| Term | Description |
Cabinet Portrait | An oil painting that is larger than a miniature but smaller than life size. The term is applied to late 18th and 19th century portraits in Classical Realist style. Source: Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art" |
Cadmium Red | A brilliant color, dense, opaque and permanent, made from cadmium sulfide and cadmium selenide. Cadmium is a chemical element of soft, metal, found with zinc ores and said to be cancer causing. It is used primarily in batteries and pigments, especially in plastic products. For pigments, the shades are light red, which replaced the less reliable vermilion, and deep red or maroon, which first appeared in Germany where it was introduced in 1907 by de Haen. By 1919, American artists were using Cadmium Red. It is available in a pure grade or with cadmium-barium, which has cadmium sulfate as part of the pigment and which is preferred by most artists. In 1942, the term 'cadmium-barium' was adopted by the Paint Standard, the entity which establishes environmental criteria for paint. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadmium (LPD) |
Cadmium Yellow | Made from cadmium sulfide, a metal often found with zinc ores and said to be cancer causing. It is frequently used in batteries and pigments. Cadmium Yellow was discovered in 1817 in Germany by Friedrich Strohmeyer. Because of scarcity of the metal, it was several years before it was used by artists. By 1829, German artists were using the color, and several years later it appeared in France. It was made in England by the mid-19th Century, and was in New York by the early 1840s. The color of Cadmium Yellow is brilliant, dense, opaque and permanent. Shades range from pale and light or lemon to medium or deep golden to orange. Cadmium Yellow can be obtained in a pure grade or with barium sulfate; the latter being preferred by most artists because it is just as permanent but not as strong in color. In 1942, the term 'cadmium-barium' was adopted by the Paint Standard, the entity which establishes environmental criteria for paint. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadmium (LPD) |
Calendar Painting | A painting possessing a pleasant subject matter, rarely coupled with lasting art value. |
California Art Club | Founded in 1906 by ten Los Angeles painters as the Painter's Club, its successor, the California Art Club became the most important art organization in Southern California. The Painter's Club had the commitment of meeting regularly, critiquing each other's work, and holding regular exhibitions. Membership was limited to males only. By 1909, the group had disbanded but quickly reorganized, not only with male painters, but with sculptors and females, and with the new name, California Art Club. William Wendt served as President for the first six years. Most of the early artist members painted landscapes in the Barbizon manner of rural subjects, rich colors, and interplay of sunlight and shadow. However, palettes lightened under influence of clear California atmosphere and generally sunny climate, and of artists returning from France where Impressionism and plein-air painting were major art movements. A "Los Angeles Times" reviewer, April 8, 1917, wrote of the 1917 California Art Club exhibition . . ."there was a time when artists thought they could paint without light and when air was hardly considered. That time seems prehistoric to us now, but it was really only a few years ago. Today the search for light and air is pursued with enthusiasm and we refuse to consider seriously the picture that is without them." During the Depression, membership lagged, but in 1993, Pasadena painter Peter Adams spearheaded a revival and served as CAC President. By the year 2000, there were several thousand members, including 45 signature members, 350 artist members, and 1300 patron members. Artist members include Mabel Alvarez, Clyde Forsythe, Samuel Hyde Harris, Kevin Macpherson, Franz Bischoff, Jessie Botke, Maurice Braun and Guy Rose. Sources: website of the California Art Club; Nancy Dustin Wall Moure, "California Art: 450 Years of Painting & Other Media"; AskART database. (LPD) |
California Decorative Style | The California expression of the Arts and Crafts Movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Leaders were Arthur and Lucia Mathews. Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940" |
California School of Design/Mark Hopkins Institute | Established in 1874, the California School of Design began as the San Francisco Art Association School of Design and was established by the San Francisco Art Association led by President William Alvord. A collection of casts for students to copy was donated by the French government as a thank you for relief-fund gifts France had received earlier from San Francisco citizens after the Franco-Prussian War. Each School session ended with an exhibition of work by the students. Virgil Williams became the first director and served until his death in 1886. One of its most influential Directors was Arthur Mathews, who in 1890, followed Emil Carlsen who had directed from 1886. Mathews injected many French ideas of painting into the curriculum, and his teaching from the Institute of his own Tonalist style caused that style to dominate painting in Northern California for many years. Among distinguished faculty members were Thomas Hill, Amedee Joullin, Raymond Dabb Yelland and Oscar Kunath. In 1893, the name became the Mark Hopkins Institute, which became affiliated with the University of California. Other name changes have occurred. From 1906 to 1916, it was the San Francisco Institute of Art; from 1916 to 1961, California School of Fine Arts; and from 1961 to the present, San Francisco Art Institute. Source: Robert Howe Fletcher, editor, “The California School of Design: Supplement of the Mark Hopkins Institute Review of Art”, June, 1902, Vol. 1, No. 5.
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California Style | A movement in watercolor painting that flourished in California between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s and "gave the traditional watercolor medium a bold new look". Leaders were a group of young artists studying at the Chouinard Art Institute and included Millard Sheets, Phil Dike, Lee Blair, Tom Craig, Barse Miller, Paul Sample, Hardie Gramatky, Emil Kosa, Jr., James Patrick and Phil Paradise. These early exponents of the California Style were members of the California Water Color Society. They and their followers painted boldly and directly in realist style onto large sheets of paper with minimal sketching and often allowed the white of the paper to show through. Their subject matter was the landscape and genre of Southern California. In Northern California, representative leaders were Dong Kingman, George Post, and Maurice Logan. Source: Gordon McClelland and Jay Last, "The California Style"
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California Water Color Society | An association that by the end of the 20th century has become the largest regional water media organization in California. Its resources are dedicated to the artistic growth of artists of all ages, and to the awarding of scholarship funds to students to help further their study of art. The California Water Color Society was established to provide an exhibition venue for watercolor paintings to encourage artists in that medium and to further public appreciation of watercolor. It was one of the most important art clubs to form in California after World War I, although New York had clubs devoted to watercolor from the mid 19th century. Originally there were fourteen members of the CWCS, and Dana Bartlett was the first president. The first exhibition was held in 1921 at the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art. Artists entering work were Marion Wachtel, Carl Oscar Borg, William Ritschel, Donna Schuster, Dana Bartlett, Hanson Puthuff, John Cotton, Edouard Vysekal, Charles L.A. Smith, Henri De Kruif, Max Wieczorek, Karl Yens, Crafts Watson and Birger Sandzen. Throughout the 1920s, the California Water Color Society grew to over 100 members, and most of them were represented by galleries, which in turn were a promotional vehicle for the watercolors. (Winslow Homer is generally credited by art historians as the first artist to treat watercolor with the same respect as oils.)Sources: Gordon T. McClelland and Jay T. Last, "California Watercolors, 1850-1970"; Nancy Moure, "California Art"; www.californiawatercolor.org; www.californiawatercolor.org (LPD)
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Calligraphy | Handwriting as art. In printing and drawing, Calligraphy is a free and rhythmic use of line to accentuate design, and often has more focus on design than legibility. Lettering pens are the primary tool used in modern Calligraphy, and quill pens or fine brushes were used in Medieval manuscripts. Japanese wood-block prints and Chinese scrolls have much Calligraphy, and the term derives from Oriental art, which often has little distinction between painting and handwriting. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" (LPD) |
Calotype | Invented in 1840 by William Henry Fox, an Englishman, it was a photographic process that produced a paper negative from which supposedly unlimited photographic prints could be made. Unlike the daguerreotype process, which utilized a unique metal plate, Calotypes opened the door to using photography in publishing. However, the grainy texture of the Calotype paper was its fatal flaw, and it was replaced by 1860 with the glass-plate negative. Source: Robert Atkins, "Artspoke",p. 76 |
Camaieu | A painting or decoration done in varying shades of the same color. A monochrome painting. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Camera Lucida | A term from an Italian word meaning "light chamber", which was an optical device invented in 1674 by Richard Hooke and redesigned and patented in 1807 by William Hyde Wollaston. A Camera Lucida projects an image on a surface so that it can be traced. The technique is used by many commercial artists because of the ease of copying accurately and also because the mechanism allows for size variations. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" (LPD) |
Camera Obscura | An optical device, it is usually a box with a small peephole through which an object outside is reflected by a double convex lens onto a surface. From there, the image can be traced, and if desired, made larger or smaller proportionately. This method insures accuracy and flexibility, which was especially handy for topographical artists commissioned to return from explorer expeditions with accurate drawings. "Camera obscura" is an Italian term dating to Renaissance inventor Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472), who popularized the method, which, in turn, dated back to principles of Aristotle. Today "Camera Obscura" is practically obsolete, replaced by its successor, the camera.
Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms"(LPD) |
Camera Original | The film exposed in the camera, which remains the first and most important source for the image.
