson
© 2021 Martin Puryear, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
Cy Gavin (American, b. 1985)
Untitled (Gibbet Island), 2019
Acrylic, pink Bermuda sand, aquarelle pencil, chalk, and oil on canvas
92” × 92” × 1 3/4” (233.7 × 233.7 × 4.5 cm)
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: Purchase, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Scaife, by exchange
© 2021 Cy Gavin
Ruth Root (American, b. 1967)
Untitled, 2003
Enamel on aluminum
46 1/2” × 60” × 1/16” (118.1 × 152.4 × 0.2 cm)
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: A. W. Mellon Acquisition Endowment Fund
© 2021 Ruth Root
Rachel Harrison (American, b. 1966)
Utopia, 2002
Wood, polystyrene, cement, acrylic, wheels, porcelain figurine, and pyrite
80” × 40” × 38 1/2” (203.2 × 101.6 × 97.8 cm)
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: Oxford Development Fund
© 2021 Rachel Harrison Courtesy the artist and Greene Naftali, New York
Zao Wou‑Ki (French, 1921–2013)
Black Crowd, 1954
Oil on canvas
Frame: 46 5/8” × 36 1/8” × 1 1/4” (118.4 × 91.8 × 3.2 cm)
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: Gift of G. David Thompson
© 2021 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ProLitteris, Zurich
Alberto Giacometti (Swiss, 1901–1966)
Walking Man I, 1960
Bronze
71 3/4” × 38” × 10 1/2” (182.3 × 96.5 × 3.8 cm)
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: Patrons Art Fund
© 2021 Alberto Giacometti Estate / VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / ADAGP, Paris
Mark Rothko (American, 1903–1970)
Yellow and Blue (Yellow, Blue on Orange), 1955
Oil on canvas
102 1/4” × 66 11/16” × 1 3/8” (259.7 × 169.4 × 3.5 cm)
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: Fellows Fund, Women’s Committee Acquisition Fund, and Patrons Art Fund
© 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Joan Mitchell (American, 1925–1992)
Low Water, 1969
Oil on canvas
112” × 79” (284.5 × 200.7 cm)
© 2021 Estate of Joan Mitchell
Joan Mitchell painting in her studio at 60 St. Marks Place, New York City, 1957
Photograph by Rudy Burckhardt, Joan Mitchell Foundation Archives. © 2021 Estate of Rudy Burckhardt / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Joan Mitchell in her 10 rue Frémicourt apartment, Paris, c. 1960
Photographer unknown, Joan Mitchell Foundation Archives.
Joan Mitchell, Patricia Matisse, May Zao, Jean-Paul Riopelle, and Zao Wou-Ki at
Chez Margot, Golfe-Juan, 1962
Photographer unknown, Joan Mitchell Foundation Archives.
Franz Kline (American, 1910–1962)
9th Street Exhibition poster, 1951
JMFA004: Joan Mitchell Exhibition Records, Joan Mitchell Foundation Archives.
© 2021 The Franz Kline Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
La Tour, Joan Mitchell’s property in Vétheuil, 1967
Photographer unknown, Joan Mitchell Foundation Archives.
Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926)
The Artist’s Garden at Vétheuil, 1881
Oil on canvas
59 5/8” x 47 5/8” (151.5 x 121 cm)
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection
Image courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Joan Mitchell in Vétheuil, 1972
Photograph by Nancy Crampton, Joan Mitchell Foundation Archives. © 2021 Nancy Crampton
Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954)
Landscape at Collioure, 1905
Oil on canvas
15 1/4” x 18 3/8” (38.8 x 46.6 cm)
Gift and Bequest of Mrs. Bertram Smith
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
© 2021 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Digital image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY
Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867–1947)
Sunlight, 1923
Oil on canvas
24 7/8” x 24 1/2” (63.2 x 62.2 cm)
Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza
Collection on loan at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza
Photo: Ian Dagnall Computing / Alamy Stock Photo
© 2021 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Portrait of American-born painter Joan Mitchell (1925–1992) in her studio, Paris, France, September 1956. (Photo by Loomis Dean/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)
Joan Mitchell in her Vétheuil studio, 1972
Photograph by Nancy Crampton, Joan Mitchell Foundation Archives. © 2021 Nancy Crampton
Giant green anemones in a tide pool on Cobble Beach below Yaquina Head Lighthouse in Oregon
Julie Huser / Alamy Stock Photo
“Take the “A” Train”
Written by Billy Strayhorn
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Verve Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation.
Opinions or ideas expressed are not necessarily those of Bank of America or its affiliates.
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.
January 18th–March 1st, 2021
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Audio: Jazz music playing
Graphic: Bank of America presents Masterpiece Moment
Video: Exterior and interior shots of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
On-screen text: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.
