In early 1918 John Singer Sargent was commissioned by the British War Memorials Committee to document the war. Sargent originally thought he’d paint about the gallantry of soldiers, but after visiting the Western Front and seeing a field hospital full of soldiers who had been exposed to mustard gas, he changed his plans. The high society painter who occupied Edwardian drawing rooms was horrified to see the results of war first hand, and completed his confrontational response to the commission in March 1919. Gassed was voted picture of the year by the Royal Academy of Arts in 1919.
One year ago in March, to protect our students and teachers from a new coronavirus, the Seattle Artist League moved our classes online. The virus was declared a national emergency, and we went into quarantine. We have now been in quarantine for thirteen months. Through this year, we have met each other online to draw, …
[image_with_animation image_url=”9902″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] As part of our Art & Activism series with Fredericka Foster and the Salish Sea Project, the League has adopted an orca whale. Proceeds from orca adoptions support ongoing education, research and public outreach through the Whale Museum. There were many whales up for adoption, and League artists voted to adopt Lazuli, an …
In art, to transcribe is to copy or record information in a different form than the original. To transcribe a painting or drawing is not to copy the artwork exactly, but instead to record observations in a different form. A transcription also doesn’t need to copy everything in an original. An artist can choose to …
Recently I posted about our family of New York Studio School influences, and Tina Kraft. I found a few more drawings that show aspects of a process that changed the way I draw. These portrait sketches by Tina Kraft demonstrate a technique of using marks to activate the white paper. The marks are both in …
John Singer Sargent’s “Gassed” 1919
In early 1918 John Singer Sargent was commissioned by the British War Memorials Committee to document the war. Sargent originally thought he’d paint about the gallantry of soldiers, but after visiting the Western Front and seeing a field hospital full of soldiers who had been exposed to mustard gas, he changed his plans. The high society painter who occupied Edwardian drawing rooms was horrified to see the results of war first hand, and completed his confrontational response to the commission in March 1919. Gassed was voted picture of the year by the Royal Academy of Arts in 1919.
Notice here, behind a field of dead and wounded soldiers: a soccer game.
Sargent’s Sketches
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One year ago in March, to protect our students and teachers from a new coronavirus, the Seattle Artist League moved our classes online. The virus was declared a national emergency, and we went into quarantine. We have now been in quarantine for thirteen months. Through this year, we have met each other online to draw, …
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[image_with_animation image_url=”9902″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] As part of our Art & Activism series with Fredericka Foster and the Salish Sea Project, the League has adopted an orca whale. Proceeds from orca adoptions support ongoing education, research and public outreach through the Whale Museum. There were many whales up for adoption, and League artists voted to adopt Lazuli, an …
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