Rene Magritte

by Paige G.

Rene Magritte was born on the 21st of November, 1898 in Hainaut, Belgium, where his father was a tailor and a merchant. He lost his mother very tragically when she commited suicide for unknown reasons. He was only fourteen. After Magritte had gone to art school, he worked at a wallpaper factory as a poster and advertisement designer until 1926. Finally Magrittes created his first painting, The Lost Jockey, which was abused by critics the very first day in his exibition. After this failure, he moved to Brussels to work on advertisement again. After a while, his paintings became more popular. After a while, Rene met a special girl who first modeled for him, then became his wife. The way that Rene Magritte painted showed a juxtapostion of ordinary objects in a different context. This means giving a whole new meaning to a familar thing. His painting, The Treachery of Images, is an example of this. This painting shows a pope that looks like a model for a tobacco store advertisement. Below the painting it said. "This is not a pipe". This is actually true: The painting is not a pipe, it is an image of a pipe. During the 1940's the artist experimented with different types of style for his art, but ended up going back to his old style. Rene Magritte, a surrielest painter, died of pancreatic cancer on the date of August 15th, 1967.

Henri Matisse

by Lindsey M.








Henri Matisse, the law clerk turned artist, was born in 1869 in northern France. He began taking art classes in Paris at the age of 23 when gave up on being a lawyer. Henri found his own style which consisted of bright colors and thick brush strokes when he turned 36. His painting The Joy of Life and the whole Barnes collection was covered up for no one to see fro 72 years. This collection showed in 1993. Henri was finally recognized as an artist internationally after World War I. He left Paris in 1917 and moved to the South of France and lived there until his death. In 1918 a Matisse-and-Picasso exhibition opened to a certain extent of the role of the two paintors in contemporary art. Two Russians purchased 50 of his paintings by 1923. When Henri was 56, he won the French Legion of Honor award. In 1941he had an abdominal cancer surgery which enabled him to paint. Because of his disability he started to do another form of art. He cut out pieces of paper in the same daring compositions known of his paintings. He did all of his work in bed or in chairs. He died at the age of 85, in his home in the South of France, on November 3, 1954 known as a highly reputable artist. His last paper design was for the rose window at Union Chruch of Pocantico Hills, New York.

Deborah Butterfield

by Annie W.

Deborah began making horses about 30 years ago using them as self-portraits to express feminists and anti-war concerns. She was encouraged by her mentor Manual Neri, who had to lock into the female form she preferred to use. Over-time, her gender and/or politics she had tried to put in her work started to matter less and less. Finally, she had formed a passion for the horse itself. When she is away from her Montana Ranch, she imagines the horses in precise perspective because she has a very clear memory. In Deborah's work, the awe and respect she has for these animals clearly shines through in her sculptures. Along with the awe and respect, each personality and their "role" they play in the lives of people. It is as if she has this sort of ex-ray vision of the horse yet you can still see the sleek bodies they poses. The positive and negative spaces lay off each other like the strokes of paint on a painting. And the horse she builds and the space she does it in is her canvas. As she creates the image in her mind, she is able to get all the characteristics that is necessary. As you can see she has become completely obsessed with the horses she has in her mind and the ones in her mind.

Wassily Kandinsky

by Michael H.

Wassily Kandinsky was a Russian painter, printmaker and art theorist. One of the most famous 20th-century artists, he is credited with painting the first modern abstract works. Kandinsky was born in Moscow but spent his childhood in Odessa. He enrolled at the University of Moscow and chose law and economics. Although quite successful in his profession, he was offered a professorship (chair of Roman Law) at the University of Dorpat. He started painting studies (life-drawing, sketching and anatomy) at the age of 30. In 1896 he settled in Munich and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. He went back to Moscow in 1918 after the Russian Revolution. Kandinsky's work was shown in galleries across Europe, and while there was never anything in the paintings themselves that would be shocking to the public, the sheer abstract nature of his work would stir controversy. One could say Kandinsky gave birth to abstract art. Being in conflict with official theories on art, he returned to Germany in 1921. There he was a teacher at the Bauhaus from 1922 until it was closed by the Nazis in 1933. At that time he moved to France where he lived the rest of his life, becoming a French citizen in 1939. He died at Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1944. That is the life story of Wassily Kandinsky

Christo and Jean Claude

by Ben W.

The artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude were born Gemini-like at the same hour on June 13,1935, he in Gabrovo, Bulgaria as Christo Javacheff of an industrialist family and she in Casablanca, Morocco as Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon of a French Military family. Christo studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Sofia and escaped from Prague to the west in early 1957. They met in Paris in 1958 when Christo was commissioned to do a portrait of Jeanne-Claude’s mother. Christo and Jeanne-Claude believe that labels are very important, but for bottles of wine, not for artists, and they usually don’t like to put a label on their art. The decision to use only the name “Christo” was made deliberately when they were young because it is difficult for one artist to get established and they wanted to put all the chances on their side.