Video: The Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
On-screen text: Yayoi Kusama (Japanese, b. 1929), Pumpkin, 2016, Fiberglass-reinforced plastic with urethane paint, 96 7/16” x 102 3/8”
Video: Melissa Chiu, Director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden standing next to the Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
On-screen text: Melissa Chiu, Director, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Audio— Melissa Chiu: Welcome to Bank of America's Masterpiece Moment. We're at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, a part of the Smithsonian Institution and our national museum of modern art. I am Melissa Chiu, Director of the Hirshhorn, and I'm delighted to share one of my favorite masterpieces in our collection.
Video: The Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: You are among the first to see Yayoi Kusama's Pumpkin in its indoor setting.
Video: Melissa Chiu standing next to the Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: This pumpkin is eight feet tall and wide.
Video: The Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: As you can see, Kusama has covered her artwork in her signature polka dots, and the resulting effect is exactly as she intended: a dazzling kaleidoscope environment.
Video: Melissa Chiu standing next to the Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: Today, Yayoi Kusama is the most famous living woman artist in the world. This was not always the case.
Video: An archival photograph of Yayoi Kusama
Audio: She was born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Japan. As a child, she wanted to become an artist.
Video: A photograph of Yayoi Kusama in her studio
Audio: Kusama still works in her Tokyo studio every day.
Video: Yayoi Kusama sitting next to a Pumpkin sculpture
Audio: In her autobiography, Infinity Net, she explains why pumpkins are a lifelong object of fascination.
Video: Melissa Chiu standing next to the Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: Kusama writes, she is "enchanted by their charming form, generous unpretentiousness and solid spiritual balance."
Video: Three different Yayoi Kusama Pumpkin sculptures installed outdoors
Audio She recollects how, as a child, she accompanied her grandfather to a nursery, where she saw a pumpkin the size of a man's head. When she reached down to pick it, she recalls that it spoke to her. As a teen, she won a prize for painting pumpkins at a local art exhibition.
Video: Melissa Chiu standing next to the Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: Later, as a young artist, Yayoi Kusama spent two years in Kyoto making paintings, many depicting pumpkins.
Video: Two archival photographs of Yayoi Kusama
Audio: In 1957, Yayoi Kusama left Japan. She traveled to the United States at the encouragement of artist Georgia O'Keeffe. She moved to New York City in 1958, where she experimented, often on a monumental scale.
Video: Melissa Chiu standing next to the Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: In America, she created "net paintings," "accumulation sculptures," "mirror rooms" and "happenings."
Video: An archival photograph of Yayoi Kusama
Audio: But formal success eluded her, and her health declined.
Video: Melissa Chiu standing next to the Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: When Yayoi Kusama returned to Japan in 1973, she returned to her pumpkin motif.
Video: An archival photograph of Yayoi Kusama
Audio: Yayoi Kusama represented Japan at the 1993 Venice Biennale, where she exhibited an "infinity mirror room."
Video: A Yayoi Kusama Pumpkin sculpture installed outdoors
Audio: In 1994, the artist installed a large pumpkin sculpture at the end of a pier in Naoshima, Japan, her very first permanent outdoor installation.
Video: Melissa Chiu standing next to the Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: Our pumpkin is similar, but its size, shape and pattern are unique.
Video: The Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: Pumpkin embodies Kusama's lifelong investigation into themes of nature and fantasy; corporeal and infinite; life and death.
Video: Melissa Chiu standing next to the Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: Yayoi Kusama is one of the most important artists working today, driven by a vision that is at once intensely personal and undeniably universal. I consider Pumpkin to be a masterpiece, and I'm not alone.
Video: The Yayoi Kusama installation Infinity Mirror Room—All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins, 2016
Audio: In 2017, the Hirshhorn introduced a new generation to the artist. Our exhibition, Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors, broke attendance records here and at five additional North American art museums.
Video: Melissa Chiu standing next to the Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: Perhaps you were one of the 800,000 visitors to experience it. Or made one of the 330 million impressions on social media.
Video: Wall text for the exhibition One with Eternity: Yayoi Kusama in the Hirshhorn Collection followed by Melissa Chiu standing next to the Yayoi Kusama sculpture “Pumpkin”, 2016
Audio: Our new exhibition, One with Eternity: Yayoi Kusama in the Hirshhorn Collection, establishes our museum as a permanent, free resource….
Video: The Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: ….for art lovers to experience Kusama's transformative practice.
Video: Melissa Chiu standing next to the Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: Thank you for taking the time to learn more about Yayoi Kusama's Pumpkin.
Video: The Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the work with friends and family.
Video: Melissa Chiu standing next to the Yayoi Kusama sculpture Pumpkin, 2016
Audio: Please visit the Hirshhorn in Washington, D.C., and visit the Bank of America Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and ensure that you never miss a moment.
