Shared Love and Coveting of Artworks

The above artwork is “Portrait of Mrs. Frank Millet” by John Singer Sargent.

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I’m unusual.

I’m a connoisseur of magazines.

“Connoisseur” and “magazines” probably don’t belong in the same sentence. 

But that’s one thing I am:  I’m a connoisseur of magazines, and I’m often two things that don’t belong in the same sentence.

Once every few weeks, I go to my local giant book store and rifle through art magazines with excessive enthusiasm. 

Intelligent images get my mind boiling.  I literally get an adrenaline rush from the interaction with new images.

I take a pen with me into the book store to be able to write down artists’ names or any new ideas so I don’t forget them.  I wrote much of the introductory comments for this post in the store on some of those annoying magazine subscription postcards that fall out and make magazine browsing non-fluid.

This week I went into the book store with my usual enthusiasm and mild abandon, and I looked through 60 to 70 magazines, thoroughly scanning them for any images I would not like to live without.  I looked through most of the current art, photo, and design magazines.  I wrote down many artists’ names, to investigate more on the internet later.  From the 60+ magazines, I bought these four:

Antiques & Fine Art  Autumn/Winter 2008
3 x 3 Issue Number 11
British GQ  November 2008
American Masters Highlights Masters of Realism  Display until April 2009

I am always on a limited budget.  So, while there were many magazines I would have enjoyed buying, I narrowed down a list of about 9 magazines to only 4.

Like so many art forms, I love well-crafted magazines or magazine article as much as I love a well-crafted painting.

In scanning Antiques & Fine Art, I came across the article “Art Lovers.”  All of the images in this post are from that article.  I did not read the article’s title or text in the store.  I knew, from viewing the collection of artworks, I would likely have similar artistic wants and tastes to the collectors discussed in the article. 

Again, I did not read the article in the store, because the images alone communicated a high degree of shared interests.  So, when I got home, read the article, and discovered they had even more uncanny similarities to me on other fronts, that was a pleasant surprise.

When looking at their collection of art and decor, the following word came to mind:  covet.  The word “want” seemed too tame and common of a word to use.  I covet this couple’s art collection.  I covet their ability to select and arrange.  Coveting can be a good thing.

The above artwork is “Rosana-Capri” by John Singer Sargent.

For anyone who does not read this blog regularly, I’ll mention a couple things:

First, I choose to be anonymous.

Second, here is an excerpt from my November 12, 2008 post titled:  Sex Compared With Sexuality And Creativity, I wrote:

And here are excerpts from the Antiques & Fine Art article “Art Lovers”:

“Some collectors find that acquiring a work of art is similar to falling in love . . . For one married couple . . . collecting art is an extension of their thirty-year love affair.  Though they have chosen to remain anonymous for this article, they are easily identified at art exhibitions and openings.  Just look for the couple holding hands as they stroll through galleries and auction houses . . . Their shared tastes have led to the purchase of remarkable works by major American artists such as John Singer Sargent, William Merritt Chase, and Mary Cassatt, and the resulting collection is best described by one word:  romantic.

. . . they made an even more important decision when they started collecting:  We each have to love it, or we don’t buy it,” . . . There have been a few instances when they haven’t been in accord – he wanted a Tarbell, she longed for a Whistler – in the end, however, they honored their rule and walked away from both.”

. . . the collectors reframed three Sargents and one Chase, and they were astonished by a frame’s power to transform a painting.” 

~ end of article excerpts ~

The excellent article was written by Deborah Davis.

The above artwork is by William McGregor Paxton, titled “The Leghorn Hat”.

The above artwork is by John Singer Sargent, titled “Corner of the Church of St. Stae, Venice 1913″.

The above artwork is by “John White Alexander,” titled “A Rose”.

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(Click on images if you wish to view them individually.)

© All rights reserved by the respective artists.

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