Claes Oldenburg

by Lexi P.


Claes Oldenburg, a sculpter originaly from Sweden, is know to make large models of everyday items, such as the clothespin, or spoon. He is also known for having made over 250 prints, and being part of the Pop Art Movement. He told a reporter that, "You could say making a print is like preparing a pizza.You start with a white sheet of paper--that is, the 'dough'--to which you add layers of images: cheese, mushrooms, sausage bits, tomato paste, immersed in overprinted inks. In the end, the 'pizza' is 'editioned'--that is, sliced and distributed for consumption." He was born the son of a diplomat in Stockholm, Sweden on January the 28th of 1929, and had to move to many places in his childhood including New York, Norway, and Chicago. During his further exploration of the art of sculpting, he worked as an apprentice reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago. One of his first creations was a large tube of lipstick, that would deflate, unless someone pumped air into it. He later redesigned this sculpture, Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks, out of aluminum, making it more sturdy. If you were a pedestrian walking down the Thompson Street in the winter of 1960, you might have been drawn to the basement of the Judson Church House by a sign and a mural. This basemnt had been changed into a studio and place to live for local artists. If you, being a pedestrian and all, were curious enough to go down the stairs, you would find an exibition named Ray Gun. In the first room you set your eyes upon, you would see Claes Oldenburg's work called, The Street. The Street consited of cardboard, black paint, newspaper, and trash. He called this piece of art a 3D mural, and if you looked hard enough, could see 9 humans and 4 cars. During the time he made The Street and other pieces of artwork, he worked as an assistant in the Cooper Union Museum's library. He later on, made more 3D murals, consisting of hamburgers, clothing, and pastries. After working on a few projects, including a 41 foot tall sculpture, with Coosje van Bruggen, they were married. Later in his life, many of Claes ideas for large pieces of art were thought of as impossible, but most were made possible and excepted in public places. Over all, Claes Oldenburg was a very successful artist and a great man.

Yves Tanguy

by Michael P.


Yves Tanguy was a surrealist painter. He was born in Paris, France on January 5, 1900. He was the son of a retired navy captain. His parents were both of Breton origin. After his father's death in 1908, his mother moved back to her native Locronan, Finistère. He ended up spending much of his youth living with various relatives. In 1918, Yves Tanguy briefly joined the merchant navy before being drafted into the Army, where he met Jacques Prévert. At the end of his military service in 1922, he returned to Paris, where he worked many peculiar jobs. By chance, he stumbled upon a painting by Giorgio de Chirico. He was so deeply impressed he resolved to become a painter himself in spite of his complete lack of training. Tanguy had a habit of being completely absorbed by the current painting he was working on. This way of creating artwork might have came about due to his very small studio which could only comfortably have enough room for one wet piece. Through his friend Jacques Prévert, in around 1924 Tanguy was introduced into the circle of surrealist artists around André Breton. Tanguy quickly began to develop his own unique painting style, giving his first solo exhibition in Paris in 1927, and marrying his first wife later that same year. In January 1955, Tanguy suffered a fatal stroke at Woodbury, Connecticut.

Louise Nevelson

by Lindy S.

Louise Nevelson was a Jewish sculptor who had been born in Kiev, Russia on September 23, 1899. When her father left for America, she was so devastated that she did not talk for six whole months. When she was a child, she had started creating sculptures from the leftover timbers from her father’s work. As a child she also decided she was going to be a sculpture artist. She and her family soon moved to America with the money sent by her father. They lived in Rockland, Maine. They were one of very few Jewish families in the area. Her father soon became a very successful builder, realtor, lumberyard owner, so they moved into a beautiful house, and had soon liked new life in America. She was married after high school, but she and her husband split up after a couple of years. She was in Munich, Germany for six months until the Nazis closed her art school. Her only son, Myron, later became a famous sculptor. Louise had a public trademark of a showy style of clothes, and by fake eyelashes she used to wear. Once she had begun to sell many more of her sculptures, she was going to donate a sculpture to a museum in Paris, until the French government let out a terrorist. This reminded her of the Holocaust, so she did not end up donating her sculpture. The sculpture had been a memorial to the Jews that were killed during the Holocaust. There is a memorial garden that was made for her in New York. That was where she ended up living, and where she died on April 17, 1988.

Henry Moore (1898-1986)

by Kendyl D.



