Oil Paintings

A young Vincent van Gogh was so struck by a dead willow leaning "lonely and melancholy" over a pond near The Hague that he knew at once he had to paint it. "I'm going to attack it tomorrow morning," he wrote to his brother Theo on July 26, 1882. The Van Gogh Museum unveiled the painting Thursday, the first addition in five years to its world-famous collection of works by the postimpressionist master. At a time when the artist was still honing his skills in perspective, anatomy and proportion using pen and pencil sketches, the watercolor was a bolt from the blue, although its...

A young Vincent van Gogh was so struck by a dead willow leaning "lonely and melancholy" over a pond near The Hague that he knew at once he had to paint it. "I'm going to attack it tomorrow morning," he wrote to his brother Theo on July 26, 1882. The Van Gogh Museum unveiled the painting Thursday, the first addition in five years to its world-famous collection of works by the postimpressionist master. At a time when the artist was still honing his skills in perspective, anatomy and proportion using pen and pencil sketches, the watercolor was a bolt from the blue, although its...

When the shouts and the screams faded away and she was alone out on the water where the rip current had carried her, Cheryl Dyment thought back to what she'd been taught in swimming lessons years earlier. The teenager lay on her back and floated. The sun made the water sparkle like diamonds, and she could see the curvature of the earth. "I can smile when I think about it. [Floating] was a beautiful thing. I never felt scared; I never felt panicked. I was just appreciating being in the moment, I guess.

A rare watercolor study by Paul Cezanne believed lost for nearly 60 years fetched over $19 million at a New York City auction on Tuesday. Christie's auction house said "A Card Player" sold to a buyer who wished to remain anonymous. The price included the buyer's premium. The watercolor was a study for Cezanne's celebrated series of oil paintings titled "Card Players. " It was rediscovered this year in the collection of the late Dr. Heinz Eichenwald, a well-known collector from Dallas, Texas.

Facebook has been a friend to Kevin Doyle. A few weeks ago, the Chatham artist, as he often does, posted a picture of one of his oil paintings on Facebook and then tagged several of his friends. One of those was model/actress Christie Brinkley, whom he's never met but admires. No sooner did Doyle post the picture than Brinkley commented on it, writing "This is a charming painting, Kevin. " (She knows a little something about art: The first of her four husbands, Jean-François Allaux, is an artist and professor at UMass Dartmouth.)

Three rare oil paintings of synagogue interiors by Marc Chagall are going on the auction block in New York City. Sotheby's auction house said Friday the paintings came to the market for the first time in 66 years from a descendent of art collector and original owner Max Cottin, who acquired them from the 1945 exhibition at the Gallery of Jewish Art in New York. Only six finished oil paintings of synagogues by Chagall are known to exist. Leading the group up for auction is his 1931 "Interior of the Yemenite HaGoral Synagogue,...

Artist Lully Schwartz will speak on the use of color in oil paintings throughout history at the town library on Thursday from 6 to 7:45 p.m. The program will allow participants to discover how and why artists use color in different ways. This lecture is limited to 20 adults, and sign-up is required. Call 978-887-1528, or sign up at the main desk.

Bob Gablosky, who in 1972 founded the Greater Haverhill Arts Association, has been named "Artist of the Month" by Mayor James J. Fiorentini. Gablosky's oil paintings soon will be on display in City Hall as part of the mayor's ongoing facelift of the city offices. The first phase of the renovation - which included fresh paint and carpet tiles on the main floor - is complete. Fiorentini is now turning his attention to the stairs that welcome visitors to City Hall. Triad Associates Inc., a local installer of hardscapes, will take part in the renovation effort, Fiorentini said Monday.

In Western Massachusetts for the weekend, Kadir Nelson made a pilgrimage to visit the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge. A great fan of the late master of American scenes since attending art school at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., Nelson calls the work of his predecessor "luminous. " "He was telling a story with each painting," Nelson said. In his own way, Nelson is quietly building his own portfolio of historic proportions. At 37, his work already appears in the Capitol in Washington, at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., and on a US Postal...

WILLIAMSTOWN - One of the most intriguing paintings in New York's Museum of Modern Art is "Wasp and Pear," by Gerald Murphy. In a smooth mix of Cubism and Art Deco style, it depicts a giant wasp crouching in a predatory manner over a bulbous green pear. When I first came upon the painting back in the 1970s, I took it for the work of a contemporary artist straddling the line between Surrealism and Pop Art. So I was much surprised to learn it was painted in 1929. Only years later would I begin to learn the extraordinary, tragic story of its creator.

