Painter Alice Neel was born today in 1900. Her depiction of art historian Meyer Schapiro (from our collection) stands at the end of a long line of psychologically penetrating portraits. By isolating her sitters in the comfortable setting of her studio and applying an expressive use of color, Neel sought to capture the individual characteristics of the public personalities that peopled her bohemia. http://ow.ly/h6STG
Robert Motherwell was born today in 1915.In 1950 architect Percival Goodman asked the painter to create a mural for the entry hall of Congregation B’nai Israel in Millburn, NJ. This preparatory study shows abstracted Jewish symbols which Motherwell incorporated into his final design. Find out more here: http://ow.ly/h5TMI
Argentinean artist Guillermo Kuitca was born today in 1961. This painting, Untitled, from our collection addresses Kuitca’s position as an artist of Jewish background in overwhelmingly Catholic country. The tensely juxtaposed symbols - the menorah and the cross - intensify the highly charged psychology of the vacant stage set, evoking feelings of angst, emptiness, and loss.
Artist Beth Lipman discusses her artwork, “Laid Table with Etrog Container and Pastry Molds,” a commission for The Jewish Museum, New York. Currently on view in the exhibition Collection Tableaux.