Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: Fine Arts and Flowers

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I spent some time today at the <a href="http://vmfa.museum/" target="_blank">Virginia Museum of Fine Arts</a> enjoying the exhibit "Fine Arts and Flowers." The Council of VMFA is presenting this program in which members of the Garden Club of Virginia, Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs, and Garden Clubs of Virginia have created floral designs inspired by works of art from the VMFA's permanent collections. The exhibit is free and open to the public through Sunday, November 9. Here is a sneak peek . . . </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcJXc1IxiRQZJlZ3Fycs3uOfdaFyAHPv68KlF9GAOepKsAE29hRLRRIPHWWvWL2nFfmt7v85AGhjPYdFErbdE7WJcuSDpG4P_UhaVJfedD27-a-P1p27oNW9nT9nOkKcf9IUOdmMvcwI/s1600/VMFAFlowers+036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcJXc1IxiRQZJlZ3Fycs3uOfdaFyAHPv68KlF9GAOepKsAE29hRLRRIPHWWvWL2nFfmt7v85AGhjPYdFErbdE7WJcuSDpG4P_UhaVJfedD27-a-P1p27oNW9nT9nOkKcf9IUOdmMvcwI/s1600/VMFAFlowers+036.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Franz Kline</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">American, 1910 - 1962</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Untitled</i>, 1955</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Commercial oil-based paint on canvas</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gift of Sydney and Frances Lewis 85.415</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>People sometimes think I take a white canvas and paint a black sign on it, but this is not true. I paint the white as well as the black, and the white is just as important.</i> - Franz Kline</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Icy3kLGW-srYDgGq7y5TzqFyEm9iaKQeiFlknf8PfNTAQYBe959cpFHo_PUfXi0pCn3p2GY4275o6-hd8LUkH_-ufcXrAI482EwLRQdnvelJUqJiWvQR-O5IY_ygDx64j18wUrTQZDs/s1600/VMFAFlowers+032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Icy3kLGW-srYDgGq7y5TzqFyEm9iaKQeiFlknf8PfNTAQYBe959cpFHo_PUfXi0pCn3p2GY4275o6-hd8LUkH_-ufcXrAI482EwLRQdnvelJUqJiWvQR-O5IY_ygDx64j18wUrTQZDs/s1600/VMFAFlowers+032.JPG" width="464" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspired by <i>Untitled</i> by Franz Kline.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Floral design by Nancy Lee Martin - Pamunkey River Garden Club.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Henrico, Virginia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fine Arts and Flowers, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (November 5, 2014)</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6BR60lmRXxBTiyMw-zr_LQQQTXgQTu33va27g6TN71xrs0dOq8KH13KtYVh52MG5N-NkxZKH0uuOL7lgqqZ2TIx2RcAMckIZ95iQSZtH_-WHxUF0wUKPQheNFlbu0VfsP96n4-hjA7M/s1600/VMFAFlowers+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6BR60lmRXxBTiyMw-zr_LQQQTXgQTu33va27g6TN71xrs0dOq8KH13KtYVh52MG5N-NkxZKH0uuOL7lgqqZ2TIx2RcAMckIZ95iQSZtH_-WHxUF0wUKPQheNFlbu0VfsP96n4-hjA7M/s1600/VMFAFlowers+018.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thomas Gainsborough</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">English, 1727 - 1788</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The Charleton Children</i> (also known as <i>Showing the Way</i>), 18th century</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oil on canvas.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Collection 49.11.34</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllREnRC46epkwfgVH74QxC26pZ_JDCClfiakoeXL3HhUpdBFmEbKbUzMdzAMX2XEoXK2tJiDBPW_UkI9rwCoxx0_QBgJ-3vvbutcW5zfVb0l-vdirUDbtekqqIJeJmArK2nZmEKQkyII/s1600/VMFAFlowers+068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllREnRC46epkwfgVH74QxC26pZ_JDCClfiakoeXL3HhUpdBFmEbKbUzMdzAMX2XEoXK2tJiDBPW_UkI9rwCoxx0_QBgJ-3vvbutcW5zfVb0l-vdirUDbtekqqIJeJmArK2nZmEKQkyII/s1600/VMFAFlowers+068.JPG" width="462" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspired by <i>The Charleton Children</i> by Thomas Gainsborough</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Floral