Articles

Jackson Pollock, Number 1A, 1948 © 2025 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York via MoMA

Edward Gray

The Hidden Stories Behind Backgrounds in Paintings

Backgrounds in painting hold secrets, symbols, and atmosphere. They guide the viewer’s eye and transform the meaning of every work of art.

Paul Gauguin, Self-Portrait, 1889 via Google Arts and Culture/National Gallery of Art

Adrian Mercer

Why Artists Return to Themselves Through Self-P...

Self-portraits reveal artistry and identity across time. From Dürer to Kahlo, these works chart ambition, vulnerability, and the search for legacy.

The Armory Show, International Exhibition of Modern Art. View of the Cubist gallery (Gallery 53), Art Institute of Chicago, March–April 1913. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Lena Whitmore

The Armory Show of 1913: When Modern Art Shocke...

The 1913 Armory Show brought Cubism, Fauvism, and radical European art to the United States, shocking audiences and changing American art forever.

James Tissot, The Gallery of HMS Calcutta (Portsmouth), 1877 via Wikipedia

Isabelle Fenwick

Society Portraits: Men Who Painted Women with E...

Throughout art history, these male painters painted women with grace, romance, and beauty, portraying them in rich clothing and luminous colors.

Raoul Dufy, Boats at Martigues, 1908 via Artchive

Julian Ashford

Fauvism: Bold Colors and the Birth of Modern Pa...

Fauvism brought a radical use of pure color and expressive brushwork. Led by Matisse and Derain, it transformed early 20th-century painting into modern art.

Chris Burden, Trans-Fixed, 1972. Film still from Burden (2016). Courtesy Magnolia Pictures. © 2019 Chris Burden / licensed by The Chris Burden Estate and Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York via Artnet

Sebastian Moore

Curated: Top 10 Most Controversial Art Performa...

From bullets to blood, these 10 controversial performances reveal how artists pushed the limits of the body, morality, and art itself.

Georgia O'Keeffe, Red Hills with Flowers, 1937

Clara V. Leone

Snakes, Skulls, and More: The Language of Symbo...

From serpents to vanitas skulls, symbols reveal centuries of artistic meaning, shaping how viewers understand life, death, and belief.

Salvador Dalí, The Elephants, 1948 via Singulart

Rowan Whit

Underrated Salvador Dalí Paintings You Should Know

Beyond melting clocks, Dalí painted visions of desire, war, science, and myth. These underrated works reveal his imagination in vivid and unexpected ways.

Rufino Tamayo, Animals, 1941 via MoMA

Edward Gray

Global Modernisms: India, Mexico, and Japan Rei...

Modernism flourished worldwide. Artists in India, Mexico, and Japan adapted the movement to their own cultures, reshaping its forms, politics, and meanings.

Sofonisba Anguissola, The Chess Game (Portrait of the artist’s sisters playing chess), 1555, via Smarthistory

Isabelle Fenwick

Forgotten Women in Early Modern European Art Hi...

Forgotten women of early modern Europe shaped art with portraits, still lifes, and altarpieces, leaving legacies that deserve renewed recognition.