Post-Impressionist Duncan Grant (1885-1978), with his turbulent personal life, was a colorful member of the Bloomsbury Group which included Virginia Woolf, EM Forster and Roger Fry - all Dial Contributors. Fry, both artist and art critic, purchased “The Ass” (1913) after it was exhibited. Socially liberal, the Bloomsbury crowd generally avoided political commentary in their work, and though this may resonate as such, it was in fact, based on a Persian miniature, and is now owned by the Tate Britain. The Dial, March 1929. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #duncangrant #bloomsbury #virginiawoolf #emforster #rogerfry #postimpressionism #donkey #artoftheday #arthistory #tate
With a keen eye for talent, Thayer built an outstanding art collection of over 600 pieces - now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Valued at over $300 million, his collection features modern masters such as Picasso, Matisse, Bonnard, Chagall, Lachaise, Munch, Schiele, Klimt and Kokoschka. Most surprising is that the majority of these artists were little known when Thayer purchased their work. New Yorker cartoon, November 27, 2017. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #modernart #thenewyorker #cartoon #cavemen #artoftheday
The spare, fluid forms of Polish-born sculptor Elie Nadelman (1882-1946) reflect the Modernist philosophy of form over subject matter. Animals, dancers, musicians and circus performers were favored subjects as in “Acrobat” - The Dial, June 1925. A master of bronze, plaster and wood, Nadelman’s influences were classical antiquity and naïve art. A passionate collector of American folk art, he created the first American museum for this genre. Later, financial pressure forced him to sell his 15,000-piece collection – to the Museum of the City of New York and Colonial Williamsburg. Depression ensued and he committed suicide at the age of 64. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #elienadelman #modernsculpture #acrobat #polishartist #museumofthecityofnewyork #colonialwilliamsburg #folkart #amoncartermuseum #artoftheday
Wilhelm Hunt Diederich (1884-1953) is best known for his distinctive silhouette-style animal designs. His early childhood, spent on a vast estate in Austria-Hungary, inspired his love of fauna. Later, he moved to Boston, and encouraged by his grandfather, Barbizon painter William Morris Hunt, he became a sculptor. Diederich was also celebrated for making everyday objects, such as lamps and fire screens, into works of art. In 1934, he created a series of whimsical animal weathervanes for the newly restored Central Park Zoo – many of which can still be seen. "The Matador" (c 1921), The Dial, April 1921. Scofield Thayer Collection. #thedialmagazine #scofieldthayer #williamhuntdiederich #williammorrishunt #matador #silhouette #robertmoses #centralpark #centralparkzoo #metmuseum #metdrawingsandprints #blackandwhitephoto #arthistory #artoftheday
Happy Birthday Renoir (January 25, 1841)! Pioneering French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s works are noted for bright color and large brushstrokes to better capture the spontaneity of everyday life. Renoir often used his wife and children as models – sons Jean and Claude, later a celebrated filmmaker and ceramic artist respectively, appear here in “Children Playing Ball” (1900). The largest collection of Renoir’s paintings – 181 – was amassed by Albert C. Barnes and is now at his eponymous museum in Philadelphia. His article, “Renoir: An Appreciation” was printed in The Dial, February 1920. Scofield Thayer Collection. #thedialmagazine #scofieldthayer #renoir #albertbarnes #barnesfoundation #jeanrenoir ##clauderenoir #childrenplaying #impressionism #otd #arthistory #artoftheday #metmuseum #metdrawingsandprints
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was the most prolific of all professional artists according to the Guinness Book of World Records. During his 75-year career, he produced over 13,500 paintings and designs, 100,000 prints and engravings, 34,000 book illustrations, and 300 sculptures and ceramics. His oeuvre has been valued at ~ $800 million. He was the master of many media, even the pencil, as seen in "Three Bathers Reclining by the Shore" (1920) - The Dial, June 1924. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #picasso #pencildrawing #guinnessworldrecord #nudesinart #metmuseum #metdrawingsandprints #artoftheday #arthistory
E.E. Cummings said that he was “a painter in Paris and a writer in New York” – both his visual art and distinctive lower-case poems were often featured in The Dial. As a painter, he was heavily influenced by the Cubists as in “Sound” (1919). This abstract oil was purchased by Cummings’s friend and patron Thayer. From March-July 2018, it is part of the exhibition “America’s Cool Modernism – O’Keeffe to Hopper” at the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, the first university museum. Scofield Thayer Collection. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #eecummings #sound #cubism #abstractart #ashmolean #oxford #sunybrockport #metmuseum #artoftheday #georgiaokeeffe #edwardhopper #modernism