design by Sally Harrison - River Road Garden Club</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Richmond, Virginia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fine Arts and Flowers, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (November 5, 2014)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNHOSvVpk52LQdpbKsgNCzPRB2j3p10sA3-gHDNWbRa_IoKTn10HJdCGRuyEWhFRodD6BRMCI_jZcWoFfSw_4jftAotODC3WYx0qFTGg9lx8BXfxtmh3S76X1s8tPbpxBx0xkCJrxztDc/s1600/VMFAFlowers+071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNHOSvVpk52LQdpbKsgNCzPRB2j3p10sA3-gHDNWbRa_IoKTn10HJdCGRuyEWhFRodD6BRMCI_jZcWoFfSw_4jftAotODC3WYx0qFTGg9lx8BXfxtmh3S76X1s8tPbpxBx0xkCJrxztDc/s1600/VMFAFlowers+071.JPG" width="390" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Detail from </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Charleton Children</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (also known as</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Showing the Way</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">), 18th century</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Thomas Gainsborough</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oil on canvas.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Collection 49.11.34</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"This portrait shows Robert and Susannah, the children of Gainsborough's friend and doctor, Mr. Rice Charleton, as the artist first encountered them on a visit to Charleton's country home at Woodhouse Down, near Bristol. Robert's outstretched arm points the artist toward his destination and highlights for the viewer the idyllic beauty of the river valley below. The children's rosy cheeks and white gowns attest to their innocence, a popular convention among child portraiture."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBlshFecksjJbacgO5D8rNFON_sKCDEw7O7cHWiewWiVYN5n4OT_UgH-N-T8wKv_7gwDLpmA9uaSJH98QKpid9QcQ6uTzqn-Lc-5XXztVttmamK-W744gb7JAmXRPPNXAgqYoq1I5mWg/s1600/VMFAFlowers+070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBlshFecksjJbacgO5D8rNFON_sKCDEw7O7cHWiewWiVYN5n4OT_UgH-N-T8wKv_7gwDLpmA9uaSJH98QKpid9QcQ6uTzqn-Lc-5XXztVttmamK-W744gb7JAmXRPPNXAgqYoq1I5mWg/s1600/VMFAFlowers+070.JPG" width="404" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Detail from </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Charleton Children</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (also known as</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Showing the Way</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">), 18th century</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Thomas Gainsborough</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oil on canvas</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Collection 49.11.34</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Prior to the 18th century, childhood was rarely thought of as a distinct phase of life; children were considered adults in miniature, and their education and introduction to society were conducted as such. Enlightenment philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, however, proposed that childhood was a separate and important phase of development in which children should be allowed to learn by expressing their natural and childlike tendencies, free of the strictures of adult society. In this portrait Gainsborough emphasizes these characteristics by showing the blissful children in a peaceful, natural setting."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rA1t28kQ2TaMszzi1k0zlOSzV9Rtaz3lV9M2k9iGufdMuy2fbH4xbHiaJDBvSuKttAgvzwXDawd8uUKTQXpO7VT2piRyDPQhwWJU_1QzphunVhKDtS6r1Yh41C0TEEj8dDumIjlSX4Q/s1600/VMFAFlowers+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rA1t28kQ2TaMszzi1k0zlOSzV9Rtaz3lV9M2k9iGufdMuy2fbH4xbHiaJDBvSuKttAgvzwXDawd8uUKTQXpO7VT2piRyDPQhwWJU_1QzphunVhKDtS6r1Yh41C0TEEj8dDumIjlSX4Q/s1600/VMFAFlowers+006.