Bisa Butler, The Safety Patrol, 2018. Quilted and appliquéd cotton, wool, and chiffon. 90 x 82 in.
2020 has certainly been a wild ride for everyone, including the arts and culture sector. We're grateful we've had the opportunity to bring you great art and stories that bring beauty, intrigue, and meaning to your world. We appreciate your readership and look forward to continuing to share a passion for art with you in 2021. Here are the top ten stories our readers loved in 2020.
Charles Alston, Grassy Melodic Chant, 1976. Acrylic on canvas.
12 African American Artists You Should Know More About by Megan D Robinson
Protests for racial equality were a major social force in 2020, leading many Americans to seek a better understand of how racism has shaped our society and the lived experience of Black Americans. Calls for equity have included broadening the canon of art history, and in this story, we highlight twelve great artists that deserve more credit.
10 Films About Art Worth Watching by Cynthia Close
2020 was a banner year for binge-watching, and what we watched has helped define our collective pandemic experience, from Tiger King to The Queen's Gambit. Those looking to scratch the art itch while museums and galleries have been closed found guidance in this helpful list from Cynthia Close. She has written a series of stories to help you tune into art from your couch, covering Picasso, Van Gogh, and others.
Rome’s Torlonia Marbles Go on View After Seven Decades by Christoper Siwicki
We call them classics for a reason—some works have a seemingly universal appeal the continues to captivate after centuries or even millennia. The gorgeous Torlonia collection of marble statuary made its debut at the Capitoline Museum in Rome this year after spending decades locked away, and readers were eager to feast their eyes on the gleaming sculptures.
WWII Propaganda Inspires COVID Hygiene Posters by Caterina Bellinetti
Though the battle against COVID-19 has been the first major pandemic in modern times, it's one of many health crises humanity has tried to manage in its history. In an effort to encourage social distancing and other public health measures, this year, artists looked to the past for artistic inspiration. Their work is both beautiful and informative.
How Money Laundering Works In The Art World by Charlie Pogacar
The artworld is, of course, not all sublimely gazing at landscapes, it's a business, and one that some have manipulated to their advantage. Find out how nefarious forces looking to move their money use their high-cost sales of some artworks to avoid taxes and even fund crime.
The Getty Challenges People to Recreate Great Artworks at Home by Chandra Noyes
One of the highlights of this dark time has been the ingenuity it has encouraged. From the record-breakingly-fast development of vaccines to more humble home creations, many new things have been born from this dark period. When the Getty Museum in Los Angeles issued a challenge for art-lovers stuck at home to pay tribute to their favorite works, they responded with impressive and often touching results.
Josephine Baker performing the Charleston.
8 Trends from the Roaring Twenties to Inspire the 2020s by Chandra Noyes
This has been a year like no other to ponder our past and our future. When this piece was written in January of 2020, we had no idea what we were in for. What will be the social and artistic movements that the 2020s will be remembered for? Only time will tell, but this piece is a reminder of all that is possible in a decade of human advancement.
Bisa Butler, Southside Sunday Morning, 2018. Cotton and silk. 109 x 73 in.
Bisa Butler is Having a Moment by Cynthia Close
Rising art-star Bisa Butler's vibrant, intricate, quilted works are captivating and inspiring. Hear in her own words what inspires her portraiture and how she creates these impressive pieces.
The 10 Best Art Schools in the U.S. by Anna Claire Mauney
This year, Art & Object debuted a new on-going series examining the best art schools in the country. With separate rankings for the Southeast, Northeast, Midwest, Southwest, and West, we examined what each school has to offer and how their tuitions and student bodies stack up against the competition.
Elizabeth Siddal is the model in Ophelia by John Everett Millais, 1865-66.
The Women of Pre-Raphaelite Art by Angelica Frey
Their delicate beauty is captivating, but the models for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood had much more going for them than their looks. Find out more about the models for some of art history's greatest works, who were artists and popular figures in their own right.