Audio: Music playing
Graphic: Bank of America logo
On-screen text:
Henry Moore (British, 1898–1986)
Three-Way Piece No. 3: Vertebrae (Working Model), 1968/cast early 1969
Bronze
40 3/4” x 93” x 48” (103.6 x 236.1 x 122 cm) including base
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, The Joseph H. Hirshhorn Bequest, 1981
© 2021 The Henry Moore Foundation. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2021 / www.henry-moore.org
Installation view of Lee Ufan: Open Dimension, 2019, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
© 2021 Lee Ufan
Tony Cragg (British, b. 1949)
Subcommittee, 1991
Steel
100 1/2” x 74 1/4” x 64 1/2”, approx. 6,000 lbs. (255.3 x 188.6 x 163.8 cm, 2721.6 kg)
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation and Museum Purchase, 1992
© 2021 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Dan Graham (American, b. 1942)
For Gordon Bunshaft, 2006/fabricated 2007–2008
Two-way mirror, stainless steel, wood and stone
92 1/8” x 196 1/4” x 196 1/8” (234 x 498.4 x 498.1 cm)
Joseph H. Hirshhorn Bequest and Purchase Funds, 2008
© 2021 Dan Graham
Mark di Suvero (American, b. China, 1933)
Are Years What? (For Marianne Moore), 1967
Steel, paint and wire
480” × 480” × 360”, 18,725 lb. (1219.2 × 1219.2 × 914.4 cm, 8493.6 kg)
Joseph H. Hirshhorn Purchase Fund and Gift of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, by exchange, 1999
Courtesy of the Artist, Spacetime C.C. and Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Jeff Koons (American, b. 1955)
Kiepenkerl, 1987
Stainless steel
72 3/4” × 31/2” × 32 1/4”, 550 lbs. (184.8 × 80 × 81.9 cm, 249.5 kg)
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Joseph H. Hirshhorn Purchase Fund and Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, 1998
© 2021 Jeff Koons
Yayoi Kusama (Japanese, b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 2016
Fiberglass-reinforced plastic with urethane paint
96 7/16” x 102 3/8” (247.5 x 260 cm)
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
© 2021 YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts.
Yayoi Kusama working in her studio, New York, c. 1958–59
© 2021 YAYOI KUSAMA
Photo by Ken Van Sickle
Yayoi Kusama in her studio, 2017
© 2021 YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy Ota Fine Arts, Victoria Miro, David Zwirner.
Yayoi Kusama with Pumpkin at Aichi Triennale, 2010
© 2021 YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy Ota Fine Arts, Victoria Miro, David Zwirner.
Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama, Benesse Art Site, Naoshima, Japan
© 2021 YAYOI KUSAMA
Jayne Lloyd / Alamy Stock Photo
Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama at the Frieze Art Fair 2014, Regents Park, London, United Kingdom
© 2021 YAYOI KUSAMA
Simon Balson / Alamy Stock Photo
Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama displayed at the entrance of the Forever Museum of Contemporary Art (FMOCA) in Gion, Kyoto, Japan
© 2021 YAYOI KUSAMA
Wiskerke / Alamy Stock Photo
Yayoi Kusama working in her studio, New York, 1961
© 2021 YAYOI KUSAMA
Yayoi Kusama working in her studio, New York, c. 1960–61
© 2021 YAYOI KUSAMA
Portrait of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama as she poses in a plaid outfit of her own design at a “nude fashion” event, New York, New York, July 30, 1969
Photo by Fred W. McDarrah/Getty Images
Portrait of artist and writer Yayoi Kusama, Venice, Italy, 1992
Photo by Chris Felver/Getty Images
Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama, Benesse Art Site, Naoshima, Japan.
© 2021 YAYOI KUSAMA
Chris Willson / Alamy Stock Photo
Yayoi Kusama (Japanese, b. 1929)
Infinity Mirror Room—All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins, 2016
Wood, mirrors, plastic, acrylic and LEDs. Collection of the artist.
© 2021 YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Victoria Miro.
“Take the “A” Train”
Written by Billy Strayhorn
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Verve Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation.
Opinions or ideas expressed are not necessarily those of Bank of America or its affiliates.
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Audio: Jazz music playing
Graphic: Bank of America presents Masterpiece Moment
Video: Exterior and interior shots of the Detroit Institute of Arts
On-screen text: Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
Video: Entrance to the hall where the Detroit Industry Murals are located, showing a partial view of the murals
On-screen text: Diego Rivera (Mexican 1886 – 1957), Detroit Industry Murals, 1932-33, fresco
Video: Inside the hall where the Detroit Industry Murals are painted on the walls. The Director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Salvador Salort-Pons stands in the foreground.
On-screen text: Salvador Salort-Pons, Director, Detroit Institute of Arts
Audio— Salvador Salort-Pons: Hello, I’m Salvador Salort-Pons, I am the director of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Welcome to Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment. Today, I would like to talk about one of my favorite works from our collection—
Video: A close-up view of a mural section
Audio: —the Detroit Industry Murals created by Diego Rivera and tell you why I think it is truly a masterpiece.
