Monday Visit to Balboa Park in San Diego

After a great lunch with Colleen and friends, I strolled over to the San Diego Museum of Art.  I enjoyed their exhibit "Art of the  20th Century" which highlights the museums collection of modern and contemporary art plus a few loans from other museums.  I also enjoyed a special exhibit on paintings and sculptures on or near Coney Island, New York.  

Here are some of my favorites:

"Morning News," 1912 by Francis Luis Mora, American, 1874-1940, oil on panel.

"Winter Road," 1912 by Georage Wesley Bellows, American, 1882-1925, oil on canvas.  Bellows is quoted as declaring "I must paint the snow at least once a year."

"Farm Landscape, Cattle in Pasture (also called Sunset Nantucket)" 1883 by George Inness, American, 1825-1894, oil on panel.  

"Below the Towers of Tower Falls, Yellowstone Park," 1909 by Thomas Moran, American, born in England, 1837-1926, oil on canvas.

"Red Blossom," 1910 by Alexei Jawlensky, Russian, 1864-1841, oil on board.  Jawlensky wrote: "Apples, trees, human faces are for me only suggestions to see something else in them - the life of color, seized with a lover's passion."

"Tutzing," 1908 by Gabriele Munter, German, 1877-1962, oil on board.

"Memory of Turin," 1918 by Giorgio de Chirico, Italian, 1888-1978, oil on canvas.

"The Hands of Dr. Moore," 1940 by Diego Rivera, Mexican, 1886-1957, oil on canvas.  The inscription reads, "These are the hands of Dr. Clarence Moore of Los Angeles, California.  They trim the tree of life so that it is renewed and does not die.  Diego Rivera painted them in 1940."

"Mandragora," 1939 by Diego Rivera, oil on canvas.  The description states that she holds a skull in her hands and a spider web is in the upper left-hand corner.  In the upper right-hand corner emerges a small mandrake, a plant identified as a hallucinogen and associated with magic.

"Purple Hills," 1935 by Georgia O'Keeffe, American, 1887-1986, oil on canvas.

"Specter of the Evening," 1930 by Salvador Dali, Spanish, 1904-1989, oil on canvas

"Solar Bird,"1966 bronze by Joan Miro, Spanish, 1893-1983.

"Balls, #16," 1964 by Oskar Fischinger, American, born in Germany, 1900-1967, oil on canvas.

"Still Life," 1927 by Georges Braque, French, 1882-1963, oil on canvas.

"Blue Space," 1912 by Frantisek Kupka, Czech, 1871-1957, oil on canvas.  "Kupka's paintings explore rhythm and harmony in the line, color and shape.  When asked by perplexed viewers of the time what the canvases meant, Kupka responded with a question: 'Must a work of art represent something?'"

"Female Nude Reading," 1915 by Robert Delaunay, French, 1885-1941. This oil on canvas was executed in Spain and Portugal during World War I.

"Fussen VI, Snow over the Heath," 1905 by Alexei Jawlensky, oil on board.

"The Painter and His Double," 1981 by Marc Chagall, French born in Russia, 1887-1985, color lithograph.

"Untitled," 1962 by Marc Chagall, color lithograph. "A pair of lovers excapes the bonds of the mundane world, soaring above the Bay of Nice on the wings of a giant bird symbolizing their love."

"Untitled," 1959 by Georges Braque, color lithograph.

"Untitled," 1978 color lithograph by Joan Miro, Spanish, 1893-1983.

"Caged Pie," oil on canvas, 1962 by Wayne Theibaud, American, born 1920.

"Light Bulb," lead relief, 1967 by Jasper Johns, born 1930.

"General View of Guanajuato," lithograph by Carl Nebel, German, 1805-1855.  This from an exhibit entitled Romantic Views of Mexico.

The Coney Island exhibit is entitled "Visions of n American Dreamland, 1861-2008." It explores the "lure of this legendary playgroup through the lens of art."  The exhibit is compose of more than 100 objects that include paintings, drawings, prints, posters and artifacts.  Coney Island started as a watering hole for the wealthy  and transformed into an entertainment mecca for the masses.  Since photos were not allowed, here are a few samples from the museum web site:

These images were not clearly identified on the web site which states:  

Arnold Mesches, "Anomie 1991:  Winded Victory," Acrylic on canvas, 1991.  Reginald Marsh, "Wooden Horses," 1936, tempera on board.  The other images are not identified.  Together they give a pictures of life at Coney Island.

Below are three paintings that were adjacent to the exhibit that I enjoyed:

"Landscape, near Coney Island,"  1886 by William Merritt Chase, oil on panel.  The description states that the landscape appears to depict two people in a remote refuge, but the distinctive silhouette of a colossal elephant on the horizon reveals that they are within sight of Coney Island.  The 122-foot-high Elephant Hotel opened in August 1884.

 "View of Brooklyn and Staten Island from Coney Island," 1890 by August Laux, born Bavaria, 1853-1921, oil on canvas.

"The Schooner Progress Wrecked at Coney Island, July 4, 1874," 1875 by Grancis Augustus Silva, 1835-1886, oil on canvas.