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Andre Lhote</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">French, 1885 - 1962</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Riverbank</i>, 1912</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oil on canvas</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gift of Pamela K. and William A. Royall Jr. 2011.508</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"By 1912 many avant-garde artists across Europe had internalized the Cubist concepts of multiple viewpoints, a flattened sense of space, and fragmented distortions of form. <i>Riverbank</i> dates from Lhote's early connection with other French Cubists such as Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Marcel Duchamp, and Fernand Leger. While the trees and sky are recognizable within the picture, the balance and harmony of the composition as a whole takes precedence over naturalistic representation. Rhythmic alternation between light and dark areas unifies the image, and the undulating forms of the trees add dynamic contrast."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKX2SwSH541umL8aIJEPbMjaWV8Udv_8wdoFqmTR3Mc8yBe8Jaw71DuhApzhbupijDiDoQ7jd63bExGUlgBbvvvCdmg7qSwhQkkV-xKgZ3Hv5d2vq4Paqb-ZnQkKuNmexB7XDlCCl192s/s1600/VMFAFlowers+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKX2SwSH541umL8aIJEPbMjaWV8Udv_8wdoFqmTR3Mc8yBe8Jaw71DuhApzhbupijDiDoQ7jd63bExGUlgBbvvvCdmg7qSwhQkkV-xKgZ3Hv5d2vq4Paqb-ZnQkKuNmexB7XDlCCl192s/s1600/VMFAFlowers+005.JPG" width="508" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspired by <i>Au Bord de la Riviere</i> - <i>Riverbank</i> by </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Andre Lhote</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Floral design by Barbara Dillard, Mary Kendall - Midlothian Garden Club</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Midlothian, Virginia</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fine Arts and Flowers, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (November 5, 2014)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are the two compositions side-by-side:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rA1t28kQ2TaMszzi1k0zlOSzV9Rtaz3lV9M2k9iGufdMuy2fbH4xbHiaJDBvSuKttAgvzwXDawd8uUKTQXpO7VT2piRyDPQhwWJU_1QzphunVhKDtS6r1Yh41C0TEEj8dDumIjlSX4Q/s1600/VMFAFlowers+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rA1t28kQ2TaMszzi1k0zlOSzV9Rtaz3lV9M2k9iGufdMuy2fbH4xbHiaJDBvSuKttAgvzwXDawd8uUKTQXpO7VT2piRyDPQhwWJU_1QzphunVhKDtS6r1Yh41C0TEEj8dDumIjlSX4Q/s1600/VMFAFlowers+006.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKX2SwSH541umL8aIJEPbMjaWV8Udv_8wdoFqmTR3Mc8yBe8Jaw71DuhApzhbupijDiDoQ7jd63bExGUlgBbvvvCdmg7qSwhQkkV-xKgZ3Hv5d2vq4Paqb-ZnQkKuNmexB7XDlCCl192s/s1600/VMFAFlowers+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKX2SwSH541umL8aIJEPbMjaWV8Udv_8wdoFqmTR3Mc8yBe8Jaw71DuhApzhbupijDiDoQ7jd63bExGUlgBbvvvCdmg7qSwhQkkV-xKgZ3Hv5d2vq4Paqb-ZnQkKuNmexB7XDlCCl192s/s1600/VMFAFlowers+005.JPG" width="252" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieRYq8ksmgJf2CIwHMZkdkixIsxBTgmAQ1wqbUbklqpKuTDINkSbB5YImozymQ4Ybei5ebqTmKR45dgi3kPxy-pMW2FgjWD-FshHngA0bzYc7nx8vubNO_2w6oMUGpVq0wHNe1Dlv-D20/s1600/VMFAFlowers+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieRYq8ksmgJf2CIwHMZkdkixIsxBTgmAQ1wqbUbklqpKuTDINkSbB5YImozymQ4Ybei5ebqTmKR45dgi3kPxy-pMW2FgjWD-FshHngA0bzYc7nx8vubNO_2w6oMUGpVq0wHNe1Dlv-D20/s1600/VMFAFlowers+012.JPG" width="422" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jean Lurcat</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">French, 1892 - 1966</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Wind and Blue Sky</i>, 1930</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oil on canvas</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">T. Catesby Jones Collection, 47.10.40</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Between the two world wars, Lurcat worked as a painter, draftsman, printmaker, and designer of textiles and tapestries. His diverse body of work displays a strong sense of color and abstract form and ranges from lyrical or dreamlike expressions to social and political commentaries.