Video: Salvador Salort-Pons standing in front of Detroit Industry Murals followed by archival footage of Diego Rivera painting
Audio: In 1931, DIA director William Valentiner, and Edsel Ford, president of Ford Motor Company, invited the celebrated Mexican artist Diego Rivera to “beautify the Museum and give fame to its hall.” Rivera’s recent retrospective at the newly opened Museum of Modern Art in New York created a sensation. The exhibition—and practically the artist’s every move—were followed by the press.
Video: Archival footage of a courtyard with scaffolding and a fountain, followed by footage of William Valentiner and Diego Rivera
Audio: The hall that Valentiner described was this grand space — at the time, an open-air courtyard with a fountain at the center. The director hoped for murals to line the space, which were bare when he requested Rivera’s talents.
Video: Archival footage of Diego Rivera creating the murals
Audio: One of the most famous artists in the world by 1932, Rivera believed that public art — including murals like these — could shape society, politics and national identity. Born in Mexico in 1886, Rivera first studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and then went to Europe, where he absorbed the lessons of Cubism while retaining his deep devotion to his Mexican identity and the Indigenous culture of his homeland. Rivera, along with his compatriots José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros — known together as Los Tres Grandes — pioneered Mexican Muralist Renaissance, which celebrated the cultural history of Mexico along with the communist ideals of its recent Revolution.
Video: Salvador Salort-Pons standing in front of the Detroit Industry Murals
Audio: Rivera often presented workers as the heroes of his murals, who engage in physically demanding labor with integrity and nobility.
Video: Archival footage of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera on scaffolding and Rivera is painting part of a mural
Audio: Rivera arrived in Detroit in April 1932 with his wife Frida Kahlo, who was at the beginning of her career.
Video: Salvador Salort-Pons standing in front of the Detroit Industry Murals
Audio: The initial contract was for $10,000 — equivalent at about $190,000 today. The commission was later doubled.
Video: Archival footage of various industries and workers
Audio: The DIA requested that Rivera depict industries that had made Detroit famous.
Video: Salvador Salort-Pons standing in front of the Detroit Industry Murals interspersed with archival footage of Diego Rivera creating the murals and current footage of the completed murals
Audio: Rivera spent eleven months in Detroit. He toured automotive, chemical and pharmaceutical factories; sketching businesses and workers and devising the masterpiece now known as the Detroit Industry Murals. Rivera was a great admirer of innovation in the United States, so the artist used all four walls of this space to both celebrate and question the place of industry in society — its promise and products, its danger and damages. He was fascinated by the factories he toured, but Rivera’s strong political beliefs — specifically, his affiliation with communism — also made him a critic of what he saw as the ills of capitalism. He declared himself “a spy in disguise” who could subvert from the inside with his art.
Video: Footage of the murals
Audio: Across these two monumental walls — specifically, these lower sections, each 45 feet long — Rivera presented the process of car production at Ford’s vast River Rouge plant in Dearborn. Workers smelting the steel in blast furnaces, building the powerful engines, constructing the gleaming car bodies — all powered by Henry Ford’s transformative assembly line and the diverse, multiracial workforce at River Rouge.
Rivera depicts the motorized line, the machinery and the synchronized workers throughout the murals, giving a sense of how enormous and complex the process was. A spectacular sight, the plant has even drawn a crowd in the background of the south wall. Engineers from Dearborn were amazed that Rivera “fused together, in a few feet, sequences of operations which are actually performed in a distance of at least two miles, and every inch of the work—
Video: Archival footage of machinery
Audio: —is technically correct.”
Video: Footage of the murals
Audio: Other scenes here contrast the wonders and dangers of science — from the life-saving development of vaccines to the threat of chemical weapons; the construction of ships and planes that could also serve the military; the managers who surveil their employees, looking for any misstep; the harvesting of rubber that provided the material for tires, but left the landscape empty.
Video: Salvador Salort-Pons standing in front of the Detroit Industry Murals interspersed with footage of the murals
Audio: In the top sections of the long walls of the mural, Rivera complemented the scenes of industry with black, white, red and yellow female figures also associated with nature and fertility, consistent with Aztec beliefs that divided the world into four quadrants and four elements.
Here the four natural resources that they clutch represent the key materials for producing steel: coal, iron, lime and sand. Other hands rise from the earth bringing forth these resources — a tribute to the bounty of the land that Rivera saw in North and South America. As you exit the court, you see the master engineer overlooking plans and his counterpart, the worker.
Throughout the mural, Rivera included many personalities he had encountered during his time in Detroit. Edsel Ford and William Valentiner, the museum’s director, are pictured in the lower right corner of the south wall. Rivera’s own team of painters are portrayed as the workers who work on the assembly line on the north wall.
Video: Archival footage of Diego Rivera creating the murals
Audio: The Detroit Industry Murals proved influential in their own time—
Video: Salvador Salort-Pons standing in front of the Detroit Industry Murals interspersed with footage of the murals
Audio: —and today, we consider them the Sistine Chapel of America.