The following is a press release from the Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum: As part of the "Angelo Aversa, Richard Salvucci: Right Now" art exhibition at the Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum through June 1, Allston Artist Angelo Aversa will present an art demonstration and answer questions about his art and his art subjects. The presentation will take place on Saturday, April 28th at 2 p.m. at the Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum at 20 Chestnut Hill Avenue in Historic Brighton Center.

Facebook has been a friend to Kevin Doyle. A few weeks ago, the Chatham artist, as he often does, posted a picture of one of his oil paintings on Facebook and then tagged several of his friends. One of those was model/actress Christie Brinkley, whom he's never met but admires. No sooner did Doyle post the picture than Brinkley commented on it, writing "This is a charming painting, Kevin. " (She knows a little something about art: The first of her four husbands, Jean-François Allaux, is an artist and professor at UMass Dartmouth.)

Artist Lully Schwartz will speak on the use of color in oil paintings throughout history at the town library on Thursday from 6 to 7:45 p.m. The program will allow participants to discover how and why artists use color in different ways. This lecture is limited to 20 adults, and sign-up is required. Call 978-887-1528, or sign up at the main desk.

In Western Massachusetts for the weekend, Kadir Nelson made a pilgrimage to visit the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge. A great fan of the late master of American scenes since attending art school at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., Nelson calls the work of his predecessor "luminous. " "He was telling a story with each painting," Nelson said. In his own way, Nelson is quietly building his own portfolio of historic proportions. At 37, his work already appears in the Capitol in Washington, at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., and on a US Postal...

NEW YORK - For 32 years, a portrait of a serene Mary Todd Lincoln hung in the governor's mansion in Springfield, Ill., signed by Francis Bicknell Carpenter, a celebrated painter who lived at the White House for six months in 1864. The story behind the picture was compelling: Mary Todd Lincoln had Carpenter secretly paint her portrait as a surprise for the president, but he was assassinated before she had a chance to present it to him. Now it turns out that both the portrait and the touching tale accompanying it are false.

When the shouts and the screams faded away and she was alone out on the water where the rip current had carried her, Cheryl Dyment thought back to what she'd been taught in swimming lessons years earlier. The teenager lay on her back and floated. The sun made the water sparkle like diamonds, and she could see the curvature of the earth. "I can smile when I think about it. [Floating] was a beautiful thing. I never felt scared; I never felt panicked. I was just appreciating being in the moment, I guess.

The following is a press release from the Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum: As part of the "Angelo Aversa, Richard Salvucci: Right Now" art exhibition at the Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum through June 1, Allston Artist Angelo Aversa will present an art demonstration and answer questions about his art and his art subjects. The presentation will take place on Saturday, April 28th at 2 p.m. at the Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum at 20 Chestnut Hill Avenue in Historic Brighton Center.

A rare watercolor study by Paul Cezanne believed lost for nearly 60 years fetched over $19 million at a New York City auction on Tuesday. Christie's auction house said "A Card Player" sold to a buyer who wished to remain anonymous. The price included the buyer's premium. The watercolor was a study for Cezanne's celebrated series of oil paintings titled "Card Players. " It was rediscovered this year in the collection of the late Dr. Heinz Eichenwald, a well-known collector from Dallas, Texas.

Helen Frankenthaler, an abstract painter known for her bold, lyrical use of color who led a postwar art movement that would later be termed Color Field painting, died Tuesday at her home in Connecticut, her nephew said. She was 83. One of Frankenthaler's most famous works is "Mountains and Sea," a 1952 painting at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., which she created by pouring thinned paint directly onto raw, unprimed canvas laid on the studio floor. Frankenthaler's death at her home in Darien, Conn., followed a long illness, said her nephew, Clifford Ross, a...

Bob Gablosky, who in 1972 founded the Greater Haverhill Arts Association, has been named "Artist of the Month" by Mayor James J. Fiorentini. Gablosky's oil paintings soon will be on display in City Hall as part of the mayor's ongoing facelift of the city offices. The first phase of the renovation - which included fresh paint and carpet tiles on the main floor - is complete. Fiorentini is now turning his attention to the stairs that welcome visitors to City Hall. Triad Associates Inc., a local installer of hardscapes, will take part in the renovation effort, Fiorentini said...