Christian Dior

Happy Birthday Christian Dior! Born in 1905, Christian is a well known French fashion designer. He began by selling his sketches on the street for 10 cents! He studied Political Science for a time, but left school and opened a gallery in 1928, selling works by Picasso and others. Family disaster forced him to close the gallery and he began selling his sketches to haute couture houses. In 1945 he opened his own business and began designing voluptuous dresses, saying "I have designed flower women." His creations were termed the New Look. War times had previously caused fashions to be slim and use little fabric; however Dior’s creations were cinched at the waist with flared skirts and flattering hemlines. His designs gave women curvaceous figures. An example of such is below…

John Goddard

Happy Birthday John Goddard! The American cabinetmaker was born in 1723, and raised a Quaker in Rhode Island. He apprenticed with a cabinetmaker, Job Townsend for 8 years beginning at age 13, married his mentor’s daughter, and moved into his own home and shop. The two families are considered top craftsmen of the day. Goddard worked basically in the Queen Anne tradition, pioneering (with Townsend) the block front style, furniture which is divided vertically with convex and concave sections alternating on either side. The mahogany furniture has short curved legs in the Queen Anne style, with shell carvings on the block front. The high chest viewed below was built in 1755.

Paul Cezanne

Happy Birthday Paul Cezanne! French born in 1839 to a wealthy banker, Cezanne is considered a Post-Impressionist. He studied law for a time, but also took art courses. Some say he is perhaps the greatest painter of the past 100 years. In the 1860’s, Cezanne became aligned with the Impressionists, but eventually moved away from the lack of structure in their work, wanting to “make of Impressionism something solid and durable”. As the Impressionists, Cezanne often painted outdoors, a practice which would ultimately lead to his death after being caught in a rainstorm, falling ill and later dying from the exposure. The Still Life with Apples and Oranges (1899) pictured here demonstrates Cezanne’s quest for durability, the forms simplified and darkly outlined, the cloth expertly shaded with blended values.

Post-Impressionists were not so much against Impressionism, rather wanted to go a step further. Impressionists were essentially colorists, fascinated with light and color and the effects of light, atmosphere, and sunlight on their subject matter. They were caught up in the surface or impression of the object, while Post-Impressionist wanted to control or organize reality, desiring a more personal interpretation.

Antoine Pevsner

First and foremost let us say Happy Birthday to Dr. Martin Luther KingJr.! American civil rights activist who was shot down before he could realize his dream for our country.



Happy Birthday Antoine Pevsner! Russian sculptor born in 1886, Antoine Pevsner was the older brother to Naum Gabo. Eventually Pevsner moved to Paris, becoming a French citizen. Both men were front runners of modern sculpture, Constructivists, advancing sculpture into welded metal kinesthetic structures. Pevsner was first to use the blowtorch for his work. Pictured below we see one of Pevsner’s works from 1933 currently displayed in the Guggenheim in New York. The Anchored Cross is fabricated from painted brass and crystal, 33 1/2 inches in length diagonally. Constructivism rejected the idea of “art for art’s sake”, but used art as a vehicle for social consciousness. They founded the publication Realist Manifesto in 1920.


Realistic Manifesto: A publication written by Pevsner and Gabo, detailing their artistic theories that art should be separated from conventions such as line, form, color, etc. “The plumb-line in our hand, eyes as precise as a ruler, in a spirit as taut as a compass . . . we construct our work as the universe constructs its own, as the engineer constructs his bridges, as the mathematician his formula of the orbits.” Believing art must be a part of all aspects of every man’s life: "at the workbench, at the office, at work, at rest, and at leisure; work days and holidays, at home and on the road, so that the flame of life does not go out in man." Their works were constructed from contemporary industrial materials.

Laurent Delvaux

Happy Birthday Laurent Delvaux! Flemish sculptor, born in 1696, Delvaux worked in England and Rome, finally returning to Flanders in 1733. He sculpted in marble and wood, primarily for churches and the court. His work is quite ornate and referred to as “cold” combining French neoclassicism and Italian baroque styles. Sampson is located in the Louvre.

Samuel McIntire

Happy Birthday Samuel McIntire! The American architect was born in 1757, in Salem, Massachusetts and began as a wood carver, evolving into an architect. He is the most well known designer of Federal-style buildings, simple, distinguished structures, usually 3 stories high with flat or low roofs hidden by cornices and balustrades. McIntire’s forms are simple with restrained ornamentation. The interiors are refined with carved moldings, mantles, and high ceilings. Most rooms are rectangular, sometimes with oval ends, bays and niches. Pictured below is the Pierce-Nichols Home.

Federal-style-Type of architecture developed by Samuel McIntire, greatly influenced by the Palladian method of Roman architecture which followed strict mathematical guidelines. McIntire was further predisposed to the patriotic spirit of the period, including stars, eagles and his personal addition: sheaves of wheat.

Ferdinand Waldmuller

Happy Birthday Ferdinand Waldmuller! Austrian (1793) born, Waldmuller was a Romantic painter of primarily portraits. He studied the Viennese masters, copying their work. Later, Waldmuller became immersed in painting landscapes in great, meticulous detail, as exemplified in Dog by a Basket of Grapes. Disputes arose about his preoccupation with painting nature (it did not fit with their credo) and he was eventually removed from his position as professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. He was eventually "forgiven" and was knighted in the 1860s. He continued painting incredible portraits and landscapes until his death in 1865.