Hessam Abrishami, 1951 | Abstract painter

Born in the city of Shiraz, Iran, Hessam Abrishami was the son of middle class parents and one of eight brothers and sisters.

At age 15, through the inspiration and encouragement of a high school teacher, Hessam discovered both his love of art and his own talent for painting. As a result he became almost obsessed with painting.

Marie-Louise von Motesiczky | Expressionist painter

Obituary: Marie-Louise von Motesiczky

by Peter Black, Saturday, 15 June 1996

Marie-Louise von Motesiczky (October 24, 1906 - June 10, 1996) was a painter of exceptional humanity and wit whose portraits and still lifes deserve an honoured place in European art.

Born in Vienna in 1906, she had a long productive life despite the tragic upheaval of leaving Austria in 1938, and suffering many years of British indifference to German art. The paintings have always had their influential admirers, but have only sporadically received the public attention due to them.

Elena Bond, 1965 | Ballet dancers

Elena Bond /Елена Бонд is an Russian painter⏭, known for work in the Impressionist style⏩. Bond was born in Samara, Russia.

For biographical notes and other works by Elena Bond see:

• Elena Bond, 1965 ~ City Reflections ⏯

Mark Boyle | Plein air painter

• Artist Statement:

In my early years, I explored ravines and woods near my house. Often being late for dinner lost in another world. A serious interest in painting developed at 11 years old. As I recall, my first painting was of a rainbow trout. My parents hired local artists to instruct me privately during my teen years.

A person who really taught good basics was Carl Christophersen. In painting lessons, Carl taught me to divide objects into shapes and planes with hard and soft edges.

John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893)

James McNeill Whistler, con cui Grimshaw ha lavorato nei suoi studi di Chelsea, ha dichiarato: "Mi consideravo l'inventore dei notturni finché non ho visto le foto di Grimmy al chiaro di luna".

John Atkinson Grimshaw è stato un artista Inglese dell'era vittoriana noto per le sue scene notturne di paesaggi urbani.

Oggi è considerato uno dei grandi pittori dell'era vittoriana, nonché uno dei migliori e più affermati artisti di paesaggi notturni e urbani di tutti i tempi.

È stato definito un "pittore straordinario e fantasioso" dal critico e storico Christopher Wood in Victorian Painting (1999).

L'amore di Grimshaw per il realismo derivava dalla passione per la fotografia, che alla fine si sarebbe prestata al processo creativo.

George Richmond | Painter and miniaturist

George Richmond RA (28 March 1809 - 19 March 1896) was an English painter and portraitist. In his youth he was a member of The Ancients, a group of followers of William Blake.

Later in life he established a career as a portrait painter, which included painting the portraits of the British gentry, nobility and royalty.

He was the son of Thomas Richmond, miniature-painter, and was the father of the painter William Blake Richmond as well as the grandfather of the naval historian, Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond.

A keen follower of cricket, Richmond was noted in one obituary as having been "an habitué of Lord's since 1816".

Metal sculpture

There are two families of metals: ferrous and non ferrous. All ferrous metals contain iron. Non ferrous metals include aluminium, zinc and copper and its alloys, for example bronze.

Metals can be hammered without breaking or cracking them in order to shape them, they can also be melted and used in moulds or made into wire and modelled - this makes them ideal media for sculptors to work with.

The use of bronze for making cast sculpture is very ancient, and bronze is perhaps the metal most traditionally thought of as a sculptural medium.

Paul Hedley, 1947 | Figurative painter

Paul Hedley spending his childhood in Chatham, Kent.

He studied art at Medway College of Art from 1966-68, and then later at Maidstone College of Art where he was awarded the Diploma in Art and Design.

Paul Hedley has been painting ever since he can remember.

An education based on traditional art techniques of drawing and painting plus the influence the French artists Edgar Degas (1834-1917) and Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940) have influenced the development of his art works.

Paul Verlaine | Art Poétique / L'Arte Poetica, 1882

Arte poetica /Art Poétique fu scritta dal poeta simbolista francese Paul Marie Verlaine (1844-1896) nel 1882, mentre era in carcere in Belgio.

Il titolo richiama l'analogo poemetto del poeta latino Orazio, assunto, nei secoli, come la migliore sintesi della visione classicista del poetare.

La celebre lirica di Verlaine, riscrivendo le regole della poesia, fu subito considerata Il Manifesto della nuova scuola Simbolista.

Edgar Degas - Young Girl Reading on the Floor