Artist Members Share Their Fantasy Time Travels With Us
We asked the Manhattan Arts International members “What artist from the past would you most like to spend a day with and what would you do together? This has always been among my favorite articles because their imaginative answers take you inside their hearts and minds to reveal more about them and their art.
The artists included in this article are Bren Sibilsky, Elliot Appel, Frantisek Strouhal, Lisa Freidus, Valerie Patterson and Keith Morant. The artists’ names will take you to their pages where you can view their remarkable art and read about them.
Henri Matisse, The Joy of Life, (Le Bonheur de Vivre), oil on canvas, created 1905 – 1906. Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, PA, US. Dimensions: 69″ x 95″. Photo: Public Domain. Artist member Elliot Appel tells us he would have enjoyed spending a day with Henri Matisse. Read more below.
Elliot Appel
Painting by Elliot Appel
Roaming the cafes with Picasso in Paris in the early part of the century comes to mind. We might have even gotten some painting done! Given the choice, though, I would have enjoyed spending a day with Henri Matisse on the French Riviera. Just watching the artist work, viewing his studio, and sharing dinner and a glass or two of wine with the great man would have been special. My favorite artist and one of my favorite places; what could be better than that?
Bren Sibilsky
Sculpture by Bren Sibilsky
Anne Hyatt Huntington and I would start the day having breakfast at a N.Y. café before heading off to her studio with Brenda Putnam, who shares the studio with her. The three of us would borrow a N.Y. city carriage horse to sculpt. Anne would fill me in on all the things a good equine sculptor should know about sculpting dynamic animals in motion. Anne would also give me tips on how a woman can open doors to creating powerful monumental sculpture. We three would be fierce, sculpting well into the evening while conversing about life, art and future possibilities. The day would end with wine, laughter and a promise of doing this again in the future.
Valerie Patterson
Painting by Valerie Patterson
I would love to spend a day with Diane Arbus, wandering the streets of New York City for unusual subjects to photograph that, as Diane said, “No one would see unless I photographed them.” Along our way, we would chat about discovering personal identity through experiences with others and our work, creating art with psychological intensity in an attempt to uncover hidden and universal truths, the importance of representing marginalized groups of people in art, and vicariously experiencing adversity through art. Shown above is her painting “A Moment With the Past”.
Lisa Freidus
Painting in the style of trompe l’oeil, by Lisa Freidus inspired by her interest in time travel.
I would like to spend the afternoon with Edward Hopper at the iconic diner in “Nighthawks”. I would indulge in a dish of chocolate chip ice cream with hot fudge, whipped cream and a double scoop of walnuts! Most viewers may find his painting “Nighthawks” melancholy but I find it peaceful. Hopper’s paintings are mesmerizing with their light and shadow and their colors and mood offer me a respite from personal challenges. My fascination with time travel immediately attracts me to his compositions depicting the Forties. My mind would be swirling with questions in regard to his personal and artistic choices. I would inquire about the individuals in his paintings and ask “What were they experiencing and did they survive their personal ordeals?” As the afternoon draws to a close it wouldn’t surprise me if Hopper’s final comments were “Lisa I enjoyed our visit, but try cutting down on the sugar – I’m exhausted!”
Frantisek Strouhal
Mixed media art by Frantisek Strouhal
I join Joseph Mallord William Turner in London after the Royal Academy Exhibition in 1840. His head is hanging in disarray after his painting “The Slave Ship” was labelled an absurdity. Leaning towards me he whispers in his coarse voice “I meant to make people weep, to show the tragic truth.” Then he sighed. Like two old friends we spend the rest of the afternoon in a small café discussing how the mind is enriched when one understands the whole existence of oneself and one’s relationship to the world at large.
Keith Morant
Painting by Keith Morant (1944-2022)
It is June, 1978 and I am in Madrid with Joan Miro. He is 85 years old and we are viewing a collection of his works prior to his first Spanish retrospective exhibition. He smiles at me and says: “This show is a good summing up of my life. I’m moved at coming among my children, even the most rebellious of them like this. We stop before his Still Life with Rabbit (1920) and I ask him about the strangely coloured bird. He smiles wistfully and says: “That rooster was torture. There was absolutely no way to keep him quiet. Finally, he just fell into place and there he is.” “Just like you.” I commented. He grins and whispers: “Tal es el progreso del arte.”
Renee, I would be interested in talking about one of the Artist that has inspired me in color, Monet and Joan Mitchell in composition.
Good choices Karen. I hope you enjoyed reading about the choices made by our Artist Members.
Joyce, thank you for your comment and for joining the Manhattan Arts International Artist Showcase Members Gallery. This article was written more than a year ago. Now that we have new members I’ll consider doing a sequel and include your statement. 🙂
Heck, I’m support staff for my artist husband, but I’d love to spend the day with Leonardo Da Vinci especially after reading about him in Walter Isaacson’s book. What a fascinating person he was! As a scientist myself, his passion for understanding how things worked really resonated with me. True…he did seem to have a little bit of a problem actually finishing things, but that only adds to his charm for this artist lover.
Love this idea! Especially loved Keith Morant’s conversation with Joan Miro, at age 85. (I just have to translate that last comment!) As for myself, I think I’d like to spend an afternoon with Matisse, making cut-outs and arranging them on walls…….Thanks for this!
Hello Artists Friends,Are we not the lucky ones in this world to be able to put down on canvas or paper what we see and feel in our inner souls ?
Dear Beatrice,
Thank you for your comment. My question is, what artist from the past would you like to spend a day with and what would you do? Send me your reply in an email, I’ll be putting together another article in this series and would love to include you.
Dear Renée:
I dream always of talking with Joaquin Sorolla in his home-atelier in Madrid. But since he was an admirer of Velazquez, I would invite them to dinner to my home. Manet too, why not? Do you imagine what would be this meeting?
Thank you Cristina! May I also join you – your fantasy dinner seems like a dream come true!