I want to thank you for taking the time to watch today and to learn more about the Detroit Industry Murals by Diego Rivera. I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the work with family and friends. And please visit the Bank of America Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and ensure that you never miss a moment!
Audio: Music playing
On-screen text:
Title treatment art:
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859 – 1937)
The Arch, 1919 (detail)
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alfred W. Jenkins, 32.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 32.10_SL1.jpg)
Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886–1957)
Detroit Industry murals, 1932–1933
Frescos
© 2020 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
“Take the “A” Train”
Written by Billy Strayhorn
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Verve Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation.
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Audio: Jazz music playing
Graphic: Bank of America presents Masterpiece Moment
Video: The exterior of The Studio Museum in Harlem’s former building followed by an architectural rendering of the Museum’s future building
On-screen text: The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
Video: The William T. Williams painting Trane, 1969
On-screen text: William T. Williams (American, b. 1942), Trane, 1969, Acrylic on canvas, 108 x 84 inches
Video: Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem standing in front of the William T. Williams painting Trane, 1969
On-screen text: Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator, The Studio Museum in Harlem
Audio— Thelma Golden: Hello, I’m Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem. The Studio Museum is located on 125th Street in the heart of Harlem, New York.
Video: Architectural rendering of The Studio Museum in Harlem’s future building
Audio: The Museum is currently in construction on a new building that will rise on the footprint of our former home.
Video: Thelma Golden standing in front of the William T. Williams painting Trane, 1969
Audio: Welcome to Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment. Today I would like to talk to you about one of my favorite works from our collection, Trane by William T. Williams, and tell you why I think it is truly a masterpiece.
Audio: Music plays off and on throughout
Video: The William T. Williams painting Trane, 1969 followed by an archival photograph of The Studio Museum in Harlem’s former building exterior with a small group of people in front
Audio: This monumental, acrylic-on-canvas painting stands at approximately 9 x 6 1/2 feet, and was created in 1969, just one year after The Studio Museum opened to the public.
Video: Thelma Golden standing in front of the William T. Williams painting Trane, 1969
Audio: It was gifted to the Museum in 1981 by Charles Cowles, a noted collector, art dealer, and publisher. Mr. Cowles’ gift also included an additional four works on paper by Williams, as well as works by Sam Gilliam and Benny Andrews.
Video: The Sam Gilliam artwork Mars I, 1974
On-screen text: Sam Gilliam (American, b. 1933), Mars I, 1974 , Acrylic on rice paper, The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Charles Cowles, New York 1981.2.1
Video: The Benny Andrews artwork The Police, 1972
On-screen text: Benny Andrews (American, 1930–2006), The Police, 1972, Pen and ink on paper, two-sided drawing, The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Charles Cowles, New York 1981.2.7
Video: Thelma Golden standing in front of the William T. Williams painting Trane, 1969
Audio: Williams, Gilliam, and Andrews were integral to the founding of the Museum and continue to be a part of its legacy and programming today.
Video: Archival photograph of William T. Williams in his studio followed by close-ups of his painting Trane, 1969
Audio: William T. Williams was born in 1942 in Cross Creek, North Carolina. As a teenager, he moved with his family to New York City where his artistic talent was recognized and encouraged by the head of a local community center who offered him a small studio space. Williams attended what is now called the High School of Art and Design and went on to receive a BFA from the Pratt Institute in 1966. He went on to complete an MFA at the Yale School of Art and Architecture in 1968.
Video: Archival photographs of William T. Williams
Audio: After completing his studies, Williams returned to New York City. He began his formal career in New York at a time when new American art movements were flourishing, including color field painting, Pop art, and minimalism. Williams quickly gained attention and success.
Video: The William T. Williams painting Elbert Jackson L.A.M.F. Part II, 1969.
On-screen text: William T. Williams, Elbert Jackson L.A.M.F. Part II, 1969, Acrylic and metallic paint on canvas
Audio: The Museum of Modern Art, New York purchased his painting Elbert Jackson L.A.M.F. Part II in 1969.
Video: Archival photograph of William T. Williams
Audio: Williams is well versed in the history of art and abstraction, and his work both acknowledges and challenges that of his predecessors.
Video: The William T. Williams painting Harlem Angels, 1968
On-screen text: William T. Williams, Harlem Angels, 1968, Acrylic on canvas
Audio: It is characterized by bold compositions and use of color, and the shapes and geometries Williams associates with childhood memories.
Video: The William T. Williams painting Mercer’s Stop, 1971
On-screen text: William T. Williams, Mercer’s Stop, 1971, Acrylic on canvas
Video: The William T. Williams painting Palm Cafe, 1970
On-screen text: William T. Williams, Palm Cafe, 1970, Acrylic on paper
Audio: His practice draws on the rich history of abstraction in all forms of African-American culture, in particular, from the unique forms of abstraction in music, especially in jazz, as well as the geometric patterns of the quilts he saw in the South.