Thayer and his close friend Adolf Dehn, noted American illustrator, spent time in edgy 1920s Vienna. There, they both romanced dancers – Dehn’s liaison with Russian-born dancer and choreographer Mura Ziperovitch would lead to marriage. Mura Dehn was so inspired by Josephine Baker that she founded an all black dance company in New York and later produced the award-winning film “The Spirit Moves” (1987) on African-American dance: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WjguncQiw70 "Mura - A Drawing" - The Dial, February 1925. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #adolfdehn #muradehn #josephinebaker #moderndance #illustration #jazzdance #vienna #penandink #lesueurcounty
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928) was the lead organizer in the sensational 1913 Armory Show - the first major modern art exhibition in the U.S. An influential modernist, he advised MoMA founder Abby Rockefeller on her personal collection which later became the nucleus of the museum. Davies though was full of contradictions - his own style melded classicism with fantasy as in "Salt Air Wanderers" - The Dial, June 1924. Also a polygamist, he had two distinct identities in order to secretly maintain two wives, families and residences. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #arthurbdavies #moma #abbyaldrichrockefeller #armoryshow #1913armoryshow #artoftheday #arthistory #wanderers #polygamy #modernart #ashcanschool
A leading proponent of Precisionism, Charles Demuth (1883-1935) created a signature style using sharply delineated geometrical forms. "Box of Tricks" (1919), painted while summering in Gloucester, MA, shows a favorite theme - the modernization of the American landscape. Demuth produced over 1000 works in what would be an abbreviated career. He developed diabetes as an adult, and though one of the first in the U.S. to receive insulin, he died at just 51. The Dial, January 1920. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #artoftheday #charlesdemuth #precisionism #gloucesterma #landscapelovers #arthistory #demuthmuseum #moma #pafa #diabetes #watercolor #seascape
Post-Impressionist Duncan Grant (1885-1978), with his turbulent personal life, was a colorful member of the Bloomsbury Group which included Virginia Woolf, EM Forster and Roger Fry - all Dial Contributors. Fry, both artist and art critic, purchased “The Ass” (1913) after it was exhibited. Socially liberal, the Bloomsbury crowd generally avoided political commentary in their work, and though this may resonate as such, it was in fact, based on a Persian miniature, and is now owned by the Tate Britain. The Dial, March 1929. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #duncangrant #bloomsbury #virginiawoolf #emforster #rogerfry #postimpressionism #donkey #artoftheday #arthistory #tate
With a keen eye for talent, Thayer built an outstanding art collection of over 600 pieces - now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Valued at over $300 million, his collection features modern masters such as Picasso, Matisse, Bonnard, Chagall, Lachaise, Munch, Schiele, Klimt and Kokoschka. Most surprising is that the majority of these artists were little known when Thayer purchased their work. New Yorker cartoon, November 27, 2017. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #modernart #thenewyorker #cartoon #cavemen #artoftheday
The spare, fluid forms of Polish-born sculptor Elie Nadelman (1882-1946) reflect the Modernist philosophy of form over subject matter. Animals, dancers, musicians and circus performers were favored subjects as in “Acrobat” - The Dial, June 1925. A master of bronze, plaster and wood, Nadelman’s influences were classical antiquity and naïve art. A passionate collector of American folk art, he created the first American museum for this genre. Later, financial pressure forced him to sell his 15,000-piece collection – to the Museum of the City of New York and Colonial Williamsburg. Depression ensued and he committed suicide at the age of 64. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #elienadelman #modernsculpture #acrobat #polishartist #museumofthecityofnewyork #colonialwilliamsburg #folkart #amoncartermuseum #artoftheday
