On October 25th, 2017, we went to the Cincinnati art museum.
The first thing we came across was a special exhibit of large pieces depicting work in Cincinnati businesses.
From a distance these looked like paintings. Here they are, making Formica.
As paintings, I didn't find these works especially compelling. Depictions of working life in some Cincinnati businesses -- Ok.
At some point I realized this was not paint, but rather was Formica. Marquetry, done all in Formica!
(Below is a closer crop of the left side of this, which is easier to read....)
I was wondering how marquetry and mosaic differ. How kind of them to explain it to me.
Who knew you could make this sort of work from Formica! (Who knew there were this many colors and patterns of Formica!) This set of pieces blew me away.
Rookwood Pottery, in Formica marquetry.
I love when I walk into an art museum and see things I've never seen before, especially in a new medium. What a cool idea, excellently executed. Who knew.
Ok, then! Let's see what else the Cincinnati Art Museum has to offer!
The sun helpfully broke through the clouds for a bit, so I could get this shot with shadows as well as the moody sky.
Just before we went to Cincinnati I had seen a Little Person talking about how difficult life can be when you are the size of a small child. Managing public bathrooms is an issue. She talked about how things would be better if there were steps so people could reach sinks.
The Cincinnati Art Museum has this covered. This is under the counter beneath a sink in one of the ladies' rooms.
Good job, Cincinnati art museum!!
Wandering off through the art.
Villa Castellani by Louis Ritter. 1888. This villa is near Florence, Italy.
Closer look at the above. The way the olive leaves are depicted in the upper half, and the dappled light and flowers at the bottom..........
Rookwood. Painted by Harriet Elizabeth Wilcox. 1906.
This was in a glass case, and this is about as much of it as I could get without huge glare. This is a ceramic tile, in a nice big oak frame.
I bet this piece was painted by the same artist as the tile above. Unfortunately I failed to capture the ID info on the artist.
Having done a spot of googling, I believe the artist is Carl Schmidt.
Closer crop, lightened so we can see detail better.
Apache camp in Hondo Canyon, New Mexico. Circa 1920. Joseph Henry Sharp.
I had never stopped to think about what a tipi might look like when lit from within by a fire.... The light, and the smoke.......... And the colors..........
The Cincinnati art museum has a lot of work by women, including work in various media that do not usually get one square inch of museum space, like 20th century embroidery.
Mary Louise McLaughlin, 1910-15.
Or batik. Abby Gray, 1920s.
My best shot at this print (without glare) required a bunch of editing, so the mat is much yellow/greener than it should be. This makes me suspicious about the rest of the color, too. Sigh.
But isn't this gorgeous?
Edna Boies Hopkins, 1910-13. Fuchsia. The flowers, the big curves, the color........ Love the dark background, too.
Dixie Selden. 79th Street and Riverside Drive. 1915. The color. The brushwork....
Oh my. Love the light in this picture. The curtains. The way the light shines through the flowers...... Wow.
Bessie Hoover Wessel. Pre-1918. Chrysanthemums.
I believe this artist has a piece in the Renwick in Washington, DC. The works are glass, in the shape of life-size draped garments, empty of a person. Light from the window illuminates the piece from behind. (And I like that we can see the sky and get a sense of the weather.)
I failed to capture the info, but I believe this is by Karen LaMonte.
Rookwood Pottery Company. Chimney piece. 1903. John D. Wareham.
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