The World of Gloria Vanderbilt ~

Collages, Dream Boxes and Recent Paintings

Aurelia in turtleneck

When I think of Gloria Vanderbilt I think of those once thought of sexy jeans she came out with in the 1970's.  Admit it, (if you were alive in the 70's) you owned a pair or two!  Who knew she is also a painter and creates collages?  At 88, Gloria is busy painting portraits of friends and family among other things, and has been doing so since the 50's.  1st Dibs is showcasing her work in an exhibition thru October 24th.  Earlier works and dream boxes will be displayed, but only certain recent works will be for sale to benefit The Huntsville Museum of Art.

Cloud Land

Patterns

I liked the collages with their flecks of gold, shells, fabric and brightly colored bits of paper.  It looked like the faces were painted on the glass.  They had a 3-dimensional quality to them.  Often the collages were of royalist subjects.  Gloria's artistic endeavors spawned many business ventures.

Cavalier

Along side the paintings were dream boxes.  I fully admit, I do not understand the plexiglass containers filled with doll heads and paraphernalia, but somebody called it visual poetry.  Who am I to question art?

Surprises

Bye Bye Mamma from Baby Willy

Lily of the Valley

New Years Eve

Gloria usually doesn't know what she is going to paint until she is standing in front of the canvas, always wearing her denim painting smock and signature hair style.  Her inspiration; an appetite for life!

ph: Josh Gaddy

See more of Gloria's work: here
phs: 1st Dibs and CLI

Monet's Inspiration

"My most beautiful work of art is my garden" 

Bridge over a pond of  Water lilies , 1899

     

The Monet exhibit at The New York Botanical Gardens is a feast for the senses.  It is as close to Giverny as I have gotten.  The NYBG recreated the famous waterlily pond and Monet's perennial garden (to the best of their ability) that so inspired Claude Monet's most well known landscapes.

Monet's flower gardens have figured into approximately 40 of his works of art ~ his water garden, the centerpiece of the property, to no fewer than 250 of his known 2,500 paintings.

It was interestingly curated.  We learn about Giverny; the time, the toil, and what it took to build and grow the gardens; then how it influenced his art ~ or did his art then influence his gardens, the combinations, and the plantings?

Monet said he owed becoming a great painter to his flowers.

Nympheas (Waterlilies) 1915

If you want to learn more about waterlilies text NYBG waterlily to 56512 for gardening tips.  I liked the  interactivity to the  exhibit.  I downloaded the free app from iTunes; it was a nice marriage of info between the paintings and the gardens, along with the history of Giverny.  I walked away with a really good understanding of the importance the flowers played inspiring one of the greatest impressionistic artists of all times.

Monet chose flowers that complemented the pink stucco exterior of the home at Giverny.  The vines climbing up the walls and the green shutters were thoughtfully chosen to compliment that facade.

Garden Path at Giverny, 1902

The alée pathway, was a unique combination of 18th C. English landscape design:  planting profusions of flowers in interesting combinations, and the stricter 17th C. French practice similar to André Le Nôtre where symmetry reigns.   Deep colors were planted at the front of the beds and they got progressively lighter in an effort to create depth.  Interestingly, the water garden was cultivated in the opposite way.  It has strong Asian influences and appears to spring naturally from the earth.

Young Girl in the garden in Giverny, 1888

"Don't you find that one does better when all alone with nature?

I myself am convinced of it"

~ C. Monet

Agapanthus, 1918-1926

The exhibit is running through October.  I may have to go back to see the fall colors as well.  Monet always made sure there was interesting color no matter the season.  I tried that, but failed.  My garden seems to have two colors, green and brown.