Wilhelm Hunt Diederich (1884-1953) is best known for his distinctive silhouette-style animal designs. His early childhood, spent on a vast estate in Austria-Hungary, inspired his love of fauna. Later, he moved to Boston, and encouraged by his grandfather, Barbizon painter William Morris Hunt, he became a sculptor. Diederich was also celebrated for making everyday objects, such as lamps and fire screens, into works of art. In 1934, he created a series of whimsical animal weathervanes for the newly restored Central Park Zoo – many of which can still be seen. "The Matador" (c 1921), The Dial, April 1921. Scofield Thayer Collection. #thedialmagazine #scofieldthayer #williamhuntdiederich #williammorrishunt #matador #silhouette #robertmoses #centralpark #centralparkzoo #metmuseum #metdrawingsandprints #blackandwhitephoto #arthistory #artoftheday
Happy Birthday Renoir (January 25, 1841)! Pioneering French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s works are noted for bright color and large brushstrokes to better capture the spontaneity of everyday life. Renoir often used his wife and children as models – sons Jean and Claude, later a celebrated filmmaker and ceramic artist respectively, appear here in “Children Playing Ball” (1900). The largest collection of Renoir’s paintings – 181 – was amassed by Albert C. Barnes and is now at his eponymous museum in Philadelphia. His article, “Renoir: An Appreciation” was printed in The Dial, February 1920. Scofield Thayer Collection. #thedialmagazine #scofieldthayer #renoir #albertbarnes #barnesfoundation #jeanrenoir ##clauderenoir #childrenplaying #impressionism #otd #arthistory #artoftheday #metmuseum #metdrawingsandprints
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was the most prolific of all professional artists according to the Guinness Book of World Records. During his 75-year career, he produced over 13,500 paintings and designs, 100,000 prints and engravings, 34,000 book illustrations, and 300 sculptures and ceramics. His oeuvre has been valued at ~ $800 million. He was the master of many media, even the pencil, as seen in "Three Bathers Reclining by the Shore" (1920) - The Dial, June 1924. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #picasso #pencildrawing #guinnessworldrecord #nudesinart #metmuseum #metdrawingsandprints #artoftheday #arthistory
E.E. Cummings said that he was “a painter in Paris and a writer in New York” – both his visual art and distinctive lower-case poems were often featured in The Dial. As a painter, he was heavily influenced by the Cubists as in “Sound” (1919). This abstract oil was purchased by Cummings’s friend and patron Thayer. From March-July 2018, it is part of the exhibition “America’s Cool Modernism – O’Keeffe to Hopper” at the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, the first university museum. Scofield Thayer Collection. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #eecummings #sound #cubism #abstractart #ashmolean #oxford #sunybrockport #metmuseum #artoftheday #georgiaokeeffe #edwardhopper #modernism
Thayer and his close friend Adolf Dehn, noted American illustrator, spent time in edgy 1920s Vienna. There, they both romanced dancers – Dehn’s liaison with Russian-born dancer and choreographer Mura Ziperovitch would lead to marriage. Mura Dehn was so inspired by Josephine Baker that she founded an all black dance company in New York and later produced the award-winning film “The Spirit Moves” (1987) on African-American dance: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WjguncQiw70 "Mura - A Drawing" - The Dial, February 1925. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #adolfdehn #muradehn #josephinebaker #moderndance #illustration #jazzdance #vienna #penandink #lesueurcounty
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928) was the lead organizer in the sensational 1913 Armory Show - the first major modern art exhibition in the U.S. An influential modernist, he advised MoMA founder Abby Rockefeller on her personal collection which later became the nucleus of the museum. Davies though was full of contradictions - his own style melded classicism with fantasy as in "Salt Air Wanderers" - The Dial, June 1924. Also a polygamist, he had two distinct identities in order to secretly maintain two wives, families and residences. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #arthurbdavies #moma #abbyaldrichrockefeller #armoryshow #1913armoryshow #artoftheday #arthistory #wanderers #polygamy #modernart #ashcanschool
A leading proponent of Precisionism, Charles Demuth (1883-1935) created a signature style using sharply delineated geometrical forms. "Box of Tricks" (1919), painted while summering in Gloucester, MA, shows a favorite theme - the modernization of the American landscape. Demuth produced over 1000 works in what would be an abbreviated career. He developed diabetes as an adult, and though one of the first in the U.S. to receive insulin, he died at just 51. The Dial, January 1920. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #artoftheday #charlesdemuth #precisionism #gloucesterma #landscapelovers #arthistory #demuthmuseum #moma #pafa #diabetes #watercolor #seascape
Repost from @gastonlachaise - See original post caption from the Lachaise Foundation in the comment below.
