Master Drawings

“The present catalogue highlights a selection of the finest drawings in the collection of the Smith College Museum of Art, beginning chronologically with the silverpoint portrait attributed to Dieric Bouts and ending at the mid-twentieth century… …It is our hope that this volume will stand as a tribute to the many discriminating individuals who shaped the drawings collection of the Smith College Museum of Art and a challenge to those who will guide the collection in the future. (Sievers, 12)”

The VRC has cataloged 26 images from Master Drawings from the Smith College Museum of Art. These are available to the SCAD community in the Digital Image Database.

Images clockwise from the top left:

A Faun Carrying a Basket of Grapes. (1747). Natoire, Charles Joseph. red chalk heightened with white chalk on brown antique laid paper. 14 7/16 x 9 1/4 inches.

A Monumental Stair Hall. (c.1900s). Bibiena, Giuseppe Galli. pen and dark brown ink with brush and grey ink over black chalk. 11 1/2 x 7 9/16 inches.

Chrysanthemum. (c.1921-1925). Mondrian, Piet. black and brown chalks with stumping on gray laid paper. 24 3/4 x 15 1/8 inches.

The Commemoration (L’Anniversaire). (1886). Fantin-Latour, Ignace Henri. black crayon with white heightening, the composition bordered by a ruled framing line in black crayon, on beige tracing paper. 25 1/4 x 19 inches.

Edouard Baldus

Édouard-Denis Baldus was a French landscape, architecture and railway photographer. In the mid 1800’s he documented many French buildings and public works. He also documented the floods of 1856 that ravaged Lyon, Avignon, and Tarascon. His work was pioneering in early documentary photography.

Photographs clockwise from top left:

Roman Theatre, Arles. (c.1851). salted paper print from paper negative. Musee d’Orsay, Paris, France.

Chalet, Enghien. (1854-1855). salted paper print from paper negative. Musee National de la Voiture et Tourisme, Chateau de Compeigne, France.

Cloister of Saint-Trophime, Arles. (1851). salted paper print from paper negatives. Musee National des Monuments Francais, Paris, France.

The Floods of 1856, Brotteaux Quarter of Lyons. (1856). salted paper print from paper negative. Musee d’Orsay, Paris, France

Pulitzer Prize Photos

I have cataloged 24 images from Capture the Moment: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs. This is a continuing effort to provide more documentary photography in my collection development efforts.

Images clockwise from top left:

Berlin Wall (1989), David C. Turney, Berlin, Germany

Memorial Day (1984), Anthony Suau, Denver, Colorado

Columbine (1999), Rock Mountain News Staff, Littleton, Colorado

Phil Anselmo (1991), John Kaplan

Signs of the Apocalypse / Rapture

“On a psychological level, such visions and prophecies are closely allied to the processes of dreaming. Indeed the repetition and insistent recycling of a significant theme, over several episodes or nights, each time cloaked in slightly varying symbols, is also a feature of the important cycles of dreams. (Fogelson, [10])”

The title Signs of the Apocalypse / Rapture represents a exhibition that utilized writing, visual art and sound to explore themes of oblivion and transcendence. The VRC has cataloged 16 images from this title in the Digital Image Database.

Georges Rouault

Georges Henri Rouault was a French expressionist painter. The VRC has cataloged 15 images from This Anguished World of Shadows: Georges Roualt’s Miserere et Guerre. These images are available to the SCAD community with your MySCAD log-in.

Image clockwise from the top left:

Arise, you dead! (1948); aquatint, roulette, and drypoint over heliogravure

Head of a Clown (after 1830); oil and gouache on paper mounted on linen

The Chinese invented, they say, gunpowder, made us a gift of it. (1948); aquatint, roulette, and drypoint over heliogravure

Clown (c.1907-1908), watercolor and oil

Andrea Palladio

The VRC has just finished a series of projects on Italian architects on behalf of one of our architecture professors.  The images included here are from the works of Andrea Palladio. We retrieved these images from Andrea Palladio: The Architect in His Time.

Images clockwise from top left:

Villa Rotonda (c.1566-1570), The Nymphaeum at the Villa Barbaro (1508-1580), Altar in the Basilica Palladiana (1546-1617), Villa Foscari (1558-1560)

Serena Wilson

As a student of the library sciences I often debate critical thinking and the legitimacy of source materials in regards to scholarship. I would like to thank Stella Grey for pointing out that the portrayal of Serena Wilson in the title Shall We Dance? was not a very accurate representation of a dancer who remained vibrant and vital until her unexpected departure from this world. Stella was kind enough to forward me the following images of “The Dancer” at 72 so that I might present a better view of a woman who had a powerful influence on the belly dance of New York City and beyond. I would also like to thank photographer Sal Romano for allowing me to publish these images.

I Am a Woman
By Serena Wilson

I am a woman, wrapped in chiffon and jewels,
Thin silks and girdle of gold.
I stretch my arms…
The embrace encompasses a universe.
I can control a quiver in my hips,
Tell a thousand stories with my eyes,
Skip with child-like glee,
The smile of experience on my lips.
Glide in innocence, endure with age.
Spin like a dervish; undulate in sensuality…
Excite, promise, create, change, tease, mock,
Unveil my passion.
Untiringly seduce the world as I move my body,
For I am a woman…
I am the dancer.

Norman Rockwell

Painter and illustrator, Norman Rockwell, is perhaps one of the most iconic American artists. His work is instantly recognizable by most as a staple of The Saturday Evening Post. His work is often looked down upon by contemporary artists as too idealized or sentimental. This has even led to the term “Rockwellesque” being used as a derogatory statement on an artist’s work. Often neglected are some of his works that were pro-integration in the 1960’s for which he received much criticism.  Ironically his work has become popular among political conservatives today for being perceived as embodying American values. Criticism and controversy aside, Rockwell possessed a  talent for realism in his work and his technique was impeccable even if his subject matter did not please the contemporary artists of his time.

The VRC has cataloged 19 images from Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People. These are available in our Digital Image Database for the SCAD community with your MySCAD log-in.

Images clockwise from top left:

The Connoisseur (1962), The Babysitter (1947), Freedom to Worship (1943), Checkers (1928)

Life: 60 Years

In 1996 Life Magazine published book called Life: Sixty Years. This photo essay featured images from the magazine from 1936 to 1996. These are the works of some of the most renowned documentary and cultural  photographers known. The VRC has added 23 images from this title to the Digital Image Database.

Images clockwise from upper left:

Commune Members (1969), John Olson

Janis Joplin (1968), David Gahr

Disco Fever at Xenon (1978), Roxanne Lowit

JFK and his brother Robert (1960), Mark Shaw

Unfolded

Paper is an ancient material that continues to evolve into new realms of design. In Unfolded: Paper in Design, Art, Architecture and Industry there is an inspired exploration of the possibilities for paper. The VRC has cataloged 20 images from this title in the Digital Image Database.

Images clockwise from top left:

Hechima 4 (2008), Ryuji Nakamura, chair made with vulcanized paper fibers

Papercut (2007), Darch Studio, shoe store interior designed utilizing cardboard

A Costura do Invisivel (2004), Jum Nakao, example from a fashion collection made of paper

Book Table (2008), Richard Hutten, table made from hardcover books and resin