Source: www.maltwood.uvic.ca/spreitz/biography/biography-print.html |
Canadian Group of Painters | Formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1933 as the successor to the Group of Seven (see AskART Glossary), its primary purposes were to exhibit work by its members, to encourage ‘more modern ideas of technique and subject' and, like the G7, make themselves "felt as a countrywide influence in terms of the creative spirit."* Whereas, the Group of Seven was primarily composed of male English speaking landscape painters from Toronto, the scope of the CGP was intended to be more diverse and progressive. Thus, its membership was modernist artists from many different regions of Canada; its accepted subject matter included figurative, portrait and abstract works in addition to landscapes; and of the 28 original members 9 were women. Oddly, its first exhibition, in the summer of 1933, was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey and was sponsored by the H.J. Heinz Company (its second show was in November of that year at the Art Gallery of Toronto). Thereafter, they had annual November exhibitions at various venues across Canada. The Group expanded over the years, and many of the best-known Canadian artists exhibited with it up to the time it disbanded in 1969. Sources: "Four Decades - The Canadian Group of Painters and their contemporaries - 1930 - 1970" (1972), by Paul Duval and "The Group of Seven - Art for a Nation"(1995), by Charles C. Hill. * Lawren Harris to L.L.Fitzgerald (1933). Written and submitted by M.D. Silverbrooke, Art Historian and Collector, West Vancouver, British Columbia. |
Canadian Society of Graphic Art | See Print and Drawing Council of Canada. |
Canvas | A heavy, woven fabric used for support for artwork, usually oil paintings, and considered desirable by painters because of the regular texture and flexibility. The negative is that canvas can expand or contract by weather circumstances over the years. Usually canvas is sold by rolls and is made of sturdy Belgian linen. Cotton canvas is an inferior substitute. After being cut to size, canvas, in order to be usable for painters, must be stretched over a frame and primed. Many artists buy pre-stretched and pre-primed canvas. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" (LPD) |
Canvas Board | Cardboard or pasteboard, which has been primed so it is ready to receive oil paint. It is cheap, handy because it is sold in stock sizes, and portable for outdoor sketching, but not recommended for paintings intended to last a long time. Canvas board is good practice material for beginning and/or quick-sketching artists. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" (LPD) |
Carbonari | An informal group of wood engravers in East Orange, New Jersey in the late 1880s. In 1885, they hired William Baer to give them drawing lessons at five dollars a class, which was held at Brick Church. Source: David Dearinger, "Painting and Sculpture in the Collection of the National Academy of Design". |
Cardboard | A surface with layers of pasted paper, with top sheet often being of better quality than the other sheets. Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" (LPD) |
Caricature | A picture, usually a portrait or figures with exaggerated, often humorously distorted features to convey satire---foibles of society, institutions, etc. It is a style often used by newspaper illustrators and cartoonists. The name likely derives from the Carracci Circle, a group of satirical cartoonists, in 16th-century Rome. Well known satirists in history include Englishman William Hogarth (1697-1764) and Frenchman, Honore Daumier (1808-1879). Among noted American caricaturists are Albert Hirschfeld, Gaston Lachaise, Saul Steinberg, David Levine and William Auerbach-Levy. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Kimberley Reynolds & Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms"; AskART database (LPD) |
Carmel Art Association | Founded in 1927 in Carmel, California, the Carmel Art Association is the only gallery in Carmel that shows exclusively work by local artists. The Association is composed of local artists, selected by their peers. It is the second oldest operating non-profit artist cooperative in the United States, and exists to provide its members with a permanent art gallery, to advance knowledge of, and interest in the arts, and to create a spirit of cooperation and fellowship among artists and the community. Prominent early members included Percy Gray, Armin Hansen, Henrietta Shore, Ferdinand Burgdorff and Elizabeth Strong. The first gathering to form the organization was in the home of Josephine Culbertson and Ida Johnson. Guest speaker was Ada Belle Champlin from the Laguna Beach Art Association, and she talked about the advantages of forming a local art association. The first space was in the Seven Arts Building at Lincoln Street and Ocean Avenue. Rent was thirty dollars a month and Miss Kathryn Corrigan was the Curator. Since then the space has been expanded and annual exhibits are held as are lectures and demonstrations. The first exhibit was miniature paintings called "Thumb-box Sketches", and this show became an annual event. Sources: William Stone, President, "Celebrating 75 Years of Local Art", Carmel Art Association 1927-2002, www.carmelart.org (LPD)
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Carmine | Red pigment made from cochineal, insects found in Mexico. It was important to artists for paintings and women as a cosmetic in the mid-16th to 19th centuries. Carmine first appeared in Spain in 1560. Burnt Carmine, made by roasting Carmine, was a purple-brown color. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" |
Carnegie International | A series of art exhibits intended to bring cutting-edge art to Pittsburgh. The modern art shows were initiated beginning 1896 by Pittsburgh philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and held in his three-story, Renaissance style Carnegie Museum of Art. The exhibition, actually an evolving series of exhibitions, has become one of the premier modern art exhibition venues in the United States. Its organization has changed from being a juried annual, to a biennial to a triennial. At times it was a one-person exhibition and then a two-person show. Beginning in the last quarter of the 20th Century, it has been held every four years with an in-house curator and a committee of outside advisers. Among participating artists are Andrew Wyeth, Charles Burchfield, Stuart Davis and Kenneth Adams. Sources: Gregory Volk, 'Let's Get Metaphysical', "Art in America", March 2005; AskART database (LPD) |
Carolina Art Association | Formed in 1857 by Charleston, South Carolina business and professional persons with the purpose of promoting fine arts in the state. The first exhibition was April, 1858, with 176 borrowed works from private collections. Through membership dues and special events, Association members raised enough money to buy works of art for a collection that, thanks to an initial endowment of $100,000 by James Gibbes, Sr., led to the founding of the Gibbes Museum of Art. The opening was April, 1905, and that same year, women, for the first time, were allowed into Association membership. Active female exhibiting artists included Elizabeth Verner, Alice Smith and Leila Waring. Alfred Hutty was a prestigious teacher and was sponsored by the Association for classes at the Museum. Source: http://www.carolinaarts.com/905carolinaaa.html |
Carolingian Art | European art from the 8th and 9th centuries, beginning with the reign of Charlemagne and ending with Louis the Pious. This Middle Age period, inspired by the vision of Charlemagne who wanted to revive the fine arts styles of ancient Rome, was unique because of the focus on Classical Roman art. The center was the court of the Emperor at Aachen. The movement was much reflected in monasteries with illuminated manuscripts that reflected Roman and Byzantine models. The Carolingian workshops became known for their workmanship in gold, silver and gems. Sources: Kimberley Reynolds & Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms"; Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" (LPD) |
Carrara Marble | A famous kind of marble, known for its purity and named for the Carrara district of about 500 quarries in Italy near the towns of Apuania and Carrara. However, this high-quality marble is only about ten percent of the stone excavated, and the lesser-quality material is widely in demand for tombstones, building exteriors, pavement, etc. The quarries lie in the mountains above the town of Carrara. From a description provided in the late 19th-century, when many American sculptors were living nearby and using the marble, it is learned that the marble was quarried by dynamite, which created fragments. Then thousands of workmen, suspended by ropes, cut the fragments into blocks, which were hauled by oxen-drawn wagons to a railway that took them into the town of Carrara. There several thousand workmen refined the marble for the many sculptors, working from studios in Carrara, and for transport to other destinations such as the American sculptors’ colony in Florence that included Hiram Powers, his sons Preston Powers and Longworth Powers, Thomas Ball, Daniel Chester French, Joel Hart and William Couper. The origins of Carrara Marble go back millions of years when the region was covered by water, which left a deep limestone bed from the layers of many dead organisms when the water receded. Heat and pressure then formed mountains, which condensed the limestone into hard crystalline rock of which the purist is white Seravezza, used extensively by ancient Romans. However, with the collapse of the Roman Empire, the quarries ceased to be used until the eleventh century when townspeople such as the Pisans were building cathedrals. Carrara is especially associated with the sculpture of Michelangelo in the 15th century during the Italian Renaissance. Today the quarries of Carrara are still used, although large-scale dynamiting has been replaced by more controlled methods of drilling holes along excavation lines, inserting wooden plugs that fill with water, expand and form cracks. Metal wedges are inserted into the cracks to ply the blocks loose. Then a small bit of dynamiting moves the blocks to a position where they can be sliced by a special wire into desired shapes. Marble has grain, similar to meat, and must be carved by the dictates of the grain. Trucks carry the marble to the town of Carrara or to nearby beaches for loading onto ships. As a result of the intense quarrying activity, “remnants of marble dust and stone fragments covered the hillsides like snow and caused the rivers to resemble milk. The workers walked the streets like apparitions, painted white by the dust.” (71) Today Carrara remains the largest center for the processing of marble, and seventy percent of the exported marble in the world is shipped from its port. The supply is thought to be “endless” and the marble quality remains constant, with newly-quarried marble easily matched to marble quarried many years earlier, thus facilitating repairs and replacement to damaged areas in buildings or sculptures made from Carrara Marble. Source: Greta Elena Couper, “An American Sculptor on the Grand Tour”. |
Carrig-Rohane Frame | Frames created by painters Hermann Dudley Murphy, Charles Prendergast and W. Alfred Thulin in the early 20th century and named for the home and studio of Murphy in Winchester, Massachusetts. The motivation grew from the tenet of the prevailing Aesthetic Movement, a commitment they shared that art expression should be total in all aspects of the work. In the spirit of James McNeill Whistler, who taught the philosophy of the Aesthetic Movement to American artists in Europe including Murphy, Hermann Murphy began building frames for his paintings shortly after his return from Europe in 1897. When he moved to Winchester in 1903, he was joined in a framing business by Charles Prendergast and later by W. Alfred Thullin. Working from a shop in the basement of Murphy’s home, the artists produced frames inscribed "Carrig-Rohane". They were hand-carved gold-leafed frames and became popular because they suited the gentle images of the Tonalist style of paintings by many of the leading artists of the time. In 1905, these artist-framers moved their shop to Boston. At first the frames were carved according to Murphy’s designs, but eventually the company hired artists, and the shop entered into a partnership whereby the business merged with Vose Galleries of Boston. Source: Spanierman Galleries, LLC; Hermann Dudley Murphy', "The Poetic Vision: American Tonalism", 2005 Gallery exhibition catalogue. (LPD) |
Cartoon | A humorous drawing, often for a newspaper or magazine. Originally the term dates to Europe during the Renaissance to describe an exact-to-size drawing for a painting, tapestry or mural. The cartoonist then could use several methods to use the drawing as the guide for the completed work including poking holes with a needle around the outline to receive powdered pigment. Craftsmen then used these cartoons as a guide for the finished tapestry, stained-glass window, mosaic, etc. The word cartoon is from the Italian word "cartone", which was a reference to the paper on which the drawing was done. Noted American cartoonists include Thomas Nast, James Swinnerton, James Thurber, Rube Goldberg, Walt Disney, Peter Arno, Bill Mauldlin, Charles Adams, Jules Feiffer, Al Capp, Ernie Bushmiller, Herb Block, Patrick Oliphant, Chic Young and George Harriman. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Kimberley Reynolds & Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms"; AskART database. (LPD) |
Cartouche | A scroll-shaped ornamentation, usually oval or lozenge-shaped, for holding or framing an inscription such as in a plate attached to a painting that has the title and artist. The Egyptians used Cartouches for featuring the title and name of a king. They were used frequently in the 16th and 17th centuries on the covers of books to showcase the titles. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms"; Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" (LPD) |
Carver/Carving | Sculpture terms for a person (carver) or process (carving) involed with incising a hard material such as wood, varieties of stones, and metal into a form and the resulting shape. Among fine-art specialists, the finished piece is usually referred to as sculpture rather than carving unless it is by a naive or amateur artist. However, some contemporary sculptors are referring to themselves as Carvers. Cutting tools used by Carvers include hammers, mallets, chisels, knives, points and adzes. During the Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo did his own marble carving, usually working alone from a sketch of one-tenth size. Sculptors working with marble such as the neo-classical American sculptors in Italy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries had studio assistants who, working from the design of the sculptor, did most of the actual stonework. When a design was ready for carving, the stone block, usually marble, was brought to the studio, scrutinized for flaws, tapped with a hammer for solidity, and rinsed in clear water to reveal specks or undesirable coloration. A pointing machine was used to transfer the design from plaster to marble, and other devices such as calipers and geometric angles were used for enlarging. After these basic carving levels were determined, the studio assistants went to work. In this context they were referred to as Carvers, a term of professional distinction from the Sculptor. These Carvers did highly skilled, specialized tasks such as carving pedestals and hair, facial features, limbs and hands on figures. In the Victorian era, when there was much demand in America for allegorical and commemorative statuary, very few sculptors had the time (and some lacked the ability) to do the actual labor. However these sculptors including Florentine residents Hiram Powers, Thomas Crawford, William Couper and Thomas Ball often made modifications as the work progressed. Into the 20th century, bronze replaced marble and other stones as the material of choice, but American sculptors continued to work with stone. With this medium, Isamu Noguchi did much of his own carving, and, although he too had assistants, he personally spent much time sorting through stones in quarries such as Mure or the islands of Shodoshima and Kitagishima in Japan. For him, finding just the right stone for a particular purpose was a "once-in-a lifetime opportunity". (Duus 319) In America, some of the earliest wood carvers were church decorators such as early 19th century Jose Aragon of New Mexico and Norwegian-American Herbjorn Gausta. William Rush who lived in Pennsylvania in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was noted for his carved wood figureheads for ships. Among folk artists is a strong tradition of direct carving such as Henry Church who did rock carving, and Sulton Rogers of Mississippi, who did fanciful and sometimes erotic woodcarvings. Twentieth-century fine-art sculptors whose names are associated with stone, wood, and metal carving include Gaston Lachaise, who worked with marble and alabaster as well as bronze; Nicolai Fechin, who carved primitive-looking wood figures; and Louise Nevelson, whose signature work is carved wood assemblages. Likely the most famous name in American art linked to carving is Gutzom Borglum, who designed and oversaw the creation of the Presidents carved from the rock at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Sometimes referenced as “sculpture with dynamite” (Samuels 58), it remains one of the most massive carvings in this country. Comparable in size, however, might be the work of sculptors known for Earthworks, carvings into the earth to alter natural environment such as the efforts of Michael Heizer or Robert Smithson. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Greta Elena Couper, “An American Sculptor on the Grand Tour”; Masayo Duus, "The Life of Isamu Noguchi"; Harold and Peggy Samuels, “The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West”; AskART database (LPD) |
Caryatid | An architectural term associated with Greek classical style and descriptive of a graceful female figure in flowing robe serving as a column supporting an entablature. The word derives from the young women of Caryae in Laconia who did ritual dances at the festival of Artemis. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" |
Casein | Milk protein that is used as a binder in colors for paintings, as an adhesive, and also as a binder for gesso when preparing grounds for painting. The base of Casein is a yellow powder that is made by drying the curd of skim milk. When mixed with water and dry pigments, Casein makes an excellent paint. It was first widely used in the 19th century, and some historians think it was used earlier by painters and sculptors of early civilizations. It is known that a glue from curd was used by Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Hebrews, and it is mentioned as an adhesive in 11th-century manuscripts. However as a binder in paint it is not referenced earlier than the 18th century. More recently it has has been very popular for commercial illustration until acrylics became highly developed. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" |
Casein Paint | Pigments mixed with a casein binder, meaning from milk proteins extracted from curd. Casein is both an adhesive by itself, but when used as a binder, causes paint to be too brittle for use on canvas. However, artists like to use casein paints because of an agreeable consistency, quick-drying capacity and durable matt surface that does not require a gloss, protective surface. But varnish can be applied in the usual way.
