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    • Annie Mason
      • Apr 23
      • 4 min read

    12 Artists'Quotes Inspiration, Life, and Vision


    Annie's blog is a tour through her home art studio. Her artwork is watercolor, pen and ink, and crayon. She highlights and makes recommendations on art supplies for the visitors who come to her website. Annie has a Masters Degree in Art History, making use of her studies in this post on artists from the past.




    12 artists from various time periods in art history have been quoted here. A single artwork of each artist helps to show their style and the focus which they bring to their art studio, and the reader can then make their assumptions about their written words and what meanings we can take in our own thoughts today.





    1.

    "Creativity takes Courage." - Henri Matisse



    The Goldfish by Henri Matisse 1912.


    To those who rarely create art, it may seem as though the process of creation is easy and comes without any challenges. But, for those of us who know that creating a work of art is rarely simple, this quote by Henri Matisse will likely resonate.


    Matisse visited Tangier, Morocco, where he stayed from the end of January until April 1912. He noted how the local population would daydream for hours, gazing into goldfish bowls. For Matisse, the goldfish came to symbolize this tranquil state of mind.









    2.

    "If I could say it with words there would be no reason to paint." - Edward Hopper



    "Night Hawks" by Edward Hopper oil on canvas 1942


    Some artists see art as a type of dialogue like Edward Hopper did. Although art is oftentimes a visual medium, it is capable of communicating as effectively as words. (Or, in Edward Hopper’s case, more effectively than words!)


    Just look at this painting. Can't you "write" a story in your mind? Hopper did it so eloquently with his brush.







    3.

    "Painting is just another way of keeping a diary."

    - Pablo Picasso



    old man playing a guitar. dark colors, pale skin.
    The Old Guitarist by Pablo Picasso (Blue Period) 1903



    Similarly, another great artist, Pablo Picasso, likened his paintings to maintaining a diary. The way he describes substituting a paintbrush for a pen demonstrates how similar the branches of the arts can be. It’s not so much about being a painter or a writer; they are two beasts of the same species. We could also guess that creativity of all types essentially draws from the same well of genius.






    4.

    "An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision."

    - James McNeil Whistler


    Girl in a white dress against a white background
    Symphony in White No. 1 by James Whistler c. 1861

    Sentimental in his approach, Whistler is a leading proponent of the credo, "art for art's sake". His art is marked by subtle delicacy while his public persona was combative. He found a parallel between art and music and titled many of his paintings, arrangements, harmonies, and nocturnes.


    Whistler's Mother, Wood's American Gothic, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, and Edvard Munch's The Scream have all achieved something that most paintings—regardless of their art historical importance, beauty, or monetary value—have not: they communicate a specific meaning almost immediately to almost every viewer. These few works have successfully made the transition from the elite realm of the museum visitor to the enormous venue of popular culture. (p 121 in the book featured below)


















    5.

    "I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way -- things I had no words for." - Georgia O'Keeffe

    Lake George Reflection by Georgia O'Keeffe oil on canvas c.1921








    This art quote by Georgia O’Keeffe tells us she too found art capable of expressing what she wanted to say better than words themselves.







    6.

    “The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration.” – Claude Monet



    water lilies painting by Claude Monet
    Water Lilies by Claude Monet 1916


    Impressionism was pivotal in Europe and artists like

    Claude Monet joined the movement which used

    small, visible brushstrokes that offer the

    bare impression of form, unblended color,

    and an emphasis on the accurate depiction of natural light.









    7.

    “Every good painter paints what he is.”

    - Jackson Pollock



    Autumn Rhythm No. 30 by Jackson Pollock

    An artist who truly knew the meaning of becoming part of his artwork. Not just throw the paint on the canvas, but plan exactly where the paint should land, how even the amount of paint in each inch is planned and definitive, and the action "becomes" the painting in the process.




    8.

    “Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter's soul.” - Vincent van Gogh



    portrait, man, beard, painting, thick strokes, aqua, blue, cool colors, brown, yellow, warm colors face
    Self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh 1889

    Never has an artist been so studied as to their "inner self." Troubled throughout his life, Vincent put paint to canvas and bared his soul to us. One wonders what he could have given to us had he been able to conquer the demons.













    9.

    "I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. - Leonardo da Vinci



    Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci 1503

    Is there a more recognizable image in all of art history? What is it that Da Vinci captures? The enigmatic smile? The oft-copied parody of what is she thinking? For all the notoriety of this particular work, Leonardo was SO much more. A true giant in the early Renaissance: writer, painter, sculptor, scientist, theorist, and architect.


    10.

    “I have touched with a sense of art some people-they felt the love and the life. Can you offer me anything to compare to that joy for an artist?”

    - Mary Cassatt



    The Child's Bath by Mary Cassatt 1893


    11.

