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California artist Danny Heller grew up well after MID-CENTURY MODERNISM prevailed in America, but he has recaptured and reinterpreted the era by painting its architecture, automobiles, and its very mood  By David Masello It took many years for Danny Heller to realize that the unremarkable place in which he grew up was actually so remarkable…

After 10 years in the making, San Francisco’s Legion of Honor now presents “The Etruscans: From the Heart of Ancient Italy,” a landmark show of hundreds of objects that reveals the ancient civilization. As the show’s curator, Renée Dreyfus, says, “This exhibition tells the story of this overlooked culture, featuring icons of Etruscan art surrounded…

Indigenous artists of Australia reveal a people who create artworks that are ancient in origin while also remaining relevant and affecting today By David Masello When Australian indigenous artists create works, they often use materials immediately at hand. Earth, sand, the bark of eucalyptus trees, resin, sap, timber, bush cane, jungle vines, dyes harnessed from…

Drive-In Dusk (2020) All images courtesy of John Dowd Although John Dowd has been coursing the streets and beaches of Provincetown for decades, he always finds something new to paint. And even if it’s the same subject, he sees it differently every time. By David Masello Should you be walking the streets of Provincetown late…

An opium smoker, along with her pet cat, circa 1931 Courtesy of Moderna Museet, Stockholm © Estate Brassaï Succession – Philippe Ribeyrolles 2026 The legacy of photographer Brassaï and his nocturnal wanderings through Paris in the 1940s goes on view at Stockholm’s Moderna Museet By David Masello For some, it’s among the most pleasurable and…

Mr. and Mrs. Andrews (c. 1750) All photos by Joseph Coscia Jr., courtesy of the Frick Collection Thomas Gainsborough wasn’t a clothing designer,but he knew how to paint those garbed in the fashionable wear of his time, as an exhibition at the Frick Collection reveals By David Masello While Thomas Gainsborough understood the need to…

With Nigeria’s independence came new art. London’s Tate Modern tells the story of 20th-century art in the nation, highlighting unique, Pan-African aesthetics.  Written by Ashley Busby On October 1, 1960, Nigeria established independence from British colonial rule, and just after that declaration members of the Zaria Art Society published a manifesto that charged the nation’s…

The Hispanic Society Museum & Library in New York spotlights the opulence and over-the-top silhouettes of the Spanish Golden Age, including hoop skirts so large that women were accused of concealing illicit pregnancies. Written by Fred Voon In the 16th century, the world’s fashion capital wasn’t Paris or Milan. It was Madrid. After all, this…

A fresco of Selene and Endymion, dating from the 1st century, once decorated a home in Pompeii The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston A touring exhibition, now at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, brings the ancient Roman emperor to life, as well as the lives of the subjects who lived under his rule Written…