Source: Kimberley Reynolds & Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Casting | A method used by sculptors to make copies of their work. Material such as clay, metal or plastic is placed in a mold and allowed to harden, thereby taking on the shape of the confining mold. Most commonly casting is done at a foundry from a mould made from a clay or wax original form. Molten metal is poured into the mold and hardens. The method is most often associated with bronze sculpture and is known as the lost wax method when a wax form is used. Sources: Kimberley Reynolds & Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms"; Artlex.com. (LPD) |
Catalogue Raisonne | A complete, annotated catalogue listing and/or illustrating all known works of a particular artist. It provides details, in particular, of the present condition, photographs, chronology, and provenance of each work. Source: Artlex.com. |
Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club | Established in 1896 by Catharine Lorillard Wolfe (1828-1887) a prominent New York philanthropist, the purpose was to support and encourage New York City women artists and to gain public recognition for them through exhibitions. Wolfe was a collector of leading-edge art, and the only woman among the 106 founders of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She left her large collection and $200,000. to the Museum. She also played a significant role in urban development, funding lodging for newsboys and bootblacks and then gave "staggering sums" for a commodious orphanage for boys, specifying that no boy could be turned away. Members of the Art Club included Harriet Frishmuth, Blanche Lazzell, Laura Mitchell; Margaret Stuber Pearson, Josephine Paddock Sources: www.clwac.org; Laura Claridge, "Emily Post", 27-29; Wikepedia; AskART database (LPD)
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Cave Art | Pictorial paintings, drawings and carvings from the Stone Age and first found in the Altamira Caves in Spain in 1879. The best-known cave art is at Lascaux in France. It is believed that the designs have religious or magical significance and were usually done with charcoal or natural pigments mixed with fats. Source: Kimberley Reynolds & Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Celadon | A soft ceramic glaze with iron content. It is created by reduction through fire whereby red iron oxide is reduced to black. Resulting colors include olive green, gray-green or gray. Celadon Ware is associated with the Sung Dynasty in China and valued for its resemblance to jade. Many westerners find it highly collectible. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" |
Celluloid | Marketing name for the first synthetic plastic, celluloid looked like elephant ivory. One of the first uses was in 1876 with billiard balls. Later, plastics were acceptable unto themselves instead of serving as an imitator of more "valuable" products. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"- |
Celtic Art | Decorative art in France and England between the 5th and 6th centuries BC. Most surviving examples are decorated weapons, wood carvings, musical instruments, pottery and jewelry. Source: Kimberley Reynolds & Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Century Association | An elite New York City private club established in 1847, its members included painters, sculptors, authors, architects, and other persons with deep interest in letters and the fine arts. Among the members were John Bunyan Bristol, Gifford Beal, Albert Bierstadt, Winslow Homer, and Theodore Wores. The Association grew out of the Sketch Club, which had been founded by William Cullen Bryant and friends in 1829. The Century Association was located at 46 East 8th Street in Greenwich Village from 1852 to 1857, and since 1891, at 7 West 43st Street in a club house designed by Stanford White. The Association has an art collection, and an ongoing tradition of exhibitions by its members. In 1989, after a tremendous "row", the club began admitting women members. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_Association; AskART database (LPD) |
Ceramics/Ceramists | The art of making objects of clay and then firing them in a kiln. It is one of the ancient arts and embraces porcelain, earthenware and sculpted figures. The coil method is one of the most common ways of building pottery, and other methods are building with slabs and potter's wheels. Persons who make wares of earthenware and porcelain are called ceramists. The Archie Bray Foundation near Helena, Montana is the only American residency program focused solely on ceramics. Among well-known American ceramists are Peter Voulkos, William King, Hanum Tschacbasov, Marilyn Levine, Adaline Kent, David Gilhooly, William Artis, and Beatrice Wood. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms"; AskART database |
Ceroplastics | The art of modeling with wax, and especially used for death masks, ceroplastic artists include Raphael Beck, Ball Hughes and Reuben Moulthrop. Source: Kimberley Reynolds & Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Cerulean Blue | A bright, deep blue of permanent pigment from cobalt stannate. The process was perfected in Germany in 1805 by a man named Hopfner and was introduced in England in 1870 with the name of coeruleum, from the Latin word "caeruleum", meaning sky blue. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques".
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Ceruse | A name no longer in use for white, lead-based paint. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Kimberley Reynolds & Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Chalk | The name for white drawing material that is called Native Chalk, when derived from calcium carbonate or limestone, and Precipitated Chalk, when made from artificial calcium carbonate. Chalks can be used by themselves or mixed with pigments for color and gum binder to make pastels. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Kimberley Reynolds & Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Chalk Talks | Lectures or speeches supplemented by drawings or other visual aids. Thomas Beard (1842-1905) is credited as being the originator, and was for many years a lecturer at Chautauqua in upstate New York. He used chalk and blackboards to illustrate his presentations. The term has taken on the broad meaning of that which is supplemented with visual materials. Among American chalk-talk artists are Signe Larson, Joseph Willis, Frances Karlsson and Charles Morgan. Source: Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"; AskART Database, (LPD) |
Chaloner Fellowship | Offered by the National Academy of Design in New York City and funded by the Chaloner Foundation from 1915 to 1984, it was a much coveted prize of $10,000 to fund three years of study in Europe with a rent-free studio and travel allowance. Founded in 1890 and named for attorney John Armstrong Chaloner, it was directed to figure drawing and painting specialists. Recipients include Michael Lenson, Herbert Fink, Louis Lucioni, Judith Allen, Lawton Parker, Bryson Burroughs and Frede Vidar. Source: www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,882820,00.html; AskART database (LPD) |
Charcoal | Black drawing material made of slowly charred wood and available in varying degrees of hardness. It is one of the oldest materials used for drawing and is manipulated with the thumb or a "stump", a special crayon-shaped implement. Because of susceptibility to smudging, the finished charcoal drawing needs to be sprayed with a fixative in order to be permanent. Many artists do preliminary drawings with charcoal. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" |
Charcoal Club | Actually two clubs with the same name in separate cities, a Charcoal Club was established in 1883 in Baltimore, and another was organized in Philadelphia. Rebellion against tradition underlay both entities, but other than similar purpose they shared no direct ties. In Philadelphia, rebellion against the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts was the primary motive. The Philadelphia Charcoal Club remains the better known. Leaders were Robert Henri and John Sloan and other members included Everett Shinn, William Glackens, George Luks, Stirling Calder and Edward Davis. Most of them studied with Thomas Anshutz. Their literary heroes were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emile Zola, and Henry David Thoreau. This Charcoal Club dissipated in the late 1900s when Henri and Sloan and some of the others moved to New York City and took up Social Realist painting, which was an extension of their non-academic commitments in painting. In Baltimore, The Charcoal Club was a reaction against the prudishness of Baltimore residents who perceived that using nude models was indecent behavior. There the Charcoal Club provided nude models, and one of its most prominent members was Adalbert Volck, a Baltimore dentist and local artist. The Club also assisted in the formation of a Sketch Club, the Art Club of Baltimore and the Bal des Arts. For many years, the wealth of many of the members allowed palatial surroundings for meetings, but that standard diminished with dwindling membership. In the late 20th century, The Charcoal Club still existed in Baltimore, but membership numbered less than fifty. In its prime, The Club held weekly meetings, frequent exhibitions and other social functions. Its historical papers from 1888 to 1970 are in the Maryland Historical Society. Sources: http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/2aa/2aa315.htm; http://www.mdhs.org/library/Mss/ms001792.html (LPD) |
Charleston Renaissance | A term referencing the years 1915 to 1940 when citizens of Charleston, South Carolina focused on revitalzing their city from its economic and cultural stagnation after the Civil War. Local artists became very active by using their greatest assets---"beauty, tradition and romance" to honor the past and give direction to the future. Artists and other civic leaders formed The Southern Art League in 1921 in Charleston to promote art and artist of the region. Prominent as leading Charleston Renaissance artists were Elizabeth O'Neill Varner, Alfred Hutty, Alice Ravenel Huger Smith and Anna Heyward Taylor. Source: Martha R. Severens, "The Charleston Renaissance" |
Chase School of Art | Named for William Merritt Chase, founder and teacher, the School began in 1896 in New York City as the Chase School of Art. Two years later, it was renamed the The New York School of Art. Chase taught there until 1907, and Robert Henri was on the faculty from 1902 to 1908. The impetus for Chase to start the school was his displeasure with the methods of the Art Students League where he was for many years a leading teacher. He did not like forcing students to draw first from the antique before they could use color and express their own imagination. He said: "I prefer that my pupils begin to draw from life. . . .For a youngster to go into a classroom filled with casts of the antique is as disheartening as to go to a graveyard." (Pisano 24) At the Chase School students did not have to pass admission tests, nor enter competitions, and they could begin by working directly from life and not plaster models.
