Exhibition Guide
New England Still Life
Audio
Looking at James' approach to still life
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Audio
A local connection to her technique
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Additional Images
Art Object Info
Reverse-glass painting, used in many cultures, was adopted by Wassily Kandinsky and Gabrielle Munter of the Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider) group in Germany. It then found its way into American art circles through the efforts of New York photographer and entrepreneur Alfred Stieglitz. Rebecca James became part of the Stieglitz group by way of her marriage to photographer Paul Strand and her close friendship with Georgia O’Keeffe. Here, James applied pigments to the back of a glass panel through which we look as if peering through a sheet of ice. Her chilly floral bouquet exudes an eerie, even gloss. The surreal image was created quite literally backward, with details applied to the glass before the main passages, such as the blue vase, were added. The background was painted last.
Art Object Info
Reverse-glass painting, used in many cultures, was adopted by Wassily Kandinsky and Gabrielle Munter of the Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider) group in Germany. It then found its way into American art circles through the efforts of New York photographer and entrepreneur Alfred Stieglitz. Rebecca James became part of the Stieglitz group by way of her marriage to photographer Paul Strand and her close friendship with Georgia O’Keeffe. Here, James applied pigments to the back of a glass panel through which we look as if peering through a sheet of ice. Her chilly floral bouquet exudes an eerie, even gloss. The surreal image was created quite literally backward, with details applied to the glass before the main passages, such as the blue vase, were added. The background was painted last.