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the 1920s critics extolled Lurcat's depopulated, mysterious landscapes for their balance of decorative subtlety and otherworldly poetry. This poignant image has no precise narrative. The motif is a grouping of objects that indicate a previous human presence. These remnants of civilization have been arranged into a cross shape, suggesting the sacrifice and pathos of crucifixion."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This painting reminds me of <i>Billy Budd</i> by Herman Melville and <i>The Rime of the Ancient Mariner</i> by Samuel Taylor Coleridge - "instead of the cross, the Albatross about my neck was hung."</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0yQDWIjtJALuv-265IwHhcfLDF4qLYaWwi8z7PBpWVNaDlmyYIDfwPyFCsu2lBSN6z67hjQZ2r6nF8j3RGTKe8ly3BWBBjw5MOe5RALChUwiyueDRypo-0UJbC_sEdkTJmpO089H-OEA/s1600/VMFAFlowers+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0yQDWIjtJALuv-265IwHhcfLDF4qLYaWwi8z7PBpWVNaDlmyYIDfwPyFCsu2lBSN6z67hjQZ2r6nF8j3RGTKe8ly3BWBBjw5MOe5RALChUwiyueDRypo-0UJbC_sEdkTJmpO089H-OEA/s1600/VMFAFlowers+010.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspired by W<i>ind and Blue Sky</i> by Jean Lurcat</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Floral design by Elizabeth  Burgess - Salisbury Garden Club</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Midlothian, Virginia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fine Arts and Flowers, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (November 5, 2014)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3F5E-VMMSEdPC8L8F9GMUqYu1nWoP1bADJX5x5S9i_kQA1NDUdCFATbgylePK0nzQnFaLEt4cFj725dLFYzbvAAar-NIvB_ycEs0F26Txm2ZG4dlJUNrR-47OxVaxeaHqqsY04JorxKM/s1600/VMFAFlowers+047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3F5E-VMMSEdPC8L8F9GMUqYu1nWoP1bADJX5x5S9i_kQA1NDUdCFATbgylePK0nzQnFaLEt4cFj725dLFYzbvAAar-NIvB_ycEs0F26Txm2ZG4dlJUNrR-47OxVaxeaHqqsY04JorxKM/s1600/VMFAFlowers+047.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspired by Chinese Funerary Couch - Artist Unknown</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Floral design by Rita Johnson - Chester Garden Club, Chesterfield</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Richmond Designers Guild</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fine Arts and Flowers, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (November 5, 2014)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGATDgFUFLQGe4lK1TtFwgpRsCSy9dKBmu2aDJmxKjpM6dcCtkxKlIAZVqBBKkXyzzl3qeKnBsEHXi5iT_GVXGqf389BrampJOTTk_bJ_6Rz_r3vujw5oI7gD3RBhdfmaB6GbK8ASJpI/s1600/VMFAFlowers+048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGATDgFUFLQGe4lK1TtFwgpRsCSy9dKBmu2aDJmxKjpM6dcCtkxKlIAZVqBBKkXyzzl3qeKnBsEHXi5iT_GVXGqf389BrampJOTTk_bJ_6Rz_r3vujw5oI7gD3RBhdfmaB6GbK8ASJpI/s1600/VMFAFlowers+048.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Funerary Couch, early 6th century</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chinese, Northern Wei dynasty</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Limestone with carved and painted design</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 2005 7a-h</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Imitating wooden household furniture, this stone couch is a rare example of what was used as a platform for supporting a coffin in the burial chamber of a tomb. The design and function of the couch reflect the ancient Chinese belief in immortality, which was popular in early 6th-century China.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These iconographic details have integrated Chinese tradition and Central Asian elements. The front panels of this couch feature painted towers and a wall, as if leading through the entranceway to a private property. Details include molded roof tiles and painted designs of wooden frames and brackets, representing Chinese architectural components of the period." </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fxYieetKqpDqA7sq9-ds4vyGclaTIgO90-pKApQjhia8_yu88iIvjdxeIsU9ZRm18Gjg46Kb-u2BoHCq7rBPP3IPb7Zfhlpr_g6LJb5glOn4Am1zuIp-oSHG3s7A2Jmpsrj00Pwxz8g/s1600/VMFAFlowers+051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fxYieetKqpDqA7sq9-ds4vyGclaTIgO90-pKApQjhia8_yu88iIvjdxeIsU9ZRm18Gjg46Kb-u2BoHCq7rBPP3IPb7Zfhlpr_g6LJb5glOn4Am1zuIp-oSHG3s7A2Jmpsrj00Pwxz8g/s1600/VMFAFlowers+051.