Sources: Judith Newton & Carol Weiss, "Skirting the Issue"; Ron Pisano, "A Leading Spirit in American Art"; Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art". (LPD) |
Chiaroscuro | An Italian word that means light (chiaro) and dark (scuro), it is used to describe artwork that has a pronounced balance and contrast between light and dark. The technique dates to Italian Renaissance methods of creating spatial and depth illusions around figures in a composition. Rembrandt and DaVinci were especially noted as painters of chiaroscuro. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Kimberley Reynolds & Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" (LPD) |
Chicago Academy of Design | Founded in 1866 by 35 artists in Chicago in a studio on Dearborn Street with purposes of having a tuition free school with an art gallery and, like European academies, to have Full Academicians and Associate Academicians. Classes cost $10.00 per month and met every day. In 1870, a new facility opened at 66 West Adams Street. However, the Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed the building, and subsequent debt led to the Academy's dissolution in 1879. It was replaced with the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, which in 1882 changed its name to the Art Institute of Chicago. Among teachers of the CAD were John Drury, Henry Chapman Ford; John Vanderpoel, George Healy and Annie Shaw, who became the first full member of the Academy. Sources: wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_the_Art_Institute_of_Chicago; AskART database; (LPD) |
Chicago Academy of Fine Arts | Predecessor of the Art Institute of Chicago, and successor to the Chicago Academy of Design, this entity was incorporated in 1879 and bought the assets of the Chicago Academy of Design. In 1882, it was replaced in building and name by the Art Institute of Chicago. Source: Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_the_Art_Institute_of_Chicago (LPD) |
Chicago Exposition of 1893 | A celebration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, this Exposition was a huge fair held on 686 acres of undeveloped land in Jackson Park in Chicago. Members of the United States Congress selected the site and designated Frederick Law Olmsted as designer of the specific site. Augustus Saint-Gaudens was Supervisor of Sculpture, whose official style was Classical. A huge lagoon was installed in the central area of the exhibition buildings. Exhibits featured technological progress, architecture, sculpture, and decorative arts. A midway had an amusement park and pavilions for states and nations. The name White City was given to the Fair because the main buildings were made of plaster and horsehair, a temporary material that was gleaming white. There were 200 buildings, displays from 79 countries and 38 states. Highly attended, the event was an unprecedented success of showing the amenities and progress of modern life. Source: Donald Martin Reynolds, "Masters of American Sculpture" |
Chicago Imagism: Monster Roster and Hairy Who | A general term for an art movement in the mid 1960s among a loose association of Chicago artists focused on making art that was individual, incendiary, and irreverent---the opposite of what they regarded as pretentious 'high art'. Styles included primitivism, expressionism, assemblage and surrealism, and subjects often referenced sex and violence. Their ‘in-your-face-anger and assertive autonomy, even from each other, set them apart from developing abstract art movements in the East and West coasts. Imagists briefly came together in exhibitions at the Hyde Park Art Center. Major influences were Roberto Matta and Ray Yoshida, teachers at the Chicago Art Institute, and Illinois painter and graphics artists, Seymour Rosofsky. Other participants were Roger Brown, Leon Golub, Gladys Nilsson, James Nutt, H.C. Westermann, Ed Paschke and Ellen Lanyon, Jim Nutt, Ed Paschke, Karl Wirsum, and Barbara Rossi. Critic Franz Schulze dubbed the group’s 1950s generation including Golub, Lanyon and Rosofsky the “Monster Roster”. The 1960s generation of Brown, Nilsson, Paschke, Nutt and Westermann called themselves the “Hairy Who”. Sources: Robert Atkins, ART SPEAK; Tom Butler, Director, Columbus Museum, Georgia. (LPD) |
Chicago School of Design | See Illinois Institute of Design |
Chicago Society of Etchers | Organized by Bertha Evelyn Clausen Jaques in 1910 and dissolved in 1972, the Chicago Society of Etchers had membership and exhibitions in the United States and abroad. Under the leadership of Jaques, the Society initiated the 20th-century revival of etching, a medium that had been much overlooked by American art professionals as well as the general public. Prominent members included Cornelius Botke, Ralph Fabri, Gene Kloss, Leon Pescheret and Maltby Sykes. Sources: www.aaa.si.edu/collections/collection/chicetch.htm; www.artic.edu/aic/libraries/pubs/1911/AIC1911; //siris-archives.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=full=3100001~!216158!0; (LPD) |
China Painting | A handicraft activity popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries pertaining to the decoration of chinaware. The activity was part of the American Aesthetic Movement that began in the 1870s and was part of a larger movement influenced by the teachings of John Ruskin (1810-1900) of England, provided outlets for women in the creative arts. (See Tile Club for the male counterpart) China paint was applied with colors used for ceramics and with special brushes and articles of white porcelain. It then was fired in a professional kiln. China Painting was a popular diversion as a hobby for females of that era and was also a source of income because of the public demand for hand-painted porcelain. This interest stemmed from the McMiken School of Design in Cincinnati, where a group of female students organized in 1874 an exhibition of exquisitely over-glazed hand-painted china pieces for the Cincinnati Room of the Women's Pavilion at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. The McMiken exhibition received national attention, especially in a national publication, "The Art Amateur", which continued to carry articles promoting China Painting and published professionally designed patterns. The French ceramist, Camille Piton, wrote a treatise, "China Painting in America", which was widely used and which focused on the mechanical aspects of applying paint to china. Using this book as well as her own talents, Cecilia Beaux did China Painting for seven years including a number of portraits, and she exhibited her porcelain plates in the 1880s at the Pennsylvania Academy. Of her, it was written that her "art training, combined with her meticulous perfectionism, made her well-suited for the task, which required more accuracy than artistry.” However, she later renounced these works, calling it the “lowest depth I ever reached in commercial art. . .” Other 19th century women artists who did China Painting include Celia Thaxter, Margaret Overbeck, Margaret Cantwell and Ellsworth Woodward. Judy Chicago greatly expanded the creative potential of China Painting in the late 20th Century. Sources: Alice A. Carter, "Cecilia Beaux, A Modern Painter in the Gilded Age", p. 63; Ralph Meyer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques". AskART biographies. (LPD) |
China Trade Painters | A term referencing a large body of paintings made by anonymous Chinese artists for export trade to the United States and Europe. The paintings were produced after trade was opened with Chinese ports specifically for this market. They constitute an important segment of marine art history and are well recognized by art historians and widely
represented by marine galleries and major international marine museums such as the Peabody Museum in Salem, Massachusetts; the Marine Museum in Newport News, Virginia, etc. Source: Catherine Boisseau, Roger King Gallery of Fine Art Newport, Rhode Island
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Chouinard Art Institute | Founded in 1921 in Los Angeles at 741 South Grand Avenue by landscape painter, and art educator, Nelbert Chouinard, the Institute remained in operation under her direction until her death in 1961. Chouinard had been teaching at the Otis Art Institute and found the enrollment so heavy that she founded her own school to provide uncrowded classrooms. Between 1921-1972, the Chouinard Art Institute had over 50,000 students and 400 teachers, many whom were well known such as Alexander Archipenko, Ed Ruscha, Rico Lebrun, Millard Sheets, Larry Bell, Robert Irwin, Emil Kosa Jr., Kenneth Price and Stanton MacDonald-Wright. In 1935, the state of California gave the school non-profit status, and by 1955, the school was granting Bachelor of Fine Arts Degrees. After Chouinard’s death in 1961, the Institute was merged with the Louisiana Conservator of Music and took the name of California Institute of Arts. Walt Disney was one of the main supporters of the school and its subsequent merger, but it closed in 1972 due to infighting and the firing of most of the staff. A major factor in the closing of the school was the advent of modernist movements such as Conceptualism, which ran counter to the underlying philosophy of many of the Chouinard supporters. In July-August 2001, an exhibition honoring Nelbert Chouinard was held at the Oceanside Museum of Art in Oceanside, California. For the occasion, museum director James R. Pahl wrote: “It would be difficult to find a more powerful influence on the development of Southern California's reputation as a center of 20th Century American art than Mrs. Nelbert Chouinard, founder and guiding light of Chouinard Art Institute from 1921-1972. When Robert Perine brought this concept to Oceanside Museum of Art's Exhibitions staff, we were amazed by the number of distinguished artists and revered teachers that have called themselves Chouinardians. . . . Nelbert Chouinard started out with nothing but her love for young artists and their creative spirit, and her generous need to offer them encouragement and training. Her gift reverberates not only through the impressive fifty-year roster of her students, but through those whom they, in turn, have taught or influenced. I'd venture to say there's barely an artist working in Southern California today who has not been touched in some way by the vision of this richly achieving woman. Sources: Edan Hughes, “Artists in California, 1786-1940”; Peter Falk, “Who Was Who in American Art”; James R. Pahl, http://www.oma-online.org/chouinard.html; http://www.calarts.edu/alumni/chouinard/ (LPD)
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Chroma | A joint term for the hue and saturation but not the value (dark or light) of color. |
Chromolithograph | A lithograph with color, it is the result of a late 19th-century process involving separate stones for each color. The best known and one of the earliest proponents was Julius Bien, a German. The biggest challenge in chromolithography is aligning the paper perfectly when moving from color to color on the respective stones holding each color. Source: Joel Oppenheimer 35th Anniversary Catalogue of The Natural History Art Gallery. |
Chrystalline Glaze | A glaze for ceramics that, when fired, forms well defined crystal patterns. Zinc silicate is the most successful chrystalline glaze but other substances are used. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dicctionary of Art Terms and Techniques" |
Cider Painters of America | Founded in Dallas, Pennsylvania in 1983 to create public awareness of miniature art. The name is deliberately light hearted because members want viewers of miniature art to enjoy themselves. Artists are given size restrictions for their CPA submissions to exhibitions, and an anuual exhibit is held once a year. The work must be smaller than 3" X 5" and in non-traditional medias. Source: http://www.art-in-miniature.org/socus.htm |
Cincinnati Art Club | Established in 1890 by artists and supporters of fine art to promote fellowship and share knowledge about making and appreciating art. Early meetings were held in homes with artist members bringing, for critique, painting and drawing subjects they had been assigned at the previous meeting. Artist Frank Duveneck was one of the key supporters, beginning 1896, and his Sunday life demonstrations were especially popular. After his death, the Memorial Day tradition began of Club members making a pilgrimage to his grave. Other prominent early artist members were Henry Farny, Edward Potthast and Joseph Sharp. Expanded activities were theatricals, dinners and costume parties, although these activities were later set aside for more serious art pursuits. In 1924, the Club was moved into its own building at 527 East Third Street in downtown Cincinnati. Source: Carol Cyran, Cincinnati Art Club exhibition catalogue, "Herman and Bessie Wessel" |
Cinquecento | Refers to the sixteenth century, especially in Italian culture. |
Citrine | (See YELLOW) |
Clair-Obscure | The French for CHIAROSCURO. |
Clarafactionism | An art movement that began in the 1950s, influenced by Surrealism and Futurism, characterised by a photorealistic style of painting. Source: Daniel C. Boyer, Artist |
Classical | Belonging to Greek and Roman antiquity. The term is used to describe art in conformity with the standards of the ancient Greeks and Romans and their emphasis on simplicity of line, symmetry and dignity of subject matter. Source: Michael David Zellman, "300 Years of American Art" |
Classical Abstraction/Geometric Abstraction | The exercise of rigorous intellectual discipline and technical control in abstract painting and sculpture, as in the art of Piet Mondrian, Casimir Malevich, Ben Nicholson, and Barbara Hepworth. Contrasted with abstract expressionism. See Geometric Abstraction. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" |
Classical Realism-Contemporary | An artistic style that encompasses the highest principles of traditional representational art from the ancient Greeks to the present day. The term references careful and accurate drawing, balanced design, harmonious color and skillful craftsmanship. Figure and still life painting are favored subjects. The term was first used by Richard Lack (1928) and was taught by him in the Lack Atelier in Minneapolis, and promoted in his "Classical Realism Quarterly". Among Classical Realist artists are Jacob Collins, Robert Gammell, Frederick Hart, Joseph McGurl, Stephen Gjertson and Michael Whelan. Sources: www.classicalrealism.com; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Realism; AskART database (LPD) |
Classicism | In the broadest artistic sense, art based on the study of classical models, art that emphasizes qualities considered to be characteristically Greek and Roman in style and spirit, i.e. reason, objectivity, discipline, restraint, order, harmony. Often contrasted with Romanticism.
Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" |
Claude Lorrain Glass/Diminishing Glass | A device used to reduce and simplify views of landscapes. By reflecting the scene through a dark, convex lens, the Claude Glass reduces colors in tones alone, and in the process, definition is lost. The term is named for French artist, Claude Lorrain, who is said to have devised such an instrument. Many of the prints and drawings produced with the aid of the Claude Glass are monochrome. This device, also known as Diminishing Glass, reduces dazzle and allows the eye to dwell on the motif, which helped the artist to make the analysis of the scene in tonal terms, un-distracted by color. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" (LPD) |
Clay | An earthy material that is malleable or easily shaped when moist but hard when fired. It is composed primarily of fine particles of hydrous aluminum silicates and other minerals and is used for brick, tile, pottery, ceramics and the initial shaping of much sculpture that is ultimately cast in bronze. Source: "Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary" |
Cliff Dwellers | A Club organized in 1907 in Chicago composed of resident and non-resident elected members, men professionally engaged in the fine arts--- literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, music and drama. Patterning themselves after the Bohemian Club in San Francisco, and the Century and Players in New York, founders had the goal of uniting forces to strengthen fine arts in their city. The Club was initially named the Attic Club, but changed in 1909 to The Cliff Dwellers. Organizing members included William Dean Howells, John T. McCutcheon, Lorado Taft and Wallace Rice. Hamlin Garland was the moving spirit and served as first president. Other members were architect Daniel Burnham; writers Hamlin Garland, James Whitcomb Riley, and Booth Tarkington; businessman, Cyrus McCormick; and Art Institute teacher, J. Wellington Reynolds. The name derived from words referencing cliff dwellers used in the opening ceremony written by Hamlin Garland and Thomas Stevens. The constitution allowed for up to 250 members. The meeting building, completed in 1908, was a top Orchestra Hall, and in 1996 was moved to the 22nd floor penthouse of Michigan Avenue and Adams Street, overlooking Millennium Part and the Art Institute of Chicago. The Club, adhering to its original goal of promoting the arts, is ongoing with membership now open to women. Among the projects are Artist Residencies, Dance Workshops, and film and music programs. Sources: Google Books, "The Cliff Dwellers", published by R.F. Seymour Company, 1910; http://www.cliff-chicago.org/ (LPD) |
Cloissone Enamel | A metal-decorating method whereby the colored areas are separated by flattened wire or metal strips and the colored areas are then filled with porcelain enamel powders or paste, fired, smoothed and polished. Skillfully executed Cloissone has evenly divided areas of color and metal lines flush with the enamel surface. The method was used extensively during the Byzantine era and throughout the Middle Ages in Western Europe. It is also popular in modern-day China and Japan. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" (LPD) |
CoBRA | A post World War II modernist movement of artists and writers whose name is derived from the three native cities of the participants: Copenhagen, Belgium and Amsterdam. Members included Carl Henning Pedersen, Pierre Alechinsky and Karel Appel. The group was part of the post World War II western movement of rebelling against censorship and control of art expression during the Nazi-Germany era. They exhibited together from 1948 to 1951, and, showing influences of primitive art, tended to use violent-appearing brushwork and saturated color. Source: Robert Atkins, ART SPEAK. |
Coiling | A method of forming pottery or sculpture from rolls of clay in a continuous spiral that is smoothed together to form the sides of a jar or pot. Coiling requires the use of much water and slow drying to prevent cracking, and with small pieces, the potter remains seated and rotates the clay, always keeping the palm of the hand to the outside. Source: http://www.uiowa.edu/~intl/rft/slide_show/slide2.html |
Cold Color | Any of the colors in the range from blue to green which, when applied to a surface and contrasted with other colors, appears to retreat, giving an impression of depth. (See WARM COLORS and AERIAL PERSPECTIVE) Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Collage | A technique named for the French word 'coller' meaning 'to glue'. The process involves creating a visual two-dimensional image by gluing together bits of paper, fabric or other natural or manufactured materials to a ground, usually canvas or panel. The introduction of collage as a fine-art method began in 1912 in Paris when Georges Braque purchased a roll of paper in a store in Avignon. In his studio he combined pieces of that paper with charcoal to make the first collage recognized as being more than just a simple home-crafts project. His method was copied by his friend Pablo Picasso, who made the first high-art collage, "Still Life with Chair Caning". It was a chair-caned patterned oilcloth glued to canvas. Shortly after he and Braque made "papiers colles", which are collages made from cut papers, and is linked to the 19th-century pastime of "papiers colles", an art recreation whereby decorative items were made with pasted pieces of colored paper. After World War I, Dada artists made Collages from found objects such as street debris, and Surrealists did Collages from materials that had more symbolic, psychological meaning. Collage in three-dimensional form is called Assemblage and Construction Sculpture. Noted American collage artists are Robert Motherwell, Frank Stella, James Rosenquist, Joseph Cornell, Romare Bearden, Conrad Marca Relli, Vito Acconci, Bruce Conner, Miriam Schapiro, Dorothea Rockburne and Judy Chicago. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms"; Robert Atkins, "Artspoke"; AskART database. (LPD) |
Collograph/Intaglio Print | A print or reproduction made from a block composed of a variety of materials layered on top of each other, becoming a collage. This printmaking method is innovative because standard blocks are made from only one material such as wood in woodblocks and stone for lithographs. Mary Beth Rust of Principle Gallery, Alexandria, Virginia described the Collograph technique of painter and printmaker Treacy Ziegler: "Treacy first lays a black ink block on the paper. She then uses layers of oil, which are hand pulled through her printing press to create positive space. Each Collograph is composed of the black ink, then up to about seven layers of color. Since they are hand pulled, each comes out differently, making them all original works. Another artist known for collagraphs is Clare Romano, who with her husband John Ross has written a book, "The Complete Collagraph." Sources: Mary Beth Rust; Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms"; American Design Ltd. (LPD) |
Collotype | A process developed for inexpensive and large volume mechanical printing before the widespread use of still cheaper offset litho. The results are very similar to photography, and many old postcards are collotypes. However, the process is no longer used commercially. In the 1970s Todd Walker first experimented with the collotype process. It involves a collotype plate made by coating a sheet glass that is pre-coated with a layer of gelatine that has been carefully dried and broken into a finely-grained pattern. The plate is then exposed in contact with the negative by using a UV light source. To make prints, the plate is dampened with a slightly acid glycerine/water mixture, then wiped and blotted before inking with lithographic ink using a roller. Paper is then put on top of the plate and covered before being printed using relatively light pressure, either in a lithographic press or by hand using a firm roller. Sources: http://www.hyperdictionary.com
http://photography.about.com/library/glossary/bldef_collotype.htm (LPD) |
Cologne Group | A name reflecting prominent artists active in Cologne, Germany in the 1980s and 1990s, and who remain at the top of collector lists into the 21st Century. Among them are Martin Kippenberger, Mike Kelley and Christopher Wool. Source: ArtPrice.com |
Color Field Painting | The natural successor to the style Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s and 1960s, Color Field painting was especially influenced by Jackson Pollock and his technique of staining canvases with paint. Color Field painters divorced themselves from the emotive qualities of Abstract Expressionism to create flat, impersonal works, often on a large scale to suppress the artist's feelings with a transcendent beauty. This style "offered a deliberate challenge to the angst-ridden, tough guy paintings" of the Abstract Expressionists according to Karen Wilkin, author of the 1990 book "Kenneth Noland." Key influential Color Field painters were Mark Rothko, Hans Hofmann, Helen Frankenthaller, Ron Davis, Jules Olitski, Kenneth Noland, Larry Poons and Ellsworth Kelly. The movement's chief public exponent was New York art critic, Clement Greenberg, and other promoters were Andre Emmerich, New York Dealer, Michael Fried, writer, and editors of "Artforum" magazine. Source: New York Graphic Society, "The Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms"; AskART database (LPD) |
Color Perspective | (See AERIAL PERSPECTIVE) |
Color Print | A printmaking process utilizing separate blocks, stones, plates or silk-screen stencils to make an impression for each basic color in the resulting print. Sometimes color is added by overprinting of the basic colors. Lithography, silkscreen and woodcuts are best suited for color printing. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" |
Color Theory | In artwork, ideas that relate to mixing color,and creating contrasts to suggest light and dark, warm and cool, distance and aerial perspective. A part of Color Theory is that some colors lose their intensity when paired with other colors, and some colors create much differing impressions dependent upon the size of the color block. Source: Maggie Price, "The Pastel Journal", October 2005, p. 17 |
Color Wheel | A circular grid with mounted colored paper disks that represent the colors based on color theory. This grid is used for color theory demonstration purposes and clearly shows the relationships colors have with each other (complimentary, secondary, tertiary, opposite, etc.) Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms"; Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" (LPD) |
Color/Colour | 1) Pigments, paints, dyes and/or inks mixed together to create hues, tones, intensity and complimentary colors. 2) Paint prepared for an artist's use including oil, watercolor, tempera, gouache, acrylic, and casein. Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Colorado Artists Guild | See Denver Artists Guild |
Colorado Springs Fine Art Center | See Broadmoor Art Academy |
Colored Pencil | A pigmented drawing pencil made with chromatic pigments rather than graphite. Artists noted for colored pencil drawing include Carrie Ballantyne, Steve DiBenedetto, Don Eddy, Mark Grotjahn, Bill Traylor, David Korty, and Fritz Vogt. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; AskART database (LPD) |
