The artist imbues the scene of the darkening piazza with a sense of foreboding. Giorgio de Chirico, The Soothsayer’s Recompense by Dr. Sophia Maxine Farmer
Exploring how Duchamp's art challenges viewers is essential to understanding his creativity and much of the art of the last century. Marcel Duchamp and the Viewer by Dr. Mark B. Pohlad
A black painter confronts white supremacy amidst the two world wars. Horace Pippin, Mr. Prejudice by Jessica T. Smith, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Dr. Steven Zucker
Which one is “true,” the one that tricks the viewer into thinking it is really there, or the one that announces itself as what it is, lines drawn on paper? Juan Gris, The Table by Dr. Charles Cramer and Dr. Kim Grant
African Americans' ongoing fight against racism in the U.S. undermined the sense of victory in both world wars. Horace Pippin, Mr. Prejudice by Jessica T. Smith, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Dr. Steven Zucker
Living in peace—predator and prey, and Native Americans and settler colonists—but for how long? Hicks’s The Peaceable Kingdom as Pennsylvania parable by Barbara Bassett, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Dr. Beth Harris
An explosion in a mine kills 111, Shahn captures the devastation of those left behind. Ben Shahn, Miners’ Wives by Jessica T. Smith, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Dr. Beth Harris
On the eve of the American Revolution, a glimpse of politics in portraiture John Singleton Copley, Portrait of Mr. and ... by Dr. Kathleen Adair Foster, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Dr. Beth Harris
A brutal history told for a modern American city, Mexican muralism in New York Diego Rivera’s Sugar Cane by Dr. Matthew Affron and Dr. Steven Zucker
How a portrait of an African Muslim came to hang side-by-side with the founding fathers in one of America's earliest museums. An African Muslim among the founding fathers, ... by Dr. Carol Eaton Soltis, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Dr. Steven Zucker
Perspective is the star of this painting. Saenredam expertly widens the viewpoint to create an interior panorama. Saenredam, Interior of Saint Bavo, Haarlem by Dr. Christopher D.M. Atkins and Dr. Steven Zucker
Mary cries and falls into John’s arms. Rogier’s precise observations accentuate the emotional impact of this scene. Rogier van der Weyden, The Crucifixion, with ... by Dr. Christopher D.M. Atkins and Dr. Beth Harris
As the European public grew increasingly hard to scandalize, Duchamp crossed the Atlantic to stir up more trouble. Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, No ... by Dr. Thomas Folland
Love, sex, science, broken glass, a coffee grinder, a bride from another dimension—this one really has it all. Marcel Duchamp, The Bride Stripped Bare ... by Dr. Lara Kuykendall
Suspended above the sea, the drama of this rescue scene comes from nature, not man. Winslow Homer, The Life Line by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris
One of the leaders of Impressionism turns his back on the movement and attempts to reclaim the classical nude. Auguste Renoir, The Large Bathers by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris
A city inhabited: Renoir’s optimistic but sketchy representation of modern life on the new boulevards of Paris. Auguste Renoir, The Grands Boulevards by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris
Obsessed with this view, Monet paid the owner of the trees not to cut them down until he finished his paintings. Claude Monet, Poplars by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris
So close, yet so far—face-to-face with Christ, we fail to catch his eye. But what’s that reflected on his chest? Robert Campin, Christ and the Virgin by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris
Cassatt’s subject, perhaps her sister Lydia, participates in the voyeurism of the Paris opera during intermission. Mary Cassatt, Woman with a Pearl Necklace ... by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris