Years ago I amateurishly tried tracking down the hotel lobby painting from In the Mouth of Madness. Which mostly involved emailing the entire production crew and never heard back from anyone. If anybody happens to have it rolled-up in a closet somewhere let me know.
Otto Dix used art to deal with his WW1 PTSD. Very few artists will do subjects with such severe amputations, but he captures a sense of liveliness where most people would rather shut their eyes and pretend the wars wounded simply didn’t exist.
Sunrise with Sea Monsters (around 1845) by J. M. W. Turner. I could go with any painting of his, but I think this one best exemplifies the mystery and the fathomless depth of his vision as a painter. He often has conflicting elements, very fine detail mixed with blurry landscapes, calm haze of the dawn masking some unimaginable horror.
I went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art this summer and I was excited to see a room marked Turner on their map. There was only one Turner. The rest of the room was his more traditional contemporaries. What a disappointment.
I've been to major art museums in Boston, NY and CA....I can't say that this is my favorite, but I stood awestruck and transfixed beneath it, and time lost its meaning: Salvador Dali's Crucifixion painting.
Of Turner's (nearly) exact contemporaries and compatriots the most interesting one might be David Cox. It's interesting to think what passes for traditional, when some art seems to transcend the concept of being of an era.
This one doesn't count, I think, but still. Like Da Vinci Rembrandt loved to make little sketches of the surroundings near Amsterdam. Some of these became etches. I love the fact that in a few lines and dashes a landscape with depth and atmosphere emerges!
I've been thinking about this more. My favorite painting (and it's near-impossible to choose just one) is just about the opposite of Dali's Crucifixion. It's a landscape in oil on canvas in a gilt frame, and the actual painting can't be bigger than 9x12"...and I don't know its name, date, or artist. All I know is that I saw it decades ago in a Los Angeles museum, and I wanted to enter the world it depicted so badly I had to be dragged away.
By no means a favourite, but a buddy just pointed me in the direction of this. I thought it was a photo. God.......I really miss the glam-rock days..... Franz Gertsch Marina making up Luciano 1975 Oil on canvas 234 x 346 cm
I love Winslow Homer's looser works. Sailboat and Fourth of July Fireworks Gloucester Sunset Moonlight on the Water
ANYTHING by Hopper. Such a tangible feeling of loneliness and isolation among the hustle and bustle of the city.
Daybreak by Maxfield Parrish. I don't know what it is about this work, but I always enjoyed it. I used to have a print of it but my ex wife got it. Oh well.
We have that hanging over our fireplace. If you ever get the chance, go to the Delaware Museum of Art in Wilmington. They don't have much Maxfield Parrish but they have a lot of illustration by his contemporaries. Maxfield Parrish's teacher, Howard Pyle, left his collection to the museum. Interesting blog post that contains the image posted above as well as a lot of other images. Delaware Art Museum: Howard Pyle, John Sloan and Others – Nona Hyytinen Portraits
Been there, I wasn't that taken by the collection. Pyle doesn't ring ouir chimes like Parrish, I guess. The museum has a very very compelling Wyeth and one of the best Hoppers I've ever seen personally.
I've liked this since I first saw a print. I once drove about 150 mi to see it in Puerto Rico, it was out on loan. If someone can open this please do. https://imgc.artprintimages.com/img...ing-june-c-1895_a-l-3623134-0.jpg?w=550&h=550
That painting was featured on the cover of my art history book in college. Wonderful ability with emotion, texture and color. Frederick Leighton, Flaming June 1895
Parrish is my favorite illustrator so I agree. I would have loved more Parrish but for some reason Pyle’s collection didn’t include much of his works. If you like N.C. Wyeth and his decendants, check out the Branywine River Museum across the border in Pennsylvania. It’s essebtialy the Wyeth family museum.