    “I’m not really sure what social message my art carries if any. And I don’t really want it to carry one. I’m not interested in the subject matter to try to teach society anything, or to try to better our world in any way.”

    — Roy Lichtenstein



    girl crying, cartoon style Roy Lichenstein
    Crying Girl by Roy Lichenstein 1962

    An era where Lichtenstein's work defines the premise of pop art through parody even as the precise composition, while displaying the tongue-in-cheek manner defines his style.



    12.

    "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."

    - Michelangelo



    Man, God, touch, heaven, fresco, Rennaissance
    The Creation of Adam (Sistine Chapel) Michelangelo

    Another Renaissance artist (painter, sculptor, architect) defined the brilliance of his era. His exemplary study of human anatomy is beyond the norm. Recognized by his contemporaries as a "genius" at a young age his work demonstrated a blend of psychological insight, physical realism, and intensity never before seen.



    So many more. Artists are deep thinkers by nature. For every artist that we can name there is a quote because, for them, art IS life.


    One more:

    It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.

    ― Henry David Thoreau


     

    Suggested Books on the featured artists


















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    • biography
    176 views0 comments
    • Annie Mason
      • Sep 11, 2021
      • 6 min read

    My Museums, cataloged.


    George Walter Vincent Smith Museum of Art, Springfield, MA

    This is a list of the museums where I have worked. All have different perspectives, art types, and periods of art. All are vividly part of my study in Art History, all have me reflecting on times past, and how far back these experiences link me to my love of art.


    1. George Walter Vincent Smith Museum of Art


    This was the museum where I did my internship as a student in the Department of Art History at the University of Massachusetts (UMASS-Amherst). This art museum holds the eclectic collections of George Walter Vincent Smith (1832-1923) and his wife, Belle Townsley Smith (1845-1928) in an Italian palazzo-style building established in 1896. It's a museum that could speak to us if it could...and maybe it does Haunted Springfield.


    One of my fellow graduate colleagues, Janet Gelman was the Education Curator. We immediately bonded as we both shared our affinity for children's art education: she in the museum setting, my background as an elementary art teacher. We had long talks over coffee or sandwiches. Inevitably the children's theme slipped into what Professors had thrown at us. Graduate school is a world unto itself. Long papers, research, sleepless nights, critiques that didn't go so well. Both of us were old enough to take things in stride and move on. I think the younger students admired our "c'est la vie" attitude when it came to our studies.


    The George Walter Vincent Smith Museum is a gem among museums.

    It is part of "The Quadrangle" in Springfield, Massachusetts



    Among the varied themes of the George Walter Vincent Smith Museum are:

    • Vast holdings include one of the largest collections of Chinese cloisonné outside of Asia.

    • Japanese Arms and Armor

    • Tiffany Stained Glass windows

    • 19th-century Middle Eastern carpets

    • Hasbro Games Art Discovery Center for children's classes

    • American Paintings Salon


    Mr Mrs. George Walter Vincent Smith by Thomas Waterman Wood

    What a blessing to have had this experience at a museum so close to the place where I was born. This building is a museum's museum: the eighteenth-century ambiance, the long halls and grand paintings upon paintings, the eyes of antiquity all around = my definition of heaven.








    2. The Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Museum



    I worked at this museum during the years that I was a graduate student at UMASS-Amherst. My role was curator and docent and I loved this job. I lived just down the road in Hadley, Massachusetts and the director Susan Lisk became a close friend during the years that I worked there.


    What a history this house has. For a detailed background order Forty-Acres: The Story of the Bishop Huntington House


    This unique museum has a magnificent history. As a docent, it was not uncommon for me to tour a small party through the house and the "one-hour tour" became two.

    This well-preserved 18th-century house was continuously occupied by a single-family in 1752 until the death of Dr. James Lincoln Huntington, the museum's founder. The house contains many interesting items belonging to the family and preserved for over 300 years. The Porter-Phelps-Huntington papers are now preserved at Amherst College Archives and Special Collections.


    My memories of this museum are distinct since the house was occupied by so many families. There are also references to supernatural events dating back to the Huntington years. You can check some of the tales here: "Ghost" Stories.


    I had my own encounter. I was doing some curator tasks in the Director's home. Back in the day of electric typewriters, when errors needed to be changed at the text, I found myself putting back a pencil that rolled off the desk. And then, again. And then, again. I started to freak out because I had a sense that "someone" was in the room. It was eerie.


    Suffice it to say, this is a wonderful museum and if you are ever in the Hadley, MA area, it's worth taking some time to plan a tour. TripAdvisor





    3. Yale Center for British Art


    the modern Yale Center for British Art across from Yale Art Gallery

    How could I have been so lucky to land a position at this beautiful museum? Well, luck and a heads-up from a fellow student in the Art History department. She graduated a semester before I did, and had been the Photograph Cataloguer role at the BAC (British Art Center) but was leaving for another museum. I applied for this same position and interviewed with the head of the Yale Photograph Archive department, author Anne-Marie Logan. Soon I was headed to New Haven, CT to work at this prestigious museum.


