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A unique two-museum retrospective invites a thorough reconsideration of the meaning of Jasper Johns’ work. By John Dorfman Jasper Johns, at 91, is the ranking member of the contemporary American art world. In the words of the New York Times, he is nothing less than “America’s foremost living artist.” In the late 1950s, Johns was…

The impact of ghosts and the spirit world on American art is explored in depth in a highly unusual museum exhibition By John Dorfman The United States has the reputation of being a hard-headedly rationalistic, materialistic nation, but in fact, Americans have been ghost-obsessed from colonial days down to the present time. The harsh conditions…

A new exhibition in The National Gallery of Art’s Cabinet Galleries provides an expanded view of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish painting. By Sarah E. Fensom In the second volume of his sweeping art-historical compendium The Lives of the Painters (1969), John Canaday includes a chapter titled “Vermeer and the Quietest Revolution.” “Of all the contrasts…

Joan Mitchell prevailed in the male-dominated midcentury art world, creating epic canvases in which light and color transmit powerful emotions. By John Dorfman In a 1986 interview with the art historian Linda Nochlin, Joan Mitchell said, with characteristic don’t-give-a-damn humor, “I call myself a ‘lady painter’ and AEOH—Abstract Expressionist Old Hat.” Of course, with regard…

The extremely diverse art practice of Sophie Taeuber-Arp is at long last getting the serious consideration it deserves, in a retrospective exhibition at the Tate Modern in London. By Sarah E. Fensom For the Swiss polymath Sophie Taeuber-Arp, abstraction was square one. Unlike most of her colleagues in Europe’s early 20th-century avant-garde, Taeuber-Arp didn’t begin…

The Italian port city of Genoa, rich from trade and finance, played host to a century and half’s worth of Baroque art creativity. By John Dorfman The art of Genoa has been a well-kept secret. Many of the greatest works are in palazzi and villas, in the form of frescoes created for private enjoyment. Most…

Arthur Dove, a pioneer of abstract painting, eschewed theories and dogmas, intent on representing the forms and forces of nature in his art. By John Dorfman The inception of abstract painting was such a watershed in the history of art, such a transformative change, that historians are inevitably drawn to the question of who did…

Olga de Amaral harnessed traditional weaving techniques to create highly experimental works of abstraction. By Sarah E. Fensom The Colombian-born artist Olga de Amaral is one of the most important voices in postwar Latin American abstraction. Known for large-scale pieces that are intricately woven in brilliant color and, frequently, covered in shimmering gold or silver…

When the Medicis ruled Florence, a current exhibition at the Met showcases, portraiture ascended to new heights. By Sarah E. Fensom The art of political propaganda was perfected thousands of years ago. The ancient Romans, in particular, excelled at communicating sensationalized messages about its leaders through artistic means. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection is…