Modernist sculptor Gaston Lachaise (1882-1935) is best known for his voluptuous nudes inspired by his beloved wife Isabel. But he also sculpted animals as in "Peacock" (1920) - The Dial, April 1921. A favorite of MoMA founder Abby Rockefeller and her circle, Lachaise was commissioned by John Deering (International Harvester fortune) to create "Peacock" for the elaborate gardens at his palatial winter residence in Miami. "Vizcaya", a National Historic Landmark, is open year-round. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #gastonlachaise #modernsculpture #peacock #bronzesculpture #gardensculpture #vizcayamuseum #vizcaya #nationalhistoriclandmark #miamiculture #arthistory #artoftheday
Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1889-1953), a versatile "American" Modernist, created a signature style with elements of Japanese and American folk art, and Cubism. Babies were a favorite subject as seen in "Boy Stealing Fruit" (1923) - The Dial, March 1924. "People think that babies are beautiful, but I thought otherwise." Japanese-born Kuniyoshi was the first living artist to have a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1948. But he died not long after, never realizing his dream of becoming a U.S. citizen due to the 1924 Immigration Act banning those with Asian lineage from naturalizing. #thedialmagazine #scofieldthayer #yasuokuniyoshi #whitneymuseum #babies #japaneseartists #modernart #artoftheday #immigration #fruit #metmuseum #moma #smithsonianmuseum #columbusmuseumofart
Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele (1890-1918) is best known for his sexually-charged nudes and provocative self-portraits. "I do not deny that I have made drawings and watercolors of an erotic nature. But they are always works of art." Ironically, the priciest Schiele ever sold is a landscape: "Houses with Laundry" (1914) at over $40 million. Thayer was one of the first American collectors of Schiele - "Crouching Nude" (1912) - Scofield Thayer Collection. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #egonschiele #austrianartist #expressionism #nudes #vienna #artoftheday #arthistory #eroticart #metmuseum #leopoldmuseum #egonschielemuseum #österreichischegaleriebelvedere #albertinacontemporary
Author, Arctic adventurer, political activist - and early American Modernist, painter Rockwell Kent (1882-1971) is best known for his rugged, austere landscapes populated with mysterious figures. Influenced by the Symbolists, he avoided "petty self-expression". "I want the elemental, infinite thing; I want to paint the rhythm of eternity." "Voyagers, Alaska" (1919-23), The Dial, May 1924. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #rockwellkent #alaska #symbolism #artoftheday #modernism #landscape #blue #arthistory #arctic
"Cezanne is the father of us all", has been attributed to both Picasso and Matisse for Paul Cezanne's pioneering role building the bridge between Impressionism and Cubism. Born into a very wealthy family, he was free from financial worries but suffered from diabetes and depression. "The Large Bathers" (1898) is a modern take on a classic subject - and one he returned to again and again. Happy Birthday Cezanne - January 19, 1839. Scofield Thayer Collection. #thedialmagazine #scofieldthayer #paulcezanne #cezanne #impressionism #cubism #bathers #metmuseum #metdrawingsandprints #frenchpainter #nudes #arthistory #artoftheday #depression
After serving in Tsar Alexander II's Imperial Guard, Russian Expressionist Alexej von Jawlensky (1864-1941) moved to Germany and joined the Blaue Reiter group of artists that included his close friend Wassily Kandinsky. Portraits were a favored theme as seen in "Head of a Woman" which features his signature forceful brushstrokes. Like many of his circle, von Jawlensky was labeled a "degenerate artist" by the Nazi Party. Scofield Thayer Collection. #thedialmagazine #scofieldthayer #alexejvonjawlensky #russianexpressionism #germanexpressionism #blauereiter #portrait #brushandink #wassilykandinsky #entartetekunst #metmuseum
John Marin (1870-1953), a master of watercolor and oil, is acknowledged as the first American abstract artist. Though based in New York, he fell in love with Maine, and like Marsden Hartley, Winslow Homer and Andrew Wyeth, much of Marin's work celebrates the state's stunning landscape. Maine's rocky coast was a favorite subject as seen in "Trees, Rocks, Sea: Maine" (1923). "In painting water make the hand move the way the water moves," Marin wrote. Scofield Thayer Collection. #thedialmagazine #scofieldthayer #johnmarin #marsdenhartley #winslowhomer #andrewwyeth #seascape #maine #maineartist #abstractart #artoftheday #arthistory #metmuseum #ngadc #watercolor
The Berlinale Bear is the coveted trophy for winners at Germany's eponymous film festival. But unlike the Academy's "Oscar" statuette, it was created by a woman. German artist Renee Sintenis (1888-1965) was renowned for her small bronze sculptures of animals. Her passion for the "animals who let me be myself" comes through in these endearing figures. The Dial, August 1926. #scofieldthayer #thedialmagazine #reneesintenis #berlinale #berlinbear #sculpture #animalart #bronzesculpture #oscarstatue #oscars #modernart #arthistory #artoftheday
Repost from @canvas.tube. Matisse's "Nasturtiums with the Painting Dance I" - Scofield Thayer Collection.