    Designed by the internationally acclaimed American architect Louis I.Kahn (1901–1974) to house Paul Mellon's (Yale College, Class of 1929; 1907–1999) extraordinary gift to Yale University. It was the first museum in the United States to incorporate retail shops in its design.



    The hall area between the Photograph Archives and the Prints Collection

    The geometrical four-floor interior is designed around two interior courtyards and is comprised of a restrained palette of natural materials including travertine marble, white oak, concrete, and Belgian linen. Kahn succeeded in creating intimate galleries where one can view objects in diffused natural light. He wanted to allow in as much daylight as possible, with artificial illumination used only on dark days or in the evening. The building’s design, materials, and skylit rooms combine to provide an environment for the works of art that is simple and dignified.








    4. The Pardee-Morris House

    Again, one thing leads to another in my life. After I got the job at in Yale, I needed a place to live. It turns out that Susan Lisk of the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House (see above) had a sister, Linda, who lived in New Haven, Connecticut, and she spent a whole day with me checking the rentals in the city. I found a lovely place with daily public transportation to downtown. Linda also suggested that I might want to docent at this house museum for a little extra income. Who would have thunk it. Two sisters who have been part of my museum adventures.


    One of New Haven’s oldest structures, this historic property descended in one family through seven generations.


    Dating to 1680, this beautiful house is a rare example of a stone ender. The ell was added around 1767. On July 5, 1779, during the Revolutionary War, the British raided New Haven and burned the house. The surviving stone and timbers were used by Capt. Amos Morris to rebuild the home the following year.


    In 1915, William Pardee bought and restored the house,



    In 1918, William S. Pardee, a Morris family descendant, bequeathed the property to the New Haven Colony Historical Society, today known as the New Haven Museum.


    The oldest portions of the house are believed to date to the late 17th century, probably during the lifetime of Thomas Morris, the first colonial grantee of land in this area, or one of his sons. It was partially burned by the British in 1779. It remained in the Morris family until 1915 when it was sold to William Pardee. He only briefly occupied the house, and willed it to the historical society upon his death a few years later, along with an endowment for its care.


    My time here was mostly weekends. I was the only docent and had to open and close the property during the tourist season. This too was a property with a lot of history and a fun building to present to curious visitors. During this period there (the late 1980s) the future of this museum was perilous and unsure.


    How happy am I to see that the structure was bought by the New Haven Museum and now has summer concerts on the lawn, and this has brought new life to the museum and joy to the visitors.











    5. Kenmore Foundation


    During my years at Yale, I made a trip to Virginia to see my sister. She quietly planned a gathering at her home and invited a few friends and included an invitation to the bachelor who had built a house across the street. Not long after this man asked me to marry him, and I said "yes."


    I moved to Virginia in 1989 and have lived there since that time. Not wanting to give up on my love of museums I learned about Kenmore Plantation in Fredericksburg, Virginia.




    My role began at Kenmore as a docent. I loved it! I find that I have an affinity for welcoming visitors and telling the stories of the objects and people who lived there. The other volunteers, most older than I, were helpful and guided my early start. Not many months later I began to work with the Education Director, Stacia Gregory Norman, and I helped catalog the photographs and papers. Into my second year, W. Vernon Edenfield took notice and offered me the position of Education Assistant.


    Kenmore is the Fredericksburg home of Revolutionary War patriot Col. Fielding Lewis and his wife, Elizabeth "Betty" Washington, George Washington's only sister. In Kenmore's spacious interior, the plaster designs on the 12-foot-high ceilings combine baroque, neoclassical, and rococo elements. Use arrows to slide:



    My days at these museums are long gone...but not forgotten. I gained knowledge, insight, history, and I have met amazing people. I am grateful for the opportunities that the experiences provided.


    With an early look at Halloween (it's well before this event, but some people are Christmas shopping) it is striking how many references I made to the paranormal. Yep. Kenmore is included in these websites and events:

    • HauntedHouses.com

    • https://visitfred.com/event/ghost-tour/

    • https://www.virginiahauntedhouses.com/real-haunt/kenmore-plantation.html

    • https://blueandgraypress.com/2016/10/27/fredericksburg-civil-war-urban-legends-and-ghost-stories/

    • The Common Uncanny: Ghostlore and the Creation of Virginia History (A scholarly dissertation on the subject.





    There 'ya go. A nice lead-in to the ghostly season. Thank you for reading this and I hope you come back soon.




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    Want to know more about museums?


    Read about museums and festivals around the world. ⬇️














    ⬇️ Or do you want to work there?









    Or own an original sculpture?

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