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Saturday, September 10, 2011

Saturday Salon: A Favorite Painting or Two....or Three!

Lotus Lilies

Afternoon in the Cluny Gardens

A Breezy Day

Shadows

The Cabbage Field

On the Heights

The Lanterns

The Goldfish

Children Catching Minnows

A Deep Sea Fantasy

Goldfish

In the Luxembourg Gardens

Charles Courtney Curran (1861 - 1942) was a prolific American artist influenced by the Impressionist style. He was born in Kentucky and moved to New York City as a young man to study at the National Academy of Design. He also studied in Paris. He later taught at several of NYC's most prestigious art schools: Pratt Institute and Cooper Union among them. He was highly successful and his work appears to have been appreciated and sought after for all of his long life.

Summer Clouds

He was known for - though not necessarily restricted to - his paintings of women in beautiful vistas.  Lotus Lilies is probably his most famous and most recognizable painting. I love his goldfish paintings as well and I prefer his interpretation of The Lanterns over Sargent's similar work.

To read more about Curran, please use this link.

Charles Courtney Curran

19 comments:

  1. I especially like Shadows and A Breezy Day. By Sargent, do you mean the Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose? I so love that picture. I only found out about it a few years ago when a blogger posted it. The light, the colors, those girls' faces are perfect to me. I use it as my desktop picture sometimes and get lost in the scene. :<)

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  2. Nan: I'm not sure of the title of the Sargent picture. It's the one with the young girls and the lanterns. I do like it, but it's not my favorite of Sargent's work. I do, actually, prefer this Curran lantern piece.

    You know how subjective art can be. :)

    There are some Curran paintings I'm not fond of, but this batch I like very much.

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  3. A beautiful selection of images — I too especially like the painting of lanterns. One thing I'm conscious of is that Curran's sense of composition was great, with interesting negative spaces. The Cabbage Field looks like an N. C. Wyeth painting — I'll bet Curran spent some time with the Brandywine group.

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  4. I absolutely love when you share a favourite painting ... or three ... with us. And how kind of you to inform me that it is Sargent I am thinking of when I see your painting of the lanterns :)

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  5. Mark: There were plenty of images to choose from as Curran was an especially prolific painter. I too noticed his wonderful use of negative space. (A talent in itself.)

    Not sure if he spent time with the Brandywine folks, but he did spend the latter part of his years as leader of the Cragsmoor Art Colony in the Cragsmoor area of New York State.

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  6. Thank you, Dorte. Glad you enjoyed viewing Curran's paintings. It was a treat to post them. :)

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  7. Your wonderful blog is a source of fascination and delight. I found you last night when searching for a painting and, I hope it is not overstepping, linked my blog to yours, with all credit, today to reference the painting. I want to pursue each link you offer, just move in here and be among my people until I am nearly too stiff to move without help. Thank you.

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  8. Yvette, these are lovely! I love impressionists, although I am also quite ignorant when it comes to art history. I'm so grateful for you showcasing Curran like this.

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  9. Lotus Lilies is gorgous, some of those flowers look like they are going to pop off the canva. The same with the plant behind the red umbrella in Afternoon in Cluny Gardens.

    Shadows is simply gorgeous and I love the muted colors he used in The Cabbage Field.

    The Lanterns and Goldrish have a almost fantasy feel to them. I can see either as a book cover.

    My favorite though is In the Luxembourg Gardnes. I love the texture in the lion statue. I so want that one hanging on my wall.

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  10. Marylinn: Thanks for finding us here in our little blogging corner of the world. :)

    Your enthusiasm means so much to me.

    This is what makes blogging worth the work. Come visit any time, you're always welcome.

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  11. Simon: Thanks for dropping by. Yours was one of the first blogs I discovered when I began blogging.

    You'll always find paintings and artwork here and definitely on Saturdays.

    Curran is a recent discovery for me. I love his work. I'm so glad you enjoyed it as well.

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  12. Ryan: You can probably get a poster copy of Curran's work. Check around. I have to say that it would be very hard to pick just one. :)

    In the Cluny gardens one, the juxtaposition of that bright red umbrella against all the shadowy green is just spectacular. A wonderful use of space too.

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  13. I like Shadows. I don't know if I've ever seen a painting like that before. The shadows on the sheets of the trees are just beautiful.

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  14. Curran's works are wonderful! Thanks for highlighting another talented artist who takes an ordinary task and turns it into a marvel of light and color in his painting!

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  15. Ooooh pretty! I think I like The Cabbage Field, Goldfish and In the Luxembourg Gardens the best. You know if you feed the birds at the Luxembourg Gardens the gendarmes will yell at you? I know from experience! ;-)

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  16. Kathy: Yes, it is a unique interpretation. A wonderful painting.

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  17. Pat: It takes a special talent to look at a mundane task and see beauty.

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  18. Lauren: Oh really? Well, if I ever find myself in the Luxembourg Gardens, I will DEFINITELY feed the birds! Obviously I am an anarchist. :)

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  19. i'm not sure when the fishing for minnows came ous, but when i was little, a lady told me to pose with a net because she was going to paint a girl fishing. I have (and had) bleach blonde hair so i can't help but wonder if this could be it.

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