Video: Archival photographs of William T. Williams in his studio
Audio: Williams takes a rigorous, formal approach to painting, creating his paintings in series and producing meticulous prints, drawings and watercolors alongside them to explore color and brushwork.
Video: Thelma Golden standing in front of the William T. Williams painting Trane, 1969
Audio: Throughout his career, Williams has been at the forefront of his medium, pushing and pulling the material and conceptual capacity of paint to evoke the world around him.
Video: The photograph John & Alice Coltrane, 1966 by Chuck Stewart shown next to the William T. Williams painting Trane, 1969
Audio: The title of this painting, Trane, references John Coltrane, one of the greatest jazz saxophonists and composers and an icon of American culture.
Video: Thelma Golden standing in front of the William T. Williams painting Trane, 1969
Video: An archival photograph of an installation of the series Diamond in a Box by William T. Williams.
Audio: Painted early in Williams’ career, Trane belongs to his first mature series, known as the Diamond in a Box paintings.
Video: The William T. Williams painting Trane, 1969
Audio: This work features a central diamond within a rectangular canvas—a compositional motif the artist has referred to as a “stabilizing force”—referencing the challenging social and political context in which this work was made. Vibrant bands of discordant colors radiate from and intersect with the center. The forms repeat and multiply, and when viewed in series, the lines and shapes create a visual rhythm akin to a jazz composition.
Video: The William T. Williams painting Trane Meets Jug, 1970–71
On-screen text: William T. Williams, Trane Meets Jug, 1970–71, Acrylic on canvas
Video: The William T. Williams painting Truckin, 1969
On-screen text: William T. Williams, Truckin, 1969, Acrylic on canvas
Audio: The influence of jazz is apparent in Williams’ work, not only for its compositional structure, but also as a medium emblematic of the experimental and expressive innovations of African-American culture.
Video: Thelma Golden standing in front of the William T. Williams painting Trane, 1969
Audio: Williams has an expansive understanding of, and a commitment to, art and community. He was active in the tumultuous 1960s, a decade that defined civil rights activism in the United States.
Video: An archival photograph of storefronts next to the former exterior of The Studio Museum in Harlem
Audio: Williams was deeply connected to both the Studio Museum and Harlem during this period.
Video: Thelma Golden standing in front of the William T. Williams painting Trane, 1969
Audio: He developed two proposals as a graduate student at Yale that were intended to bridge the divide between artists and the communities they lived and worked in. The first formed the basis for the Studio Museum’s Artist-in-Residence program, for which Williams was instrumental in the early years of, and remains a core part of the Museum’s mission to this day.
Video: A photograph of four men, including William T. Williams, standing in front of a mural
Audio: The second proposal became the muralist collective Smokehouse Associates, which brought public art to Harlem between 1968 and 1970.
Video: Thelma Golden standing in front of the William T. Williams painting Trane, 1969 interspersed with close-ups of the painting
Audio: In a career spanning over fifty years, Williams has shown his work in over 100 museums and galleries worldwide. He has remained true to a core set of guiding principles that have allowed him to experiment and evolve his practice, consistently challenging the limits of abstraction and its capacity to speak to the world around us.
Trane exemplifies Williams’ groundbreaking approach to color, form, and subject, capturing the social upheaval of a nation not through explicit figuration but through complex, rigorous abstraction. A masterpiece that bridges the personal and the political, Trane exemplifies the artist’s storied career and his continued practice of radically reshaping the field of abstraction.
I want to thank you for taking the time to watch today and to learn more about Trane by William T. Williams. I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the work with family and friends. And please visit the Bank of America Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and ensure that you will never miss a moment!
