Author: Michael Smith

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Daily Art Moment: Édouard Vuillard

Image description: Vuillard, Interior, Mother and Sister of the Artist, 1893, oil on canvas. This painting is crowded with busy patterns and two women looking out towards the viewer. The young woman on the left wears a hunter green, yellow and white plaid dress and is leaning against the wall while bending forward at the waist as if to stay in the painting. The wall behind her is patterned of many colored splotches including white, crimson, yellow and dark green. Despite competing patterns the young woman almost blends into the wall, save for her pale face and hands. An older woman is seated on a chair in the middle of the space. She is wearing an all black dress and her pale face and hands offer contrast. The rug beneath them is a tan color and appears to have a subtle pattern to it. At the back of the room, in the corner, is a warm brown wooden dresser with drawers and on the far right of the scene, next to the seated woman is a round table covered with a brown, yellow, orange and cream patterned tablecloth. On top of the table sits a large wine bottle, an empty white plate and a crumpled white napkin.
Édouard Vuillard (French, 1868–1940), Interior, Mother and Sister of the Artist, 1893. Oil on canvas; 463 x 56.5 cm. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Gift of Mrs. Saidie A. May, 141.1934.

Artist Édouard Vuillard found inspiration from the people closest at hand, as seen in our current special exhibition, Private Lives: Home and Family in the Art of the Nabis, 1889–1900. Vuillard’s mother, Madame Marie Vuillard, was a constant in her son’s life and in his art. More than 500 paintings in which she is depicted,…  Read more

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Daily Art Moment: Trude Parkinson

Image description: Emerging Zodiac, 2021, oxidized silver leaf and Renaissance wax on paper, 17 ⅜ x 42 in. Horizontal rectangular composition of 7 abstract human silhouettes in motion rendered in rusty brown, verdigris, purple, yellow against a blank background of 2 brownish patina paper with wrinkles and frayed or burnt edges. From left to right, the figures appear captured in motion, arms or legs outstretched and cloaked in a large garment that at times appears as wings.

Emerging Zodiac is an exceptional example of Parkinson’s work and her dedicated interest in the human body in relation to the greater cosmos. The model of the dancing figure is artist Eiko Otake, a movement-based, interdisciplinary artist who has performed several times @picapdx. Inspired by Otake’s movements, Parkinson has documented these performances. Emerging Zodiac is…  Read more

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Write Around PAM: Pierre Bonnard

Image description: Family Scene. Pierre Bonnard. 1892. Color lithograph on paper. Image: 21.7 x 26. 7cm; Sheet: 27.9 x 39.6 cm. This lithograph features a tightly cropped view of three members of the artist’s family: his father, his sister, and between the two, the infant grandson. Against a flat tan background, the older man on the left appears in partial profile with just one ear and part of one eyeglass lens visible. His curling white and beige hair, which grows at the side of his bald head, trails out of the frame. His thick white beard adds texture to the print, in contrast to the flat black and tan clothing that is barely visible in the lower left-hand corner. The baby is the main focus of the piece. His round, hairless head has upward slanting almond-shaped eyes, a pug nose, and a mouth opened in a small “O.” Both chubby hands are curled in fists and his white swaddling gown encircles his head from the level of the eyes and continues flowing downward and off to the right side. The baby’s mother grips him with her left hand. Only her outstretched arm and part of her head are shown along the right side of the piece with the rest of her body disappearing out of the frame. Her head, filling the upper right corner of the print, shows both eyes, her nose, and a lock of hair rendered in heavy black paint.
Pierre Bonnard, Family Scene, 1892. Color lithograph on paper. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest (by exchange), 570.1951. Digital image c The Museum of Modern Art / Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource. NY. 2021 Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.

As the current Private Lives exhibition makes clear, the Nabis artists loved depicting children. Not only were they part of the artists’ intimate family circles, but children also offered an example of how to view the world with a fresh perspective. Drawing inspiration from Pierre Bonnard’s Family Scene, we invite you to write from the…  Read more

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Write Around PAM: Marie Watt

Image description: Companion Species: Ferocious Mother and Canis Familiaris. Marie Watt. 2017. Reclaimed wool blankets, embroidery floss, and thread. 108 in x 217 in. A long rectangular work composed of numerous other horizontally oriented rectangles. Each rectangle contains a word embroidered in red thread on various shades of cream to pale tan cloth in assorted stitches and styles. Some of the largest words are Ancestor, Myth, Love, Voice, Fighter, Custodian, Gratitude. Smaller words include Seeker, Care, Watcher, Legacy, Healer, Advocate, Interpreter, Wild, and Catalyst. Interspersed among the words are rectangles made of striped blankets in red, green, yellow, and black.
Marie Watt (American and Seneca, born 1967), Companion Species: Ferocious Mother and Canis Familiaris, 2017, reclaimed wool blankets, embroidery floss, and thread, 108 in x 217 in, Museum Purchase: Funds provided by The Ford Family Foundation and Dr. Loren Lipson. Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2017.106.1

Seneca artist Marie Watt created Companion Species: Ferocious Mother and Canis Familiaris with the help of over 200 people who participated in two sewing circles. These collective efforts generated a powerful piece filled with energy and hope. The holiday season can be a time of collective joy and togetherness; it can also be a painful…  Read more

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Write Around PAM: Gail Tremblay

Gail Tremblay (American, Onondaga, and Mi'kmaq), In Great Expectations, There is no Red Leader, 2011, 35mm film, leader, and metallic braid, Museum Purchase: Native American Acquisitions Fund, © artist or other rights holder, 2013.74.1, Photo Credit: Rebekah Johnson.

In this piece by Onondaga and Mi’kmaq artist Gail Tremblay, 35 mm film finds new life, transformed into a woven basket. Tremblay adapts Indigenous weaving practices, traditionally used to make ash splint and sweetgrass baskets, to this new medium. She “enjoys the notion of recycling film and gaining control over a medium that had historically…  Read more

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Queen Nefertari’s Egypt Viewing Guide

Goddesses and Queens Queen Nefertari’s Egypt features many representations of goddesses—from the large sculptures of Sekhmet and Mut in the introductory gallery to small amulets and mirrors decorated with the face of the goddess Hathor. Sometimes ancient Egyptian queens took on the status of goddesses after their deaths, as in the case of Queen Ahmose-Nefertari,…  Read more

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Daily Art Moment: Private Lives

Image descriptions: 1. Pierre Bonnard, Child with Lamp. Lithograph on cream paper of a young child playing with toys on a small red table with a lamp. The background consists of of a rose pink color with dark brownish green hatched lines. The light-skinned child with rose pink hair is wearing a white shirt with blue dots. The child grasps the edge of the table with their left hand and rests their right arm on top of the table. The child’s head is tilted to the right and faint, loose brown lines make up the child’s facial features. The child holds red and blue toy stagecoaches. The lamp in front of the child has a dark green cylindrical base and a large dark blue shade that has a cream strip on top with a repeated pattern of dark blue x’s. A round dark green fixture holds the shade at the top and a white pole extends up out of the shade. Red and blue organic lines radiate from the white pole layered over the rose background.
Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867–1947), Child with Lamp, ca. 1897. Color lithograph on China paper; image: 33 x 44.9 cm. Museum Purchase: Ella M. Hirsch Fund, 41.11.6

After resetting the clocks and settling in for a dark winter, I am reminded of the many scenes of lamplight in the exhibition Private Lives: Home and Family in the Art of the Nabis, 1889–1900. Families gathered around oil lamps, candles, or the hearth in tenebrous Parisian apartments. Each artist in the exhibition brought a…  Read more

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Write Around PAM: Nan MacDonald

Image Description: Honor the Harvest (Corn Washing Basket). Nan MacDonald. 2014. White ash, sweetgrass, and oak basket. 18 in x 12 in diameter. This tall basket is square on the bottom with pointed bases on the four sides and has a rounded top with a smooth wooden handle that runs over the top diagonally and down both sides, connecting on the bottom of the basket. The intricate woven pattern has larger strips of light wood evenly spaced vertically with two thin horizontal bands connecting them. The smooth wooden lip at the top has a darker grain and then thin strips which are angled diagonally and evenly spaced. They cross the handle against the lip in an x shape.
Nan MacDonald (American, Abenaki, and Mohaw, born 1956), Honor the Harvest (Corn Washing Basket), 2014, white ash, sweetgrass, and oak, 18 in x 12 in diam., Museum Purchase: Funds provided by bequest of Elizabeth Cole Butler by exchange. Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2014.17.1

As we shift our clocks back to standard time this weekend and our bodies adjust to the change, it feels like just the right time to pause and reflect on all this recent season has offered. Cooler and wetter weather, colorful leaves, harvests, celebrations, even a busyness of newfound routines. Whatever fall has offered you,…  Read more

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Write Around PAM: Silas Aittauq

Image Description: Spirits. Silas Aittauq. 1986. Serpentine carving 9 in x 4 1/2 in x 1 3/4 in. Sleek gray carving of a spirit with multiple faces. From the angle of the photograph - the body is facing to the right, but the head is turned to face the camera. The face is round with almond shaped eyes and a thin nose carved into it. A slightly opened mouth lies behind a raised strip under the nose. It has bangs that are parted in the middle and angle to each side of the head. The body is leaning forward, right arm bent at the elbow with the hand holding the chin of the turned face. The legs are bent at the knees and there are rounded feet below. The back and space behind the legs has the profile of two additional faces. Long thin noses and plump lips are visible. There are blemishes in the material and scratches across the sculpture. A prominent light colored scratch runs from the right eye, over the lips and chin, over the finger, and down to the armpit.
Silas Aittauq (Canadian, Inuit, and Baker Lake, 1933-2013), Spirits, 1986, serpentine, 9 in x 4 1/2 in x 1 3/4 in, Gift of Meredith and Robert Amon. Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2012.127.35

Spirits, by Inuit sculptor Silas Aittauq, carries an energy that seems fitting for this season of Halloween, of harvest, of Dia de Muertos, and of remembering those who have passed. We invite you to take some time today to reflect on, and then write about, your own spirit in this moment. What parts of your…  Read more

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Daily Art Moment: Francisco de Goya

1. Mucho hay que chupar (There is plenty to suck), plate 45 from the series Los Caprichos, 1799, etching, plate: 8 1/16 in x 5 7/8 in; sheet: 11 5/8 in x 7 11/16 in. Three ghouls or goblins huddle together over a basket of infants. The ghouls have grotesque faces with exaggerated gaping mouths, sunken eyes, and gnarled hands. They are draped in light colored fabric while gesturing to a small box or open book in their hand. At their feet is a handled basket filled with what appears to be small babies. Two bats appear over their shoulders at right. Wings are outstretched in flight. Shadows at left balance the scene. “Mucho hay que chupar” appears along the bottom.

When it comes to bats, gremlins, witches, and bogeymen, it is hard to beat the graphic work of Francesco de Goya. In honor of #Halloween, I offer you four prints from our collection acquired in 2019. All four hail from Los Caprichos (Caprices), a series of 80 enigmatic, satirical, and frequently bizarre etchings published in…  Read more