Henry Moore was a British artist and sculptor. Moore was the son of a mining engineer, and born in the Yorkshire town of Castleford, England. Moore became well known for his large-scale abstract cast bronze and carved marble sculptures. Supported by the British art establishment, Moore helped to introduce a particular form of modernism into the United Kingdom.His ability to satisfy large-scale commissions made him exceptionally wealthy towards the end of his life. However, most of his wealth went to endow the Henry Moore Foundation, which continues to support education and promotion of the arts. Moore’s signature form is a pierced reclining figure, first influenced by a Toltec-Maya sculpture known as "Chac Mool", which he had seen as a plaster cast in Paris, 1925. Early versions are pierced conventionally as a bent arm reconnects with the body. Later more abstract versions are pierced directly through the body in order to explore the concave and convex shapes.
His sculptures are usually abstractions of the human figure, and if so there’re almost always female. Many interpret the undulating form of his reclining figures as references to the landscape and hills of Yorkshire where Moore was born. Moore’s art, however, was not always such modernism, but rather direct carving, which evolved whittling from a block of wood, in his early years. At his home in Much Hadham, Moore built up a collection of natural objects such as skulls, driftwood, pebbles and shells, that he would use to provide inspiration for organic forms.
During World War II, Moore was commissioned as a war artist, notably producing powerful drawings of Londoners sleeping in the London Underground while sheltering from the blitz. These drawings helped to boost Moore's international reputation, especially in America.

Claude Monet (1840-1926)

by Carolyn H.





Monet was born in Paris, France on November 14, 1840. All his life he had wanted to be an artist, but it wouldn't of happened without the help of his aunt, Madame Lecadre, who unlike his father, approved of his artistic studies. His father wanted him to become a grocer, since that's what his profession was at the time. Monet is most well-known for his style of painting called "impressionism". This name of the technique came about from one of Monet's paintings, called Impression Sunrise. This style became popular in the 1870's. Impressionism is when an artist uses dabs or strokes of paint to make the objects in the picture appear more natural to the eye from a farther distance. They would also mix the atmosphere in with the skyline by painting with "light".

Camille Doncieux was Monet's first wife. While married to her, he was severely poor and had two children, Jean ( who was born three years before their marriage in 1867) and Michel, who was born in 1878). After nine years of marriage, Camille died so Alice Hoschedé helps him take care of Monet's children in despite having six of her own children. He married her in 1892, one year after her own husbands death. In his later years, Monet began to have trouble with his eyesight, but continued to paint. About the same time of his failing eyesight, he began a series of paintings called Water Lilies which grew in popularity as well. On December 15, 1926, Monet died, 86 years old. To this day, many still carry on his impressionistic style and enjoy many of his paintings. To see more of his work today, the Dallas Museum of Art has a few, including The Pont Neuf, The Seine at Lavacourt, Valle Buona, Near Bordighera, and Water Lilies.

Nam June Paik

by Erika P.



Nam June Paik was a South Korean artist. He was born on July 20th of 1932 in Korea. He worked on many mediums of art but was often recognized for inventing the medium, also known as video art. He had a father who was a textile manufacturer and four brothers. As he was growing up, he was trained as a typical paintist. In 1950, Nam and his family had to flee from Korea, due to the Korean War. First they fled to Hong Kong; then later Japan. Six years later, he graduated from the University of Tokyo with his histories of art and music. That same year, he moved to Germany, where he met three composers named Karlheinz Stockhausen, Joseph Beuys, and JohnCage. Paik was then inspired to go into electronic art. In 1964, Paik move to New York, and began working with a standard cellist Charlotte Moorman, to combine hisvideo, music, and performance. In 1965, Sony introduced the Portapak, Paik's greatest weapon. He could both move and record things; it was the first portable video and audio recorder. From there, Nam June became an international celebrity, known for his creative and entertaining works. In 1988, he showed his love for his first home, South Korea, with a piece called "The more the better", a giant tower made entirely of one thousand three monitors for the Olympic Games being held at Seoul. In 1996, Nam June Paik had a stroke, which left him partially paralyzed. He died on January 29, 2006, in Miami, Florida, due to natural causes.

Jackson Pollock

by Tiffany Byrd




Jackson Pollock was born in Wyoming on January 28, 1912. Jackson Pollock began studying art in 1928 when he was sixteen years old. In 1945 Jackson Pollock married another American artist Lee Krasner. Jackson Pollock had a very unique style of painting. Instead of using paint brushes Jackson Pollock used things such as towels, sticks, knives, toothbrushes and other things. This style was called the “Abstract Expressionist” style. His paintings had no shape and many different colors and big pieces of canvas. Jackson Pollock’s art reflected greatly on Pablo Picasso’s style of art, but his artwork was not anything like the work of Pablo Picasso’s. Because of Jackson Pollock’s style of art he became known as “Jack the Dripper”. Then in 1950 Jackson Pollock had a “mood swing” and so did his art. Because of this Jackson Pollock’s art changed to figurative black and white paintings. Jackson Pollock became an unhappy alcoholic. In 1955 Jackson Pollock quit painting and one year later he died in a car accident. “On the floor I am more at ease, I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk around in it, work from the four sides and be literally “in” the painting.” ~Jackson Pollock.