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Funerary Couch, early 6th century</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chinese, Northern Wei dynasty</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Limestone with carved and painted design</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 2005 7a-h</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"The baseboard and legs are carved with mythological animals including a dragon, the Wind Spirit, and the Thunder Spirit."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4IyQ9ePIXJZyxN3EPHnpUaIYgBQIEZAiFNmX-4Lxg2N9kihvOa3PFJJjuixv0wjB_SsRNisIb9dU12zIyqCa_L4R3sYRYkor0h3In-8tHD8wQ9mykUdHGQOLCL8cD3GqCwAglcIVFB8/s1600/VMFAFlowers+045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4IyQ9ePIXJZyxN3EPHnpUaIYgBQIEZAiFNmX-4Lxg2N9kihvOa3PFJJjuixv0wjB_SsRNisIb9dU12zIyqCa_L4R3sYRYkor0h3In-8tHD8wQ9mykUdHGQOLCL8cD3GqCwAglcIVFB8/s1600/VMFAFlowers+045.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspired by Chinese Funerary Couch - Artist Unknown</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Floral design by Rita Johnson - Chester Garden Club, Chesterfield</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Richmond Designers Guild</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fine Arts and Flowers, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (November 5, 2014)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDhIAkLsVJ0qzhYLUvKZPXxMzzUZJTM8i1DYGVuc0Cj8LJmNOmvN_545_FL7heiOCsOEX_EyLbDtvqT5P4_50IwbYcFso4jEQC0eZod4oWYHyqkjyRTReZOPuAJX87wRE_0Bas-MmAFo/s1600/VMFAFlowers+056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDhIAkLsVJ0qzhYLUvKZPXxMzzUZJTM8i1DYGVuc0Cj8LJmNOmvN_545_FL7heiOCsOEX_EyLbDtvqT5P4_50IwbYcFso4jEQC0eZod4oWYHyqkjyRTReZOPuAJX87wRE_0Bas-MmAFo/s1600/VMFAFlowers+056.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Issac Soreau</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flemish, 1604 - after 1638</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Still Life with Grapes, Flowers and Berries in a Wanli Bowl</i>, ca. 1620</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oil on wood</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Museum Purchase, The Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 84.78</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"In religious paintings of the 1400s and 1500s, flowers, fruits, and other objects often held symbolic meaning. However, in the 1600s still lifes of flowers and fruits became a more secular and important kind of painting."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bWDzM2HNSBfZbhzeOU1yOHOVm0siK6Mm4l_QlGi4wBh1duzcAX2qz8iK2G426kMUXdF1XHAu1Sz4pfx6oamUMBdRnzVK_12HQAd5sA4v82uHk7_ojNnTEYWc5Ljg4xcw2ML-RAXWvfg/s1600/VMFAFlowers+058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bWDzM2HNSBfZbhzeOU1yOHOVm0siK6Mm4l_QlGi4wBh1duzcAX2qz8iK2G426kMUXdF1XHAu1Sz4pfx6oamUMBdRnzVK_12HQAd5sA4v82uHk7_ojNnTEYWc5Ljg4xcw2ML-RAXWvfg/s1600/VMFAFlowers+058.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Issac Soreau</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flemish, 1604 - after 1638</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Detail from <i>Still Life with Grapes, Flowers and Berries in a Wanli Bowl</i>, ca. 1620</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oil on wood</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Museum Purchase, The Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 84.78</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"In religious paintings of the 1400s and 1500s, flowers, fruits, and other objects often held symbolic meaning. However, in the 1600s still lifes of flowers and fruits became a more secular and important kind of painting."