The Belle Époque Today: The Art of Alex Duliba

Alexander Duliba

We'll gather lilacs in the spring again 
And walk together down an English lane 
Until our hearts have learned to sing again 
When you come home once more

                                   --Ivor Novello

Every so often, and, I admit it’s quite rare, I find myself impressed with the talents of an actual, living person. And, so, since I take these things quite seriously, I share the achievements of these individuals with all of you. With the exception of the occasional puppeteer or Punch Professor, usually—in fact, exclusively—these individuals have been visual artists. But, today, I’m going to introduce you to Alex Duliba, a singer.

Mr. Duliba, a baritone from Essex, England, has developed his exceptional skill and impressive range over the course of his lifetime. Encouraged as a child to pursue his dream of singing, Alex studied with Miss Joyce Ellis, and, later Mr. Robert Alderson, both of whom quickly found that young Duliba had a natural knack for line, as well as grasping the importance of text and style. Alex thrived in his studies of the classics.

Ivor Novello

Alderson suggested that the songs of the great Ivor Novello would certainly suit Duliba’s style, and, Alex quickly realized a passion for Novello’s work as well as a deep appreciation for the ballads of the 1920s through 1950s. Alex Duliba noted to me that he felt quite fortunate to have been able to share this love of those enchanting ballads with his late, beloved grandmother who had a special fondness for them as well.

Without a doubt, I’m impressed to see a person in my own (relatively) age group, devoting his life to a revival of such works. So, three cheers for Mr. Duliba. His immense talent speaks—or sings—for itself. Enjoy this clip of young Alex singing Novello’s “We’ll Gather Lilacs,” and keep your eyes open as I have a feeling we’ll be seeing much more from this baritone. 

Here’s wishing Mr. Duliba much success.

The Belle Époque Today: The Art of Chad Crowe

What started as a habit of drawing birds in top hats has eventually led to a collection of characters from the Belle Époque, when Paris was the epicenter for art, entertainment, and debauchery. Toulouse-Lautrec, the most celebrated drunken and lecherous dwarf in all of art history, is the most likely inspiration for these drawings. 

                                                              --Chad Crowe

Painter, illustrator, cartoonist and self-proclaimed designer of “giant parade floats”, the appropriately-named Chad Crowe offers up a “a questionable cast of deranged hookbills, lustful parakeets, and a bearded barbet with an Oedipus complex” in his new book, Birds of the Belle Époque.

This delightful romp affords us an entertaining glance into the private world of some very fascinating birds—all of whom are imbued with a palpable sense of aristocratic ennui and an utterly engaging theatricality. Crowe’s brilliant artwork allows each scene to unfold in a series of undulating lines, architectural planes and flirtatious winks at the predominant styles of the Art Nouveau and Belle Époque. At once bizarre and amusing, Crowe’s book is so much a late Victorian curio—taxidermy under a glass dome, complete with preserved beetles and wired foliage of hair and beads. Lift the dome and take a whiff. You know you want to. 

The Belle Epoque Today: Diamonds, a Jubilee Celebration

From June 30, 2012 through October 7, 2012, as part of the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the State Room’s of Buckingham Palace will be open to the public.  There, guests will be able to see a spectacular exhibition of diamonds, including for the first time, an unprecedented number of Her Majesty’s personal jewels—those which she inherited (predominantly from Queen Mary and her mother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) and those which were given to The Queen as gifts during her sixty-year reign.

Visitors will not only be able to view these exceptional jewels, but will also be able to see the journey that many of these celebrated diamonds have taken as they have been cut, re-cut and repurposed. 

This is an unparalleled opportunity to see the glittering stones which have been worn by British monarchs over the past two centuries.  If you’re in the area, it’s an exhibition which should not be missed.  For more information, visit the web site of the Royal Collection. 

If you’d like to show your support of Her Majesty for the year of her Diamond Jubilee, take a look at the Jubilee items available exclusively in our Online Store.

The Belle Époque Today: The Finishing Touch, Women’s Accessories, 1830-1940 at The Lady Lever art Gallery, Liverpool

"Nothing is so vulgar as an incongruous glaring coloured glove."

- Etiquette for Ladies, 1843

The Lady Lever Art Gallery

The Lady Lever Art Gallery in Liverpool has just opened an impