Copyright 2026 Judith H. Dobrzynski Sun, 26 Apr 2026 12:48:44 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Judith H. Dobrzynski :: Writings https://judithdobrzynski.com jhdobrzynski@nyc.rr.com (Judith H. Dobrzynski) webmaster@pundicity.com en-us https://judithdobrzynski.com/31381/review-grandma-moses-a-good-day-work-a-self Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:00:00 EST Washington "Grandma Moses: A Good Day's Work" at the Smithsonian American Art Museum honors the career of Anna Mary Robertson "Grandma" Moses (1860-1961) using words she chose to summarize her contented, never-idle life. Yet maybe one of her paintings... https://judithdobrzynski.com/31376/review-a-world-in-the-making-the-shakers-the-art Mon, 6 Apr 2026 09:00:00 EST Philadelphia A boxy, 11-foot-tall, shingled "2nd Meetinghouse" (2025) opens "A World in the Making: The Shakers" at the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia—appropriately. A meetinghouse stood at the center of every village created by the Shakers,... https://judithdobrzynski.com/31372/review-frida-the-making-of-an-icon-a-painter-many Thu, 2 Apr 2026 09:00:00 EST Houston More Frida Kahlo? The Mexican artist (1907-1954), who died a relative unknown, has been given at least a dozen museum exhibitions in the past decade. Her artworks, exotic looks and troubled biography have inspired legions of artists. Her image,... https://judithdobrzynski.com/31365/masterpiece-pontormo-deposition-from-the-cross Sat, 28 Mar 2026 09:00:00 EST The Passion of Jesus ranks among the most common themes in Western art, painted or sculpted by artists too numerous to count, with many striving to create artworks both emotionally stirring and original. In the small Capponi chapel just inside the church... https://judithdobrzynski.com/31267/mount-vernon-restored-to-its-original-vision Mon, 9 Feb 2026 09:00:00 EST Mount Vernon, Va. Always an assiduous public-image crafter, George Washington paid meticulous attention to both his personal appearance and that of his beloved Mount Vernon estate, where he constantly received friends, associates and admirers. He raised... https://judithdobrzynski.com/31218/at-the-detroit-institute-of-arts-the-riches Tue, 20 Jan 2026 09:00:00 EST Detroit Encyclopedic museums can feel very similar. By endeavoring to tell the entire history of art, as far as their collections allow, they sometimes underplay a concentration within their holdings that makes them distinctive. So it is commendable that... https://judithdobrzynski.com/31199/at-the-guggenheim-gabriele-munter-and-her-vibrant Mon, 12 Jan 2026 09:00:00 EST New York The art of German painter Gabriele Münter (1877-1962) has a strong visceral appeal. Her vibrant colors and simplified forms act like gravity, pulling in viewers. Her choice of homey subjects, unusual angles, or surprising vantage points adds to... https://judithdobrzynski.com/31144/review-plunging-into-watery-worlds Thu, 11 Dec 2025 09:00:00 EST Boston How lucky is the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It owns the largest collection of watercolors by Winslow Homer (1836-1910) in the world. And as Homer famously said, "You will see, in the future, I will live by my watercolors." Visitors to the MFA... https://judithdobrzynski.com/31130/masterpiece-william-michael-harnett-ease-portrait Sat, 29 Nov 2025 09:00:00 EST Portraits come in many incarnations—the rigorous realism of Holbein, the rococo elegance of Gainsborough, the harsh frankness of Lucian Freud, to name just a few. Going beyond resemblance, many incorporate symbols alluding to character traits or... https://judithdobrzynski.com/31121/the-honest-eye-camille-pissarro-impressionism Tue, 25 Nov 2025 09:00:00 EST Denver Much more than other Impressionists, Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) has a divided reputation. His fans stress his position as the oldest among them, a networker who brought many of them together and prompted Cezanne to paint outdoors, and as the... https://judithdobrzynski.com/28950/painting-an-emerging-nation Thu, 9 Oct 2025 09:00:00 EST Minneapolis "José María Velasco: A View of Mexico" is a compact exhibition with a lot to convey. Encompassing just 24 artworks, it introduces visitors to a giant of Mexico's culture, a late-19th-century painter revered at home but whose erstwhile... https://judithdobrzynski.com/28699/little-beasts-art-wonder-and-the-natural-world Thu, 10 Jul 2025 09:00:00 EST Washington Except when they are annoying, insects often go unnoticed. But not by a Dutch artist named Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600). Hoefnagel observed bugs, along with birds, fish and other creatures, then drew or painted them in intricate detail. To... https://judithdobrzynski.com/28636/from-the-vault-collecting-tapestries-at Thu, 19 Jun 2025 09:00:00 EST Worcester, Mass. Sumptuous, large, heavy and used in centuries past to warm the walls of Europe's great stone castles and cathedrals, tapestries conjure a long-ago world. They tell expansive tales of courtly life, love, war, myth and more in copious... https://judithdobrzynski.com/28617/rachel-ruysch-nature-into-art-review Mon, 2 Jun 2025 09:00:00 EST Toledo, Ohio Renowned in her time, with her paintings in high demand, Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750) has nonetheless been largely ignored by museums. She has never had a major monographic exhibition, not even in her hometown of Amsterdam. Undeniably, it could... https://judithdobrzynski.com/28519/modern-art-and-politics-in-germany-1910-1945 Mon, 12 May 2025 09:00:00 EST Fort Worth, Texas Contrary to much popular belief, all art is not political. But in the first half of the 20th century—when Germany was experiencing rapid industrialization and militarization; the rise of nationalism and socialism; the defeat of World...