Delaware Art Museum

There was a wonderful exhibit of the work of illustrator Howard Pyle at the Delaware Art Museum.  I thought they were the best illustrations I've ever seen.  Illustrators have been looked down upon by some artists (not me) but if they saw Pyle's paintings, they would see work as wonderful as Gustave Moreau's, George LaTour's and others.  In those days, there seemed to be a fascination with pirates, i suppose like we are fascinated with vampires today.  

Marooned 1909
He illustrated for Harpers Monthly Magazine at a time when illustrators were considered to be celebrities.
Walking the Plank

 He had some racy images...

where the mermaid is luring the target....
Thomas Jefferson Writing the Declaration of Independence
and he created some beautiful quiet moments.  Through his illustrations, he stimulated the imagination.

The Delaware Art Museum is known for their collection of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood paintings.  About this style of painting from their website:

The Pre-Raphaelites rejected the conventions of their time and focused on the past, particularly the Middle Ages—the time “before Raphael.” Their subjects were drawn primarily from literature, the Bible, Shakespeare, and Arthurian legend. Beautiful, seductive women, often referred to as “stunners,” are depicted in the later works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Comprised of paintings, drawings, photographs, decorative arts, and illustrated books, the Delaware Art Museum’s Bancroft Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Art is the largest Pre-Raphaelite collection outside the United Kingdom.




The museum also had a nice 19th century - Present collection.
7 am 1948

 A gorgeous Edward Hopper painting - the white on the building was intense which is completely lost in this image.
There was the most crazy Edna Andrade painting...
a close up of the above Andrade painting

And the most intriguing painting I want to copy was by Thomas Chimes...

There was a funny painting by Robert Goodnough which on first glance didn't do anything for me.  "Dark Blue Clusters" then became something I kept looking at.  This image does not help my argument that it is a wonderful painting but for me, it was spectacular.

The museum had the good sense to put a bench in front of it because one needs to gaze at it for a good while.
Finally, I want to end with a photograph that looks like a painting. "Fish" was part of the "Transitions" exhibition, that showcased the work of regional photographers.  The colors and subject looked like something Rembrandt could've painted.

Fish by Kerry Harrison
I next went to the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art,  hopping onto the #32 bus.  One thing about the buses here, very few people seem to use them.  And very few people seem to walk.  As I walked to the museum after a nice ride on the #10 bus, I saw that stately homes surrounded the museum.  During my 10 minute walk, I saw just one person jogging.  Again, I would have loved a walking tour of the area that would explain the architecture and history.

More about the DCCA in the next post.



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