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Audio: Jazz music playing
On-screen text:
Title treatment art:
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859 – 1937)
The Arch, 1919 (detail)
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alfred W. Jenkins, 32.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 32.10_SL1.jpg)
William T. Williams (American, b. 1942)
Trane, 1969
Acrylic on canvas
108” x 84” (274.3 x 213.4 cm)
The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Charles Cowles, New York 1981.2.2
© William T. Williams
William T. Williams in his 654 Broadway studio, c. 1968–69
© Irene Stern; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
William T. Williams in his 654 Broadway studio, c.1968-69
© Irene Stern; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
William T. Williams in his 654 Broadway studio, 1987
© Peter Bellamy; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
Sam Gilliam (American, b. 1933)
Mars I, 1974
Acrylic on rice paper
21” × 25 1/2” × 5/8” (53.34 x 64.77 x 1.58 cm)
The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Charles Cowles, New York 1981.2.1
© 2021 Sam Gilliam / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Benny Andrews (American, 1930–2006)
The Police, 1972
Pen and ink on paper, two-sided drawing
18” × 12” (45.72 x 30.48 cm)
The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Charles Cowles, New York 1981.2.7
© 2021 Estate of Benny Andrews / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY, Courtesy Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
William T. Williams (American, b. 1942)
Elbert Jackson L.A.M.F. Part II, 1969
Acrylic and metallic paint on canvas
93 1/4” x 109 7/8” (292.7 x 279.1 cm)
Collection of The Museum of Modern Art, Gift of Carter Burden, Mr. and Mrs. John R. Jakobson and purchase (1009.1969)
© William T. Williams; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
William T. Williams with a painting from his Shimmer Series, 1983
© Fern Logan; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
William T. Williams (American, b. 1942)
Harlem Angels, 1968
Acrylic on canvas
121” x 40 1/2” (307.3 x 102.9 cm)
Signed
© William T. Williams; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
William T. Williams (American, b. 1942)
Mercer’s Stop, 1971
Acrylic on canvas
108” x 84” (274.3 x 213.4 cm)
Signed
© William T. Williams; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
William T. Williams (American, b. 1942)
Palm Cafe, 1970
Acrylic on paper
55 1/2” x 44 1/2” (141 x 113 cm)
49” x 38 1/2” (124.5 x 97.8 cm) sight size
Signed
Inscribed lower center in margin: Studio Museum (Trane) Work Drawing One of Two
© William T. Williams; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
William T. Williams in his Connecticut studio, July 18, 2020
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
William T. Williams in his Connecticut studio, 2018
Photographer Grant Delin; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
Chuck Stewart (American, 1927–2017)
John & Alice Coltrane, 1966
Gelatin silver print
Bank of America Collection
© 2021 Copyrighted and registered photographs by Chuck Stewart Photography, LLC / All rights reserved.
Installation view of William T. Williams’ groundbreaking first solo exhibition at Reese Palley Gallery in New York City, on view March 6–30, 1971. The exhibition consisted of large geometric abstractions from the artist’s first mature series, Diamond in a Box.
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
William T. Williams (American, b. 1942)
Trane Meets Jug, 1970–71
Acrylic on canvas
108” x 84” (274.3 x 213.4 cm)
Signed
© William T. Williams; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
William T. Williams (American, b. 1942)
Truckin, 1969
Acrylic on canvas
84 1/2” x 60 1/2” (214.6 × 153.7 cm)
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (2014.130.2)
© William T. Williams; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
Smokehouse Associates founders Melvin Edwards, Billy Rose, Guy Ciarcia and William T. Williams
Photographer Robert Colton, New York, NY; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
“Take the “A” Train”
Written by Billy Strayhorn
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Verve Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation.
Graphic: Bank of America logo
Audio: Jazz music playing
Graphic: Bank of America presents Masterpiece Moment
Video: Exterior and interior shots of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
On-screen text: Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Video: The Mark Bradford artwork 150 Portrait Tone, 2017
On-screen text: Mark Bradford (American, b.1961), 150 Portrait Tone, 2017, mixed media on canvas
Video: Michael Govan standing in front of the artwork Mark Bradford, 150 Portrait Tone, 2017
Audio: Music plays off and on throughout
On-screen text: Michael Govan, CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director, LACMA
Audio—Michael Govan:
Hi. I'm Michael Govan, CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Welcome to Bank of America's Masterpiece Moment.
Today, I'd like to talk about a contemporary masterpiece from our collection—with a timely message—an artwork titled 150 Portrait Tone by Mark Bradford.
This monumental, mixed media on canvas work was specially created for LACMA in 2017 and it stands 20 by 25½ feet in our Resnick Pavilion.
The idea for this commission came after I visited Mark's studio and viewed his large-scale studies for a series of paintings he was making for the U.S. Embassy in London. As we discussed exhibiting the Embassy studies at LACMA, we also talked about the possibility of a new artwork.
Later, Mark threw out the idea that resulted in this mural size painting. At first, he proposed to make the painting directly on the wall but working inside the museum, at our entrance, proved too logistically challenging.
Mark's technique involves paper, glue, paint, cutting, sanding and jet blasting with water. Instead, the painting was made in three large sections in Mark's studio and then stretched and installed here by LACMA's skilled team of art preparators.
Mark Bradford is a quintessential born and raised Los Angeles artist. Throughout his early life, his mother ran a hair salon. And upon graduating from high school, Mark received his hairstylist license and worked on and off at his mother's salon. It wasn't until he was in his 30s that he attended and graduated California Institute of the Arts, also known as CalArts, with an undergraduate and then a master's degree in 1997.
His work spans painting, sculpture, film, and multimedia installations. The many subjects of Mark's art include communities, migrant populations, history, race, gender, and popular culture.
In addition to being an artist, he also operates his own public art exhibition space and an adjacent program to support foster youth in his native South Los Angeles neighborhood, which he’s helping to preserve.
Mark believes deeply in the power of art to inspire and shape lives. And he's received too many honors to count, including the MacArthur Genius Award and the U.S. State Medal of the Arts, as well as representing our nation at the International 57th Venice Biennale in 2017. His art has been shown around the world.