Colored Pencil Society of America | Founded in 1990, the CPSA supports artists working with colored pencil. Over 1600 drawing specialists are members in the United States and 14 other countries. A national board directs the organization, whose goal is to educate the public about colored pencil fine art. District chapters organize exhibitions and workshops within regions. Each year, an international exhibition is held. District Chapters also bring in instructors for workshops. To join, an artist must be 18 years of age or older. Members are not juried in, but entries for the International Exhibition are determined by a jury. Members whose work is in three or more international exhibitions are eligible for Signature Status, the highest level of membership. Artist members include William Berry, Kay Dewar, Linda Lucas-Hardy, Sharon Mazgaj and Ronni Wadler. Source: http://www.cpsa.org; AskART database (LPD)
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Colorimeter/Chromaticity | A tool for measuring or determining color or chromaticity by comparing with synthesized color. "The typical colorimeter has a built-in standard light source, three colored filters, photoelectric cells or phototubes, a standard reflecting surface, and in modern types, photoelectric cells and electronic circuits to replace the human eye as the receptor and thus speed up results." Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" |
Colorist | A general term applied to artists who focus on rich use of color as a method and/or subject. In comic book art, a colorist is an artist who adds color with airbrush or watercolor to black and white lines. Professional colorists include Jack Adler, Christina Strain and Steve Oliff. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorist; AskART database (LPD) |
Columbian Academy of Painting | One of the earliest art schools in the United States and the first in New York City, it was founded in the early 1790s by prominent, wealthy New Yorkers who wanted drawing instruction for their children. Robert R. Livingston was a leading influence. Scottish painters and brothers Archibald and Alexander Robertson were the early teachers. They taught watercolor, not oil, painting and introduced landscape subjects, which were counter to the prevailing European-influenced historical genre in classical style. Sources: James Flexner, "The Light of Distant Skies", 116; John Howat, "The Hudson River and Its Painters", 30; (LPD) |
Columbian Exposition, 1893 | See Chicago Exposition of 1893 |
Columbianum Society of Artists | Founded in 1794 in Philadelphia, it was the first art organization in America. A cooperative society of thirty artists including William Rush, Charles Willson Peale, Joseph Cerrachi, and Johann Eckstein, they sponsored one exhibition, and then terminated their activities. Sources: Ralph Sessions, "William Rush and the American Figurehead"; Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art" (LPD) |
Combat Artist | An artist officially assigned by publications or government entities to record battles and military life during war time. Among noted Americans who have served as Combat Artists are Edward Lamson Henry, David Gilmour Blythe, and Winslow Homer in the Civil War; Frederic Remington in the Spanish American War; George Bellows in World War I; Gilbert Bundy, Tom Lovell, and Mead Schaeffer in World War II. Source: AskART biographies (LPD) |
Comic Strip | A group of cartoons, also called "funnies", arranged in narrative sequence and published in American newspapers since the late 19th-Century. Comic Strips appear in serial form and are dependent for drawing interest upon an exaggerated figure rather than a story line. Their value is purely entertainment, and they have become one of the most popular forms of visual media. Early comic strips were influenced by William Hogarth (1697-1764) and Honore Daumier (1808-1879). In America, Lyonel Feininger began doing comics as early as 1906. In the mid 1950s, many American artists took up comic-strip art to comment on daily life trivia, and some artists such as Roy Lichtenstein incorporated them into their fine-art painting in a style known as Pop Art. Well-known comic strip artists are Ernie Bushmiller ("Nancy"), Al Capp ("Lil Abner"), George Herriman ("Krazy Kat"), Hank Ketcham ("Dennis the Menace"), Charles Schulz ("Peanuts") and Chic Young ("Dagwood"). Sources: "Phaidon Dictionary of Twentiety-Century Art"; Ron Goulart, "The Encyclopedia of American Comics" (LPD) |
Commercial Art School-Chicago | See Ray Vogue Art School |
Commercial Art/Commercial Artists | Traditionally general references distinguishing visual image making, usually painting or drawing for money-making entities, from "fine art" or that which is done primarily from personal expression and not use by businesses. Among use of work by "Commercial artists", many of them called Illustrators, is ad copy, logos and text illustrations for periodicals, newspapers and books. However, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the perception that Fine Art is superior to Commercial Art has softened because of growing appreciation of the skills of Commercial Artists and the blurring of uses of their work. Also new respect has developed for the talents of commercial artists such as Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth, and Maxfield Parrish. Sources: Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Siddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms"; Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; AskART database (LPD) |
Complementary Colors | Colors regarded as being in extreme contrast to each other. The 'complement' of a primary color, either red, yellow or blue, is achieved by mixing the other two primary colors together. For example, the complementary color of red is green, created by mixing yellow and blue. When juxtaposed, complementary colors intensify each other. Complements of intermediate colors, colors between primary and secondary colors, are shown on a Color Circle. Sources: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Siddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms"; Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" (LPD) |
Composite color | A color formed by mixing two or more hues or tints. See color. |
Composition | The organization of form in a work of art, i.e., the disposition of shapes, masses, areas of light and dark, etc. Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Siddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Computer Art/Digital | A method of producing art by a programmed computer. The term dates to the mid 1960s, and results are often regarded as beautiful and creative. Because of the wide range of variations, computer art has no consistent style nor can traditional criteria be applied to its production. Some regard Computer Art as inferior or not legitimate art because it is not generated from human creativity, but others are fascinated by it because of its bringing together innovatively elements of the sciences and humanities. Madrid University in Spain has had a collaborative program between artists and mathematicians, and Buenos Aires and Amsterdam as well as universities in Italy and Germany have computer-art centers. The 1970 Venice Biennale initiated a section on Computer Art. Early United States exhibitions included the "World Exhibition of Computer Graphics" at Howard Wise Gallery, New York in 1965, and in 1966, a traveling exhibition was sponsored by the Western Assocation of Art. American computer artists include Arthur Brody, Jeff Flower, Melissa Zink, , Peter Bardazzi, Neil Meitzler, Carol, Flax, Patti Held, Leroy Lamis, Frahn Koerner and Jeffrey Shaw. Sources: "Phaidon Dictionary of Twentieth Century Art"; AskART database |
Conceptual Art | An art form made popular in the mid 1960s through the 1970s in which the underlying concept and process are more important than any tangible product or process to create the 'product'. The theory is that art exists for its own sake. Known also as Idea Art, it came to widespread public awareness through the 1967 summer issue of "Artforum", in an article by Sol LeWitt. However, artists Henry Flint and Edward Kienholz had written earlier about Conceptual Art, which was a reaction against the impersonality of Minimalism and the commercialism of Pop Art. Described as a "document of the artist's thinking", the word became an all-embracing term for art forms that fit neither the description of painting nor sculpture and included Performance Art, Video Art and Earth Art. Joseph Kosuth in a 1969 essay also wrote what has been described as a "founding text of Conceptualism". (Princenthal). In that writing, he asserted that philosophy was dead and was replaced by art based on thought and material aspects that were disposable. Conceptual artists include Kosuth, Marina Abramovic, Adrian Piper, John Baldessari, Mel Bochner, James Lee Byars, Dan Graham, On Kawara, Yoko Ono, Bruce Nauman, Dennis Oppenheim and Richard Tuttle. Sources: Robert Atkins, "ArtSpeak"; Nancy Princenthal, 'Reading Between the Lines', "Art in America", March 2005. (LPD) |
Concrete Art | A term invented in 1930 referencing abstract art based on geometry, form and color and not nature. In other words, the art is an independent object, divorced from subtle messages such as social concerns, and does not have meaning beyond its external appearance. (What you see is what you get!) Josef Albers, 1933 emigrant from Germany to America, was the major proponent, and his student Max Bill coined the term. Concrete art as an expression of objectivity often gives the appearance of having been created by a machine. The term has gone out of vogue, but descendant styles include Color Field painting, the rebellion of abstract artists against the complicated messages of the Abstract Expressionists. Source: Robert Atkins, "Art Speak" |
Connoisseurs/Connoisseurship | Persons credited by art professionals with excellent aesthetic judgment, and with a special knowledge that allows them to collect art in a focused, tasteful manner. Connoisseurship is the method or process of attribution of 'connoisseurs'. Source: Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Siddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Conservation/Conservator | A far-reaching term that refers to the restoration of damaged artwork and also to the preservation for long-term care. If conservation is handled correctly, scientific determination of materials will be done before any conservation processes begins. Conservation methods date back to antiquity when Greek and Roman artisans repaired sculpture and continued forward through the Renaissance into modern times. In 1564 "The Last Judgment" mural by Michelangelo was restored, only 24 years after its completion. Until the 19th century, artists ground their own paints and, knowing their "recipes", were quite often the best ones to restore their own work. However, with the onset of factory made paints and variations in quality, persons with special knowledge of the range of paints became professional conservators. In 1888, the Staatlich Museum in Berlin developed the first scientific laboratory for Conservation. In 1928, the Fogg Museum at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts organized, for the first time, a laboratory that brought together art historians, scientists and restorers to analyze reasons for deterioration of works of art and solutions. An important part of Conservation is making sure that the process does not do damage to original mediums--in other words, does not alter the integrity of the artwork. The American Institute for Conservation sets a code of ethics and is an organization to which many professional conservators belong. Source: Arthur W. Schultze, General Editor, "Caring for Your Collections", Harry N. Abrams Press, 1992, p. 12. |
