The Toledo Museum of Art has 45 galleries and a collection of more than 30,000 objects. It was founded by Toledo glassmaker Edward Drummond Libbey in 1901, so it’s no surprise that it has a major collection of glass art and a 74,000-square-foot Glass Pavilion. It has a lovely selection of artwork, as well, including lots of pieces that caught our fancy by artists we’re not familiar with.
Young Lady with a Bird and Dog, John Singleton Copley, 1767. This was painted as a showpiece for the Society of London Artists’ exhibition. Copley anxiously awaited news of its reception, only to have a friend write to him, “you have been universally condemned in the choice of your Subject, which is [of] so disagreeable a Character, as to have made the Picture disliked by every one but the best Judges.” !!!
Study for the Water Lillies Series, Claude Monet, circa 1922-25. In the late 1800s Monet conceived of a large circular room filled with large panels of his water lily paintings. He began the project in 1914 and completely it 12 years later. 22 panels were installed in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris, France. This painting is a study for the Morning composition, and the cover photo for this post is a close-up.
Colors of Resilience, Brenda Singletary. We enjoyed Singletary’s solo exhibition, Reflections of Spirit. “Each piece in this collection conveys a spectrum of emotions, from profound loss to jubilant celebration. The paintings delve deep into the human spirit, employing a vibrant color palette to create abstract forms that seem to sway and soar across the canvas, framed by expanses of space that evoke a sense of openness and freedom”
Lotus Lamp, designed by Clara Pierce Wolcott and manufactured by Tiffany Studios, about 1905. I loved the shapes surrounding the bulbs inside.
Windows from the mausoleums of W.H. Snyder, 1903, and the Fisk-Collins family, 1900. Both by Tiffany Studios.
This large piece is Apollo by Henri Matisse, 1953. It’s from his cut-paper period, and he closely supervised the transposing of his designs into ceramic tiles for this mural. The ceramicist was J.L. Artigas.
In the Garden, Frederick Frary Fursman, 1909.
Hispano-Moresque Electrolier, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Tiffany Studios, 1900. An electrolier is an electric chandelier, this one inspired by 150th-century Muslim-ruled Spain.
Confetti Chandelier, Dale Chihuly, circa 2000.
Vase, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Tiffany Studios, circa 1913.
Quai aux Fleurs, Paris, Luther Emerson van Gorder, circa 1911.
Regatta at Trouville, Gustave Caillebotte, 1884.
Jeanne Cartier, Francis Luis Mora, 1915. I love the exuberance conveyed by this painting.
Antonin Proust, Edouard Manet, 1880. Proust and Manet were lifelong friends. Proust immortalized Manet in a biography, and Manet immortalized Proust in this painting.
Princess Demidoff, John Singer Sargent, 1895-96.
Wheat Fields with Reaper, Auvers, Vincent van Gogh, 1890. One of his last works.
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