150 Portrait Tone is based on the July 2016 murder of Philando Castile by a police officer in St. Paul, Minnesota. Castile was driving, and when pulled over for a broken taillight, he was fatally shot.
Part of the incident was live streamed by his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who was sitting next to him, horrified, with her four-year-old daughter in the back seat.
The title of the painting, 150 Portrait Tone, refers to the name of the pink acrylic "skin tone" color that's used throughout the painting, but also makes a commentary on the vestiges of racism and racist labels that persist all around and are deeply etched into our culture. The tone of a human portrait isn't only pink. Years ago, Crayola removed the name "flesh" from their peach-hued crayon, recognizing our diversity.
Like many of Mark's works, this mural-size composition contains both abstraction and graphic symbolism. This new painting feels old in some ways, with layers of manipulated paper and paint rendering this text almost illegible in places.
For me, the dark form in the background evokes the horrific shooting, perhaps Castile's twisted arm and the dark-red bloodstain spread across his white shirt, both prominent in the live stream feed.
Much of Reynolds's voiceover dialogue is inscribed over the entire surface of the painting. The artist was moved by the power of her words and the different audiences Reynolds addressed simultaneously.
"Stay with me," she says to her boyfriend, but I think the artist is also using that phrase at the top left of the painting to talk to us, and to ask us to pay attention.
Reynolds addresses the officer: "Please, officer, don't tell me that you just did this." She addresses the Lord: "Lord, please, Jesus, don't tell me that he's gone."
And she addresses us, the unknown audience, on the other side of her live stream: "Please don't tell me he just went like that."
This far-reaching artistic statement reminds me of another of my favorite works of art.
Video: The painting Guernica by Pablo Picasso
Audio: Pablo Picasso's Guernica, painted in 1937 to protest the bombing of Guernica and the loss of so many innocent lives.
Video: The painting The Third of May by Francisco Goya
Audio: Or Francisco Goya's 19th-century masterpiece, The Third of May, documenting the massacre of Spanish freedom fighters.
Video: Michael Govan standing in front of Mark Bradford’s 150 Portrait Tone, 2017
Audio: Mark Bradford is similarly crying out about the widespread injustice of so much police brutality against Black Americans. This work fits into an extraordinary tradition of art calling for justice.
I want to thank you for taking the time to watch today and to learn more about 150 Portrait Tone by Mark Bradford. I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the work with family and friends. And please visit the Bank of America Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and ensure that you never miss a moment.
Graphic: Bank of America logo
On-screen text:
Title treatment art:
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859 – 1937)
The Arch, 1919 (detail)
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alfred W. Jenkins, 32.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 32.10_SL1.jpg)
Chris Burden (American, 1946 – 2015)
Urban Light, 2008
Sculpture
Two-hundred and two restored cast iron antique street lamps
© 2020 Chris Burden / licensed by The Chris Burden Estate and Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Robert Irwin (American, b. 1928)
Miracle Mile, 2013
Installation Art
Lightwork
© 2020 Robert Irwin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Vera Lutter (German, b. 1960)
Installation images from Vera Lutter: Museum in the Camera
LACMA
Images: © 2020 Vera Lutter / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Mark Bradford (American, b. 1961)
150 Portrait Tone, 2017 (detail)
Mixed media on canvas
240” x 310” (609.6 x 787.4 cm)
© 2020 Mark Bradford
Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
Photo: Joshua White
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (Spanish, 1881 – 1973)
Guernica, 1937
Oil on canvas
© 2020 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Additional Camera: Isiah Donté Lee
Additional footage courtesy the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
“Take the “A” Train”
Written by Billy Strayhorn
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Verve Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation.
© 2021 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.
The power of the arts
At Bank of America, we believe in the power of the arts to help economies thrive, educate and enrich societies, and create greater cultural understanding. That’s why we are a leader in helping the arts flourish across the globe, supporting nearly 2,000 nonprofit cultural institutions each year.
Learn more about our commitment to the arts by visiting the Bank of America Arts & Culture website.
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2021 featured museums
We’re proud to partner with some of the finest museums in the United States to explore the
masterpieces on display within their walls.
Albright-Knox Art Gallery (Buffalo)
Art Institute of Chicago
Carnegie Museum of Art (Pittsburgh)
Dallas Museum of Art
Denver Art Museum
Detroit Institute of Arts
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum (Santa Fe)
Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture (Charlotte)
Heard Museum (Phoenix)
High Museum of Art (Atlanta)
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, D.C.)
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, D.C.)
Pérez Art Museum Miami
Philadelphia Museum of Art
RISD Museum (Providence)
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Seattle Art Museum, Asian Art Museum
The Cleveland Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City)
The San Diego Museum of Art
The Studio Museum in Harlem (New York City)
Masthead Image: The Art Institute of Chicago. Michigan Avenue Entrance. Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
The power of the arts image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Raymond Deleon / Alamy Stock Photo
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