Consignor | The owner of a work of art that is being offered at auction. Source: www.sothebys.com |
Construction | A process of assembling or building a work of art. In sculpture, the term can refer to building the piece with varying components on the premises where it is to be shown. Many of these constructions are meant to be temporary and are disassembled after the exhibition is over. Source: Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Siddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Constructive Universalism | A style developed by pioneer artist Torres-Garcia, it reflects the artist's passion, in his words, for "geometry, order, synthesis, construction and rhythm." A gridded ideogram-like structure, often based on the proportions of the Golden Section, is made up of compartment-like rectangles. Within each cell there are different signs that have a strong linguistic quality and relate to autobiographical, mathematical, spiritual, or metaphysical concerns. Within his fairly well defined repertory of signs and symbols, there are frequent references to the pre-Hispanic world including ideas about the relationship of man to the cosmos. Source: Museum of the Americas. |
Constructivism | A modern aesthetic movement that began in Russia and was founded in 1913 by Vladimir Tatlin (1885-1953). The underlying theory is that a work of art should be an autonomous object with a life of its own and that it should reflect economy and precision. The style is non objective, and the materials are often iron, tin, wood, glass, plaster, and plastic--an attempt to bridge the gap between everyday life and art. It was first called Tatlinism when it appeared about 1913 in the work of Vladimir Tatlin. Another early name was Production Art with focus on creating artist engineers. Dynamism and kinetic art were outgrowths, and Antoine Pevsner, Alexander Rodchenko, and Naum Gabo brought the movement to the United States. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques". |
Conte Crayon | Named for Nicholas Conte, who developed the first lead pencil in 1790. The term "conte" became a trade name for a brand of French crayons made from a unique compound of pigments with a chalk binder. Conte crayons, available in black, red and brown, are free from grease, making them acceptable for lithographic drawing. Conte Crayon artists include George Bellows, Oscar Bluemner, Paul Cadmus, Philip Evergood and Marsden Hartley. Source: Michael David Zellman, "300 Years of American Art"; AskART database (LPD) |
Contemporary Arts Society, Montreal | Founded in 1939 by artist John Lyman who then served as its first president, the CAS purpose was to promote Canadian public awareness of modern art by bringing together artists of "non-Academic tendencies." Joint exhibitions became a part of their agenda. Twenty-five names were on the initial list with most of them being "French-influenced post impressionists". The roster included Fritz Brandtner, Stanley Cosgrove, Philip Surrey, Louis Muhlstock, and Paul-Emile Borduas. In May, 1939, membership opened to non-artists, many whom were collectors, critics, and teachers, and most whom lived in Montreal. At that time, CAS also held its first exhibition, "Art of Our Day", an overview of modernist art in Canadian collections. By the mid-1940s, nearly every prominent modernist painter in Montreal was a member, but the group became divisive as some members, such as Paul Borduas, were perceived as increasingly 'radical' relative to other members. CAS, having met its goals, especially in Montreal, terminated in 1948. Sources: Christoper Varley, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index; M.D. Silverbrooke, Art Historian and Collector, West Vancouver, British Columbia. (LPD) |
Contemporary/Contemporary Art | Traditionally referencing a time period that is immediate or concurrent, the word Contemporary and especially the term Contemporary Art are applied so broadly and used so loosely relative to both chronology and style that it is difficult to make any definitive explanation. Persons using the word Contemporary to denote a time period usually mean artwork of any style that dates from the mid 20th Century and beyond. However, when applied to style, the door seems wide open and includes Contemporary Realism, Conceptualism, Installation and Performance and Digital Art. Relative to style, use of the word often means artwork that "pushes the boundaries of people's perception" and "includes things that people consider immoral or taboo" in art expression such as persons engaging in sex acts or mediums such as bodily fluids or excrement. Contemporary Art should not be confused with Modern Art, which generally applies to art production from the late 19th Century to the end of the 1960s. Source: http://dictionary.laborlawtalk.com/Contemporary_Art
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Content | The message conveyed by a work of art – its subject matter and whatever the artist hopes to convey by that subject matter. Content should not be confused with context (the work’s environment) or form (the physical characteristics of a work). Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" |
Context | Circumstances in which a work of art is interpreted or created including an involved assessment of the artist’s values, upbringing, attitudes, education, the environment in which the work was created, the work’s purpose, and the artwork is interpreted. |
Contour/Contour Drawing | The outline or boundary of a form, or the illusion of a line enclosing form. Contour Drawing was made popular as a teaching and working method by Kimon Nicolaides in his book, "The Natural Way". It refers to the artist focusing on the outline of their subject and then drawing one continuous line, without lifting the pencil, to create the image. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques". |
Contrapposto | The pose of the human form in which the head and shoulders face in a different direction from the hips and legs; a spiral twist. Developed in late ancient Greek era and much admired and used by Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo and Verrochio, it is sometimes referred to as “weight shift”. Source: Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Siddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Converging | Lines that go towards the same point |
Conversation Piece | A painting that shows a group of people, usually relations or close friends, in conversation in a relaxed home environment. In keeping with the informal atmosphere of the work, these paintings, which were especially popular in Britain in the eighteenth century, are generally fairly small. Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Siddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Conversion Board | An electronic board placed at auction by some houses that displays the bids as they are made and translates them in to approximations of some other currencies based on the exchange rate of the previous business day. Source: www.sothebys.com |
Cool Colors | Colors that suggest cool sensations and lie within the green-violet half of the color circle. Blue is dominant. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" |
Copley Collection | Over the years amassed by dealer and surrealist artist William Nelson Copley, it became one of the world's most respected collections of Surrealist art. Included was Man Ray's unforgettable image of large red lips floating above the landscape. The first part of the collection, the Surrealists, was sold at auction by Sotheby's in 1979 for $6.7 million, at the time the highest total for the auction of a single owner's collection in the United States. In 1993, Christie's auctioned off the contemporary works from the collection. Sources: Rogallery.com; http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/special_collections/copley1_m5.html (LPD)
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Copley Society | The oldest non-profit art association in the United States, the Copley Society now represents more than 700 artist members nationwide. Also known as Co|So, it is dedicated to fostering interest in the visual arts through member exhibitions, outreach educational programs, workshops, lectures and the advancement of the careers of emerging and young artists. The beginning of the Copley Society dates to 1879 when the School of the Museum of Fine Arts opened in Copley Square on the site of what is now the Copley Hotel. One of the students, Alice Spencer Tinkham, promoted the idea of establishing an organization to promote art and its study in Boston, and the response led to the formation of the Boston Art Students Association. The first president was H. Winthrop Peirce, and the group sponsored exhibitions, classes and social gatherings. In 1891, it was renamed the Copley Society. In 1913, The Copley Society hosted in Boston the New York Armory Show that rocked the world of many art-focused Americans because of the introduction of abstract art from Europe. In this exhibit, Marcel DuChamp's "Nude Descending the Stairs" introduced modernism to Boston and the nation. In 1957, The Copley Society settled into its current home at 158 Newbury Street, which has bi-level galleries and offices. Members include Thomas Allen, Dwight Blaney, Joseph Enneking, Charles Davis, Philip Hale, Ignaz Gaugengigl, Abbott Graves. Sources: www.copleysociety.org members.tripod.com/blufishstudio/id44.htm; AskART database; (LPD)
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Copper/Copper Engraving | A reddish-brown metallic element that is a malleable and effective conductor of heat and electricity and is used in the manufacturing of brass and bronze alloys. When exposed to or combined with oxygen, copper takes on a greenish color called patina. Copper is used in sculpture and etching. Among sculptors using copper are Carl Bertoia, Carl Andre, Claire Falkenstein, Robert Graham, Robert Smithson and Donald Judd, and copper engravers or etchers, those who incise lines on copperplate, include Gene Kloss, Gabor Peterdi, Adalbert Volck, James Akin, John Held, Sr., and Stephen Scott Young. One of the earliest copper engravings was a pre-Revolutionary War scene of the Boston Massacre by Paul Revere. It appeared in "Royal American Magazine" in 1774 and 1775. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Anne Gilbert, "American Illustrator Art"; Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms"; AskART database; (LPD) |
Coppini Academy of Fine Arts | Founded in San Antonio, Texas in 1945 by Pompeo Coppini and his student, Waldine Tauch, it continues to operate into the 21st Century. Source: Williams American Art Galleries, AskART biography. |
Copy/Copying | Duplicate of a work of art, and a method frequently used before the invention of color photography and copy machines by involving one or more artists to make replicas of originals. Many art schools have copying of work of master artists as part of their curriculum, particularly in academies. This copy method helped students understand methods and techniques of 'professionals'. Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Corealism: | A term coined in 1993 by painter and
cartoonist Nik Swider to describe his style of painting.
