#ArtistsBirthday

ALT ALT Happy Birthday to Maria Sibylla Merian who was born on this day in 1679! Maria Sibylla Merian : und die Tradition des Blumenbildes von der Renaissance bis zur Romantikfür das Kupferstichkabinett - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin und das Städel Museum Frankfurt am Main ; herausgegeben von Michael Roth, Magdalena Bushart, Martin Sonnabend ; unter Mitarbeit von Catalina Heroven ; Autoren: Magdalena Bushart [and twelve others]. München : Hirmer Verlag, [2017] 255 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), portraits ; 29 cm. German HOLLIS number: 990150061140203941 Merian, Sybilla, 1647-1717. Portrait of Maria Sibylla Merian . 1679. https://jstor.org/stable/community.13608112 .

Happy Birthday to Otto Dix who was born on this day in 1891. Dix was a German painter and printmaker who was known for depicting the harsh reality of the Weimar Republic (1918-1933) in Germany. Dix was regarded as a degenerate artist by the Nazis, and lost his post as an art teacher at the Dresden Academy. In this self-portrait, Dix was only 21 years old, looking fierce towards his future. Self-portrait with a pink Dix, Otto, 1891-1969, German [artist] oil on board 73 x 50 cm. German 1912 Repository: Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan, United States HOLLIS number: olvwork126422

Happy Birthday to Claude Monet who was born on this day! Waterlilies Monet, Claude, 1840-1926, French [artist] Oil on canvas 90 x 93 cm. French 1906 Repository: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States HOLLIS number: olvwork184855 This image is part of FAL’s Digital Images and Slides Collection (DISC), a collection of images digitized from secondary sources for use in teaching and learning. FAL does not own the original artworks represented in this collection, but you can find more information at HOLLIS Images .

Happy Birthday to Cindy Sherman who was born on this day in 1954. One of the most influential American photographers of our time. Sherman photographs herself in many different roles and imaginary characters of women, experimenting with costumes, makeup, lighting, invented scenes, props, and facial expression. Cindy Sherman Moorhouse, Paul [author] ; with contributions by Erika Balsom, Magda Keaney and Rochelle Steiner. New York, New York : Rizzoli Electa, 2019. 255 pages : illustrations (some color), portraits, photographs ; 33 x 25 cm Summary “Featuring 230 key works from Cindy Sherman’s most celebrated photo series–including Untitled Film Stills, Centerfolds, Cover Girls, Fashion, and Society Portraits–this is the first book to address her work through the lens of portraiture and style in the era of social media and selfies. Cindy Sherman is among the most influential artists of her generation. Using herself as a model in a range of costumes in invented situations, she plays with images created and popularized by mass media, popular culture, and fine art. Television, advertising, magazines, fashion, and Old Master paintings–they are all fair game. Whether using makeup, costumes, props, or prosthetics to manipulate her own appearance, or devising elaborate narrative tableaux, the entire body of forty years’ work constitutes a distinctive response to contemporary culture.” –publisher’s website, accessed 2019, 09 20. English Exhibition organised by the National Portrait Gallery in collaboration with Vancouver Art Gallery. Published to accompany the exhibition: Cindy Sherman, held at National Portrait Gallery, London, June 27-Sept. 15, 2019; and Vancouver Art Gallery, October 26, 2019-March 8, 2020.

Happy 89th Birthday, Andy! You changed the (art) world forever and paved the way for artists in advertising to own their commercial art roots and their artistic genius! 🎨 🎉 💕 . . #andywarhol #artistsbirthday #warholmuseum #adartshow #mvvoart

ALT Behind the scenes, our Creative Arts Archivist Max Goldberg has been busy this summer. In August, Max spent five non-consecutive days at the Harvard Depository and went through all 270+ boxes in the Stephen Lee Taller/Ben Shahn Archive for the Fine Arts Library, which holds the collection of materials to the American artist Ben Shahn (1898–1969) compiled by Stephen Lee Taller. Dr. Taller was a friend of Ezra Shahn, Ben’s oldest son. The archive contains thousands of items related to the artist’s work , including books written by and illustrated by Ben Shahn, magazines in which his work was featured, exhibition and auction sales catalogs, commercial work such as book jackets, record jackets, and advertisements, interview transcripts, and newspaper clippings. ALT As you can imagine from the sheer volume of this archive, it was a massive task to review the contents of all the boxes. Everything was cataloged at the item-level in a database by Dr. Taller, and Max estimates that there are approximately 10,000 items. We’re so grateful for all his hard work this summer. The first two photos in this post were taken by Max while he was working at the Harvard Depository, and the last image shows some examples from this archive. Ben Shahn (1898–1969) was an American artist, best known for his works of social realism, his political activist work, and his series of lectures published as The Shape of Content . Through his work, Shahn challenged the status quo in the society, focusing on themes related to modern urban life, organized labor, immigration, and injustice, among others. Today is Ben Shahn’s birthday.

Nick Cave’s idea for the wearable sculpture originally came out of his pain in reaction to the LA Riots of 1992. Since then, he has been making fantastical wearable art that he calls “soundsuits.” Cave is someone who has expanded the concept of decorative art by adopting many different techniques and styles and putting them together in an imaginative and celebratory way. Extremely humorous and powerful at the same time, his work also raises questions on race, gender, age, class, and sexuality. February is Black History Month, and today is Nick Cave’s birthday. Happy Birthday to Nick Cave who was born on this day! Nick Cave : epitome with contributions by Andrew Bolton, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Nato Thompson, and Nick Cave. Cave, Nick, 1959- [artist] Munich : Prestel Verlag, [2014] 284 pages ; 35 cm English 2014 HOLLIS number: 990146773630203941

Happy 89th Birthday, Andy! You changed the (art) world forever and paved the way for artists in advertising to own their commercial art roots and their artistic genius! 🎨 🎉 💕 . . #andywarhol #artistsbirthday #warholmuseum #adartshow #mvvoart