An aristocrat who stood aloof from the sweaty fray of art movements, Degas emerged from his ecole des Beaux-Arts training with a predilection for Italian old masters and for classicizing French forerunners like Ingres. He painted portraits of upper-class families with hints of Realism showing through

Composed, Figurative painting, Intimate, Post-impressionism, Serene

Vincent Van Gogh's life was one of tragedy, pain, loneliness, and misunderstanding. But it also contained a deep sense of compassion for others, powerful feelings of love, ecstatic reactions to nature, and an abiding passion for beauty. Although he was unacknowledged during his lifetime, very few peo

Anxiety, Figurative painting, Intimate, Polychromatic, Post-impressionism, Self-reflection, Tense

Robert Frank is among the most important living photographers, but to say this is to understate the self-evident. At the same time, it seems ironic to articulate the importance of an artist who is so indifferent to success and so suspicious of whatever is well regarded. Frank's work chronicles th

Beats, Contemplative, Documentary photography, Intimate, Melancholy, Minimal, Open-ended, Sublime

Alfred Stieglitz spent his life pushing for the acknowledgement of photography as a valid art form. In 1923, when the Museum of Fine Arts hosted some of Stieglitz's photographs, it marked the first time that the American public saw photography in a major American museum. Stieglitz was born in New J

Contemplative, Ethereal, Intimate, Pictorialism, Sincere