Credit: Danie C. Boyer, Artist |
Cornish Colony, New Hampshire | In the early years of the 20th century, the Cornish Artists’ Colony in Cornish, New Hampshire was one of the more popular places for creative fine art activity in the eastern United States. Between 1895 and 1925, nearly 100 artists, sculptors, writers, designers, and well-known politicians chose Cornish as the area where they wanted to live, either full time or during the summer months. The natural beauty of Cornish was what originally attracted its many settlers. With views across the Connecticut River Valley to Mount Ascutney in Vermont, the idyllic rolling-hill scenery resembled an Italian landscape. Created were countless paintings, sculptures, writings, as well as gardens continue "to plant seeds of inspiration". The name Cornish, although referencing the town in New Hampshire, is more reflective of a state of mind and a sense of beautiful place rather than a solid geographical location. The Colony was in fact spread out over Windsor, Vermont, as well as the villages of Plainfield and Cornish in New Hampshire. Windsor was the mailing address for the entire area and the arrival point of most of the colonists, who usually came from New York City, which was a grueling nine-hour train ride. Members of the colony in some ways epitomized the American Renaissance in their attempts to recreate the ideals of a past golden age. This ‘golden age vision’ could describe the sculpture of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the first artist resident of the Colony, and Herbert Adams, as well as paintings by Maxfield Parrish, George de Forest Brush, Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Henry O. Walker, Henry B. Fuller and Kenyon Cox. Source: Alma Gilbert Smith, Director of the Cornish Colony Museum |
Cos Cob Art Colony | A lively colony of artists between 1890 to 1920 and located at Cos Cob, which was a section of Greenwich, Connecticut. There American Impressionism took shape under the direction of John Twachtman, Childe Hassam, Theodore Robinson, and J. Alden Weir. Through association with younger artists in Cos Cob, these older men passed on their techniques and style. Source: Susan Larkin, 'The Cos Cob Art Colony', "American Art Review", 2/2001. |
Coulage | A type of "automatic" or "involuntary" surrealist sculpture produced by pouring a molten material (such as wax, molten metal, or chocolate) into cold water. Source: Daniel Boyer, Artist
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Coulisse | Compositional elements usually arranged in tiers at the side of a painting to direct the eye into the center picture space. The device, such as clumps of trees, groups of figures and buildings, is common in baroque painting. Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Cowan Pottery | One of the most important potteries in United States ceramic history, Cowan Pottery established widespread public awareness of pottery as an art. The company was located in Lakewood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Many of the sculptors, designers and ceramists went on to long and distinguished careers in the arts and industrial design. Among them were Victor Shreckengost, Waylande Gregory, Paul Manship, Paul Bogatay, Richard Hummell, Edris Eckhardt as well as, Edward Winter and Thelma Frazier (Winter). The founder and chief designer for many years was R. Guy Cowan, born in 1884 in East Liverpool, Ohio. He studied ceramics at the New York State School of Ceramics at Alfred. He founded the Cowan Pottery Studio in Lakewood, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland) in 1912. While Cowan served in World War I, the studio closed but reopened with a new studio with nine kilns and a small pottery showroom. During the 20's', the studio prospered and had a 1200 outlet nationwide distribution including Marshall Field of Chicago, Wanamaker's of Philadelphia, Kauffman of Pittsburgh, Ovington of New York and Halle's of Cleveland. By 1928, there was a staff of 35 people and production was 175,000 single pieces a year. However the stock market crash of 1929 began the companies decline because many of the handmade pieces required much time and money investment in compensating the potters, and people were financially unable to purchase the pottery. The company closed in December 1931. Sources: Mike Hickman, Pottery Collector; http://www.cowanpottery.org/aboutcowan.htm (LPD) |
Cowboy Artists of America/CA | Founded in 1965 in Sedona, Arizona by western artists Joe Beeler, Charlie Dye, John Hampton, and George Phippen, it is dedicated to promoting the subject matter and realist style of painting and sculpture in the tradition of Frederic Remington and Charles Russell. Artists become members by election of current members with the understanding that members will participate in annual exhibitions with up to seven pieces of totally new work, and also will be on the annual trail ride and camp out in a western location of special interest. In 2009, the CAA, with its annual exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum, had 23 living active artist members, seven living emeritus members, and 24 deceased artist members. Source: "CA Cowboy Artists of America, 44th Annual Exhibition, 2009", Catalogue published by the Phoenix Art Museum. |
Crackle | (See ‘Craquelure’) |
Craftsmanship | Aptitude, skill, and manual dexterity in the use of tools and materials. |
Cragsmoor Art Colony | Established in the 1870s at Cragsmoor, New York, the colony was founded by artists wishing to escape New York City for the quiet rural setting and beauty of the nearby Shawangunk Mountains. Although most of the members were not primarily landscapists, they did paint the local surroundings and found the local people unique subjects. As a group, the artists tended to stay together and had a rich communal life. Edward Lamson Henry was the first recognized painter in Cragsmoor, arriving in 1872. He invited other artists who accepted his invitation including Frederick Dellenbaugh, Eliza Greatorex, William Holbrook Beard, and John George Brown. Although Henry was the aesthetic leader, the financial support was supplied by Eliza Hartshorn who bought land and buildings and hired Dellenbaugh as her architect. The Colony continued into the 20th century with Charles Courtney Curran being the most renowned of the second generation. Sources: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=15289731; Steve Shipp, "American Art Colonies, 1850-1930", Chapter 4. (LPD)
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Cranbrook Academy of Art | An art school established in 1927 at Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The school was especially prestigious during the 1930s and 1940s when several artists from Milwaukee were there. Students included Lennart Anderson, Harry Bertoia, David Cargil, Paul Evans, Audrey Flack, Frank Gallo and Duane Hanson. Carl Milles, Richard DeVore, Leza McVewy and Harry Bertoia were on the faculty. Sources: Peter C. Merrill, "German-American Artists in Early Milwaukee"; AskART database (LPD) |
Craquelure | The network of cracks which sometimes appears on paint and varnish of an oil painting as the paint ages and settles. Also known as CRACKLE. Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Crayon | Commonly used as a general term for wax-based drawing sticks used by children, but technically any drawing material in stick form can be classified as a crayon including pastels, charcoal and chalk. Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Cresson Traveling Scholarship | Named for artist William Emlen Cresson, the scholarship was endowed at the Pennsylvania Academy by his parents in memory of their very promising young son who died at age 25. He entered the Pennsylvania Academy in 1860 at age 17 and was described as "A good painter, preferring poetical subjects and forever sketching". Among Cresson Scholarship winners are Daniel Garber, Walter Anderson, Clarence Henkle, Louis Betts, Barse Miller and Roy Nuse. Sources: William Patterson & David Zellin, "Thomas Eakins and His Fellow Artists at the Philadelphia Sketch Club"; AskART database (LPD) |
Crimson/Crimson Lake | A deep red color, derived from the word 'kermes', which is an insect-based dye source "from which the obsolete pigment crimson lake was made." Crimson Lake is a ruby-red pigment with bluish undertones used by the ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks to achieve transparent ruby red and rose pink effects. It was supplanted by carmine, a stronger pigment. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" |
Cross-Hatching | See Hatching |
Crystal Palace Exhibition | Held in Hyde Park, London, in 1851, to demonstrate with examples from many countries industrial progress generated by the Industrial Revolution, this 'Great Exhibition' had more than 14,000 exhibitors. The space was in The Crystal Palace, a cast iron and glass building of 990,000 square feet that got its name from the satirical magazine, "Punch". Panoramic painter and architecture designer, Henry Lewis (1819-1904) was the General Art Manager, and Joseph Paxton was designer of the building. At the close of the exhibition, the Crystal Palace was moved to Sydenham Hill in a wealthy area, and in 1836 was destroyed by fire. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crystal_Palace; Peter Hastings Falk, "Who Was who in American Art". (LPD) |
Cubism | An early 1900s modern art movement focused on exploring relationships between images, perspectives and materials. Cubism opened the door to Abstraction and was so revolutionary to western art that it has been compared to the Italian Renaissance. Cubism began in Paris, France where leading figures were Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Juan Gris, the originator of Collage, joined them in 1910. By 1914, the Cubist movement as an organizing force officially terminated with the beginning of World War I. But its effects remain today. "Almost all later art, figurative and abstract, two and three-dimensional, random or hieratic, was conditioned in some way by these new dimensions of reality." (Phaidon) The term 'Cubist' was a derisive description of a geometric landscape painting done by Braque in 1908. Originating influences on Cubism included paintings of Paul Cezanne that explored basic geometric elements in nature, oblique anti-natural work of the Symbolists, Post-Impressionist emphasis on the flat picture surface, and Picasso's fascination with the abstraction he perceived in African tribal masks. The first phase of Cubism was Analytical Cubism, 1902-1912, a method explored by Braque and Picasso of presenting a total experience whereby the subject was freed of the traditional link to a moment in time but tied to sustained existence through sensations of light, form and space. This treatment on a flat surface was the arranging of elements of the subject to convey a three-dimensional effect, showing multi perspectives of the subject. By 1911, Picasso had carried this exploration so far that his subjects were scarcely recognizable. This phase of Cubism, a step beyond Analytical Cubism, became the ongoing influence for abstraction. Synthetic Cubism, unlike Analytical Cubism, began with materials which were arranged on a flat surface to create a motif, an Assemblage, that became the subject rather than reflecting an actual subject. Other French artists associated with Cubism concepts were Fernand Leger, Marcel Duchamp and Nicholas Delauney. In America, leading Cubist painters and sculptors include Max Weber, Man Ray, Karl Knaths, Patrick Henry Bruce, Stuart Davis, Jan Matulka, Lyonel Feininger, Jacques Lipchitz, Alexander Archipenko, Louise Nevelson, Ilya Bolotowsky and Marguerite Zorach. Sources: "Phaidon Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art"; AskART database. (LPD) |
Cubomania | A type of surrealist collage in which an image is cut into a number of equal squares and the squares are then reassembled. Source: Daniel Boyer, Artist
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Curator | A person who oversees the care of private and public collections. Usually the person is assigned not only the maintenance of the collection but the acquisition of objects that continue the focus of and education about the existing works. Many colleges now offer courses in Curatorial professions. Source: Wikipedia-free encyclopedia |
Currier & Ives | A lithography firm opened by Nathaniel Currier in 1834 that became the most famous and longest-operating printing company in America, generating more than 7500 images. The name remains synonymous with scenes of that which is ‘truly American’ beginning with disaster-subject prints and moving onto sentimental and social realist genre, portraits of founding father’s, colonial-era images, Revolutionary and Civil War pictures, maritime, trains and Western frontier expansion. The company’s first widely circulated print, “Ruins of the Merchants’ Exchange N.Y. after the Destructive Conflagration of Decbr. 16 & 17, 1835”, was an illustration of the 1834 fire that destroyed much of New York’s business district. Perceiving that disaster subjects sold, the firm created more prints and made those as well as others available to the public at an affordable price. Currier had several business partners, but James Merritt Ives was the most compatible and significant in that he encouraged most of the print subjects that generated the company’s lasting reputation. In addition to images created by both Currier and Ives, many well-known artists worked for Currier & Ives including Eastman Johnson, Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, Louis Maurer, James Butterworth, William Aiken Walker, Napoleaon Sarony and George Durrie. In June 2006, the Museum of Fine Art in Springfield, Massachusetts held an exhibition of hand-colored lithographs titled “Currier & Ives: An American Panorama”. Sources: Heather Haskell & Liz Sommer, ‘Currier & Ives: An American Panorama’, “American Art Review”, November-December 2005. (LPD) |
Curvilinear | Stressing the use of curved lines as opposed to rectilinear which stresses straight lines. Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Cycladic Art | Art of Neolithic settlers, 2500 to 2000 B.C., in central Aegean islands called the Cyclades, which included Naxos, Paros and Delos. Characteristic of Cycladic Art were formal qualities that remain "universally esteemed". Included are marble statues, vases carved from stone with holes drilled for thongs, "water mirrors, palettes and fine pottery." Source: Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms". |
Cyclorama | A distinctive method of painting 'in the grand manner' that was very popular in the Victorian era in the 19th-century. A particularly famous cyclorama of that time was one of the Battle of Gettysburg. A cyclorama is defined on the website of the Boston Cyclorama building as a pictorial representation of the whole view from one point by an observer who in turning around looks successively to all points of the horizon. The artist supposes himself surrounded by a cylindrical surface in whose center he stands, and he projects the landscape from this position onto the cylinder. The observer stands on a platform, which might represent the flat roof of a house or the top of a hill, for example, and the space between this platform and the picture contains real objects which gradually blend into the picture itself. Source: The Boston Cyclorama website. |
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