Art and Museums

"Chinamania: Whistler and the Victorian Craze for Blue and White," a small thematic exhibition on view at the Freer Gallery until Aug. 2011, explores the significance of Chinese export porcelain in Victorian England, where it began as an object of serious aesthetic inspiration but soon proliferated as a status symbol. more »

Although the dress was kept in such a low light level, the exposure to natural and bright artificial lights over many years caused irreversible deterioration of the fabric and fading of the colors. The portion of the skirt made with weighted silk became so weakened over time that it breaks nearly any time it is touched. more »

Her lush oil paintings of the French countryside and traditional fruit and flower still lifes highlight her skillful observation of nature. The influence of philosopher Alain Locke, who encouraged Jones to draw inspiration from African art, is evident in many of her later works. more »

Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture will consider such themes as the role of sexual difference in depicting modern Americans, how artists have explored the definition of sexuality and gender, how major themes in modern art — especially abstraction — were influenced by this form of marginalization and how art reflected society’s changing attitudes more »