art and artists Archives - Evanston Public Library

Hilary Mantel – Author, Award Winner, Artist's Model

February 13, 2014

On February 24, a portrait of Booker prize-winning author Hilary Mantel by Nick Lord will be on display at the British Library – making it the first painting of a living author to be displayed there. Although she had complained in the past that women are depicted in portraits as the “passive recipients of an artist’s gaze or a camera’s gaze,” she said she is “thrilled” with the Mr. Lord’s work. The 25-year-old artist won the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year competition and received 10,000 pounds to paint Ms. Mantel’s portrait. Read more in the NYT and Telegraph articles. And check the EPL catalog for books by the acclaimed author.

Laura

Gallery Shopping for Art – So 20th Century

August 7, 2013

Looking for that special painting for your living room wall? – try Amazon’s new fine art site Amazon Art. Including more than 150 galleries and dealers from New York, Miami, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Canada, the site allows customers to purchase original art ranging from a “$10 screen print by the up-and-comer Ryan Humphrey to a $4.85 million painting by Norman Rockwell.” The current listings also include a $1.4 million painting by French impressionist Claude Monet called: “L’Enfant a la tasse, portrait de Jean Monet.” According to vice president for the Amazon Marketplace “Amazon Art gives galleries a way to bring their passion and expertise about the artists they represent to our millions of customers”, But not all gallery owners are flocking to sign up. Patricia Bransten, director of one of San Francisco’s most respected galleries said that “unlike books or wine, people like to look at art in person before they buy it.” Check out these articles from the NYT and NPR, as well as customer comments on the Monet painting: “Is there a Kindle edition available,” asked one reviewer; Pros include “Looks good above my toilet” and “Fast shipping,”

Laura

Cutting-Edge Books

March 8, 2012

Known as “The Book Surgeon” artist Brian Dettmer dissects books with knives, tweezers, and surgical tools to create these amazing works of art. Using out-of-date encyclopedias, medical journals, illustration books, or dictionaries, he carves one page at a time and manipulates the pages and spines to form the shape of his unique sculptures. Originally from Chicago, Dettmer lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia.

Laura