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV510cq9UJ9ZbZkdWWLMEZeSqg6sHNqr6J5ILDe0Pr-GuWJhZIlvCBUgaAxeGrTDMkV6A7o-I-UBYS9foBlIWkC6VHDwwivKEtaphu5b4bmH7K-BeYBgidE0U3eRbJpZIA4AVrMhDTFiQ/s1600/VMFAFlowers+053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV510cq9UJ9ZbZkdWWLMEZeSqg6sHNqr6J5ILDe0Pr-GuWJhZIlvCBUgaAxeGrTDMkV6A7o-I-UBYS9foBlIWkC6VHDwwivKEtaphu5b4bmH7K-BeYBgidE0U3eRbJpZIA4AVrMhDTFiQ/s1600/VMFAFlowers+053.JPG" width="570" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspired by <i>Still Life with Grapes. Flowers and Berries in a Wanli Bowl</i> by Issac Soreau</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Floral design by Lorraine Van Wickler and Dody Douglas - Chesapeake Bay Garden Club</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ophelia, Virginia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fine Arts and Flowers, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (November 5, 2014)</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Lvy03kddUl8EJTgDlkxvzgpRQUWH8W9m145xsgxFD5AXsEAzu7f3Vim74V6eLHvN9DYje1QhhgvgbTES6QIA24aFEnvCC3nu5QokmH1h_VXDyYOY4UYrNtmFJi8OIAZwsIxlKH1SaGQ/s1600/VMFAFlowers+106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Lvy03kddUl8EJTgDlkxvzgpRQUWH8W9m145xsgxFD5AXsEAzu7f3Vim74V6eLHvN9DYje1QhhgvgbTES6QIA24aFEnvCC3nu5QokmH1h_VXDyYOY4UYrNtmFJi8OIAZwsIxlKH1SaGQ/s1600/VMFAFlowers+106.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Indian, Gandhara, Peshawar District, near Mardan (present-day Pakistan)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Seated Buddha</i>, 2nd - 3rd century</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dark gray schist</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 2002.556</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Behind this Buddha's serene face is an intensity of meditative concentration that emerges in the flamelike waves of hair climbing over his <i>ushnisha</i>, the cranial protuberance that signifies his superhuman wisdom. Other standard Indian iconographic conventions include the Buddha's elongated earlobes, stretched by the heavy gold earrings he wore before renouncing worldly luxuries, and a circular mark or <i>urna</i> between his eyes that symbolizes his extraordinary insight. This Buddha's now-broken right hand would have been held in a gesture (mudra) of reassurance. His left hand gathers a piece of his outer garment, the hem of which cascades into the plinth below him. The confidently rendered folds of his togalike robes reveal Greek and Roman influence on the art of Gandhara. Buddha images in this hybrid style would become one of India's most significant artistic exports, providing the earliest models for a long tradition of imagery in Central and East Asia."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAKr7Hrt17zpj230XNJmA0vMiTzUA64sT_jvTJPFryRvCGFc-RpJyjuxw7H0bbLaNkrdy9nraKvamh2YkeRsaaYHCdhEIEewVMbg3oJjgq4IUhuQZbfP2ECEcyKxjKgz-bgp19pCnLk4/s1600/VMFAFlowers+088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAKr7Hrt17zpj230XNJmA0vMiTzUA64sT_jvTJPFryRvCGFc-RpJyjuxw7H0bbLaNkrdy9nraKvamh2YkeRsaaYHCdhEIEewVMbg3oJjgq4IUhuQZbfP2ECEcyKxjKgz-bgp19pCnLk4/s1600/VMFAFlowers+088.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frank Lloyd Wright</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">American, 1867 - 1959</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Made by Linden Glass Company</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">American (Chicago, Illinois), 1890 - 1934</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Two Windows</i> (for Avery Coonley Playhouse, Riverside, Illinois), 1912</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stained and leaded glass</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gift of Sydney and Frances Lewis 85.348.1-2</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpGh-72x_G0huUjHFuu2nsC7Ct-xIW1W1Hr9bVGWQU6M6aPR_YrvWUMrCreUF7yEJ8vOVRDpHsCKICJ2OuB-6NNAKBu6woRzDXcshus7FDgwjgauBlhrBd9Br9xTIl_IuaByz4NHlEQs/s1600/VMFAFlowers+092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpGh-72x_G0huUjHFuu2nsC7Ct-xIW1W1Hr9bVGWQU6M6aPR_YrvWUMrCreUF7yEJ8vOVRDpHsCKICJ2OuB-6NNAKBu6woRzDXcshus7FDgwjgauBlhrBd9Br9xTIl_IuaByz4NHlEQs/s1600/VMFAFlowers+092.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspired by <i>Two Windows</i> by Frank Lloyd Wright</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Floral design by Elaine Abbott and Jo Hanny - Williamsburg Garden Club</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Williamsburg, Virginia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fine Arts and Flowers, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (November 5, 2014)</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzc5M3WkeGEhGe-lsPrfmJ4ZU_3UkIRCi-eIZhuVmCGe9ttw2nZuQS_nNxItuFo6_oFhu35PY0l9TNiF4LVkqjMkGjbGAA19AZd7349ABuYEmKvZ9Rp4GrLmUujNKf2-2NrL4L5a4DfHM/s1600/VMFAFlowers+087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzc5M3WkeGEhGe-lsPrfmJ4ZU_3UkIRCi-eIZhuVmCGe9ttw2nZuQS_nNxItuFo6_oFhu35PY0l9TNiF4LVkqjMkGjbGAA19AZd7349ABuYEmKvZ9Rp4GrLmUujNKf2-2NrL4L5a4DfHM/s1600/VMFAFlowers+087.JPG" width="570" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frank Lloyd Wright</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">American, 1867 - 1959</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Made by Linden Glass Company</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">American (Chicago, Illinois), 1890 - 1934</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Two Windows</i> (for Avery Coonley Playhouse, Riverside, Illinois), 1912</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stained and leaded glass</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gift of Sydney and Frances Lewis 85.348.1-2</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Ornamental glass elements in windows and doors played a major role in Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural decoration, enhancing the appearance of a room's size and affecting its mood and focal points. These glass windows, stained in bright, primary colors, are part of a larger set made for the Avery Coonley Playhouse. The bright circles and squares most likely stemmed from Wright's childhood excitement of playing with colorful maple blocks and cardboard cutouts of circles and squares, and evoked memories of lively parades with flags, balloons, and confetti."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNyXtp5Hox-fx4oXRtfWQWsTWLO3OltLomWMiB_2yJcQ-YPXuak9fl2Fr7ZJe9lXk_hG1vgaVx2ZNkqMP7jaCETmtE4Al-CzySJUM5OWGhFgzFOm9gADfehDjFRk475D6bpqHA-AghiE/s1600/VMFAFlowers+169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNyXtp5Hox-fx4oXRtfWQWsTWLO3OltLomWMiB_2yJcQ-YPXuak9fl2Fr7ZJe9lXk_hG1vgaVx2ZNkqMP7jaCETmtE4Al-CzySJUM5OWGhFgzFOm9gADfehDjFRk475D6bpqHA-AghiE/s1600/VMFAFlowers+169.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anna Hyatt Huntington</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">American, 1876 - 1973</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Fawns Playing</i>, modeled 1934, cast 1936</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aluminum</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Thalhimer, 2006.31</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"As the leading <i>animalier</i> of 20th-century America, Anna Hyatt was a well-known sculptor long before her 1923 marriage to Archer Huntington - railroad heir and son of Arabella Worsham (whose Gilded Age bedroom is featured in a nearby gallery). She trained with sculptor Gutzon Borglum, later of Mount Rushmore fame, and studied in France and Italy. In the 1910s and 1920s, Huntington garnered awards and recognition both in the United States and abroad. Resisting new modernist trends, she maintained a naturalistic approach in her portrayals of wild and domestic animals. In 1934, she completed her first version of <i>Fawn Playing</i> in bronze. Two years later she recast in aluminum, a favorite medium.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the 1930s, Huntington and her husband established Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina - a nature conservancy and America's first sculpture garden. Shortly thereafter, Archer Huntington founded the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, which features several of his wife's monumental outdoor sculptures."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsNHh6QQgHL-OjxaRCrRT8TqUb-pw_IXlHd-NipzB5r46KUmd_BjI78a44c9WSlwMDLx8f2zJzI_HM9xScDBlIkmDRrCiibcJcuWaKl-56dQNNFPCCen-ZgBQ8GV_jwqb09kLJPovfjtY/s1600/VMFAFlowers+167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsNHh6QQgHL-OjxaRCrRT8TqUb-pw_IXlHd-NipzB5r46KUmd_BjI78a44c9WSlwMDLx8f2zJzI_HM9xScDBlIkmDRrCiibcJcuWaKl-56dQNNFPCCen-ZgBQ8GV_jwqb09kLJPovfjtY/s1600/VMFAFlowers+167.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspired by <i>Fawns Playing</i> by Anna Hyatt Huntington</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Floral design by Doris Crowell - Nathaniel Cawsey Garden Club</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopewell, Virginia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fine Arts and Flowers, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (November 5, 2014)</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiphrOKtMFducnlKj8uO8L-BoAync1wsyDMIWPxQz3yau1THAFb1zMW63twgFPG-a5vMcys-2GdZna35MigKBohoPUoXA5D06_HEZvz6gsDVZU81Q0qgSELEbHHyc8o797-qlyhoiy7lSs/s1600/VMFAFlowers+157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiphrOKtMFducnlKj8uO8L-BoAync1wsyDMIWPxQz3yau1THAFb1zMW63twgFPG-a5vMcys-2GdZna35MigKBohoPUoXA5D06_HEZvz6gsDVZU81Q0qgSELEbHHyc8o797-qlyhoiy7lSs/s1600/VMFAFlowers+157.JPG" width="510" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspired by <i>Bacchante and infant Faun</i> by Frederick MacMonnies</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Floral design by Jean Fender and Gloria Crump - Hilliard Park Garden Club</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Richmond, Virginia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo by Kathleen Sams Flippen</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fine Arts and Flowers, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (November 5, 2014)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frederick MacMonnies</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">American, 1863 - 1937</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Bacchante and Infant Faun</i>, modeled 1893, cast 1895</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bronze</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gift of Mr. G. A. Peple, 55.29 a-b</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copyright Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Following an apprenticeship with Augustus Saint-Gaudens and study abroad at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, MacMonnies triumphed as a leading sculptor at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. But his <i>Bacchante and Infant Faun</i>, well-received at the Paris Salon of 1894, garnered the most comment and controversy. Placed on view at the Boston Public Library, a life-size version of this nude figure shocked public sensibility. The ebullient bacchante - in classical literature a celebrant of Bacchus, god of wine - skips as she dangles a cluster of grapes over a baby's head. The large bronze was rejected by the library board as inappropriate - more on grounds of her seemingly tipsy demeanor than her state of undress. Almost immediately it was accepted into the collection of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">MacMonnies, who enjoyed a prolific career for decades to come, found a successful market for bronze reductions of the infamous <i>Bacchante</i> - including this 1895 casting, which retains its original Corinthian column pedestal."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Richmond, Virginia</span></div>

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: Fine Arts and Flowers

I spent some time today at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts enjoying the exhibit "Fine Arts and Flowers." The Council of VMFA is ...

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