Category Archives: ChasingArt

Happy Birthday, Thomas Sully

Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783 – November 5, 1872) was an American (English-born) painter, mostly of portraits.  He became a professional painter at age 18 in 1801.   Five years later, he moved to the United States. His portraits include Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, and the Marquis de Lafayette. His portrait of Andrew Jackson in 1824 wasContinue reading “Happy Birthday, Thomas Sully”

Happy Birthday, Maurits Cornelis Escher

“So let us then try to climb the mountain, not by stepping on what is below us, but to pull us up at what is above us, for my part at the stars; amen.”  M.C. Escher (June 17, 1898 – March 27, 1972)  – Dutch Graphic Artist, known for his mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs and mezzotints.

Happy Birthday, Christo and Jeanne-Claude

“It is not only one person’s work, its’ really a partnership and collaboration during all these years.” Christo Christo (Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, June 13, 1935 – ) and Jeanne-Claude (Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon, June 13, 1935 – November 18, 2009) Born the same day, they married and created environmental works that included the wrapping of the ReichstagContinue reading “Happy Birthday, Christo and Jeanne-Claude”

Happy Birthday, Maurice Sendak

  “I have nothing now but praise for my life. I’m not unhappy. I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can’t stop them. They leave me and I love them more…What I dread is the isolation. … There are so many beautiful things in the world which I will haveContinue reading “Happy Birthday, Maurice Sendak”

Happy Birthday, Gustave Courbet

“Beauty, like truth, is relative to the time when one lives and to the individual who can grasp it.  The expression of beauty is in direct ratio to the power of conception the artist has acquired.” Gustave Courbet, (June 10, 1819 – December 31, 1877) French painter who led the realist movement in 19th-century FrenchContinue reading “Happy Birthday, Gustave Courbet”