Rene Lalique was a glass designer and artist who became famous during the Art Deco movement. Rene Lalique was born in Ay- Champagne, Marne, France in the year 1860. The artist started his own design company that manufactured glass products from perfume bottles to hood ornaments. This company is still in business today.
For his artistic education Lalique attended the School for the Decorative Arts located in Paris, France. After this he took off to London, England and studied at the Crystal Palace School of Art Sydenham.
After his trip to England he began work as a free lance designer working for companies such as Cartier, perfume bottles, and even hood ornaments for companies like Rolls-Royce.
In this clip a great montage of works by Rene Lalique:
In the 1920s the Art Deco movement pushed his popularity to its highest level.
Rene Lalique died in 1945.
price range information: Works range from $2,000 to $30,000.
Horatio Walker was born in Listowel, Ontario, Canada in the year 1858. Walker was a landscape painter with an Impressionistic style of painting. His father had left England as a wealthy man and bought some timberland in Canada. His family owned and ran the timber operation.
He quit school at age fourteen and went on to apprentice with a major photography firm. Also working for the company were several highly regarded painters who Walker was able to learn from. One artist that highly influenced Horatio Walker was John Fraser. Below are some landscapes of Fraser.
After apprenticing for three years he was fired and then left for the United States. It was in the United States he saw the movement that would influence him the most, the French Barbizon School of Painting. The Barbizon School of Painting was a mix of romanticism and realism.
Horatio Walker was a noted watercolorist and invited to join the American Watercolor Society. He also worked in oils. ]
The artist himself was filled a difficult personal life. A daughter and son both died long before him and his wife was committed to a mental hospital.
Some prestigious memberships include Founder of the Canadian Art Club, member of the National Academy of Design in New York City, and the Royal Canadian Academy of Art.
Horatio Walker was living back in Quebec, Canada when he passed away in 1938 at the age of 80 years old.
price range information: Works range from $2,000 to $30,000.
Ira Barkoff is a contemporary American artist who works with the landscape in a very colorful fashion. According to his artistic statement Barkoff was ten years old when he realized he wanted to capture images and emotions thru painting. His favorite subjects are the land and sky. As a child his parents took him to the Catskill Mountains. This was the same place where the Hudson River School got its start.
For his artistic education Barkoff attended Pratt University. In addition he was to study at the Art Students League of New York City under such legends as Robert Beverly Hale.
The artist is based out of Cornwall, Connecticut.
I love what the artist says in his artistic statement. “Each work is a muli-layered statement of how I feel about nature.
price range information: Sorry none available.
In this clip we see a wonderful landscape work by Ira Barkoff:
What a great artist who captures the land in a very emotional manner and loaded with atmospheric effects.
If you enjoy looking at the landscape with vibrant color also check out the work of artist Gail Morris.
Nick Brandt is a contemporary American photographer renown for his images of the animals of Africa and for working in a collage method. Nick Brandt was born in the year 1938 in New York City. As a child the artist starting keeping diaries. In terms of the art world now, Brandt was a scrapbook master from an early age and starting taking pictures to include in his diary. Brandt began his diaries at the age of twelve.
Below a great interview with the artist. Again we see the use of oil paint with photographs similar to George Woodman and Nobuyoshi Araki:
For his artistic education Brandt attended Yale University studying art with the great Joseph Albers. Albers’ style was a mix of blending an outstanding sense of color with geometric shapes. Below an example of Albers’ style.
After graduating from Yale the artist moved to Africa and bought a place called Hog’s Ranch located in Kenya. Beard first went to Africa when he was seventeen years of age. Beard is quite fond of animal life in Africa and has tried to raise awareness of the poaching of elephants and rhinos. Beard even worked at the Tsavo National Park in Kenya. Beard has published books showing his work in this genre.
Beard also is a fashion photographer and in this clip we see some behind the scenes action from a calendar work by the artist.
In 1996 he received massage injuries whilst shooting some elephants. He was trampled by them. In the process Beard broke several ribs and his pelvic bone. The accident was even caught on film which is below. It isn’t as gruesome as I thought it might be,
The artist has worked with many other artists on collaborative work. Below is an example of his work with Andy Warhol:
Beard splits time in New York City and his Kenyan estate.
Price range information: Most works range from $8,000 to $80,000. Works at auction have broken the $600,000 mark.
If you enjoy this artist be sure and check out the work of Nick Brandt.
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