June 18, On This Day Born on June 18, 1877, exactly 144 years ago since today was American artist, comics artist and illustrator James Montgomery (or JM) Flagg. He is most iconically remembered for one of his political posters that still continues to be widely used in pop culture — the Uncle Sam recruitment poster...
June 18, On This Day Henri Matisse admired him and Mark Rothko is said to have revered him. Mid-18th to mid-19th century artist Joseph Mallord William or JMW Turner (who was known in his time as just William Turner), has been called by critics “the best painter of the sea and sun, and one of...
June 13, On This Day 14 years ago, at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City… Mexican painter Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón, widely known as Frida Kahlo, is a distinctive name and face in the art world, known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of...
June 11, On This Day Copycat? Nah, it’s recontextualizing art work into new forms! What is appropriation art? It’s the art of using pre-existing objects or images with little or no transformation applied to them. Inherent to this is the understanding that the new work re-contextualizes whatever it borrows to create new work. In most...
June 9, On This Day Today marks the 10th death anniversary of Maqbool Fida Husain or MF Husain, as he is popularly known, one of India’s most recognised and adulated artists, who has had a fair share of controversy dog his creations over his lifetime. A few interesting facts about him: He was born on...
June 6, On This Day The man who developed Synthetism Vincent van Gogh was his friend, Edgar Degas his fan and Pablo Picasso heavily influenced by his works — Paul Gauguin, born on June 7, 1848, was a French Post-Impressionist artist, who was unappreciated until after his death. He has influenced the French avant-garde and...
June 3, On This Day The shot that killed an artist 19 years later At the time he was shot, Andy Warhol was one of the most recognized and popular artists in America. On June 3, 1968, Valerie Solanas entered Andy Warhol’s sixth-floor office at 33 Union Square West in New York City. With a...
May 29, On This Day The art of representation It was a mere two years ago, on May 29, 2019, that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that ‘transgender’ no longer classified as a mental health illness. Over the years, a number of transgender artists have been redefining the landscape of contemporary art, working in...
May 28, On This Day The last restoration? The mammoth task of restoring one of the most iconic painting’s in world history finished 22 years ago today, on May 28, 1999 — and interestingly, the entire effort had also taken almost the same amount of year, having started circa 1977-78. In fact, many would argue...
May 27, On This Day A businessman and an art connoisseur Exactly 91 years ago today, on May 27, 1930, the 1,046-foot (or 319-metre) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, was opened to the public. The building was constructed by American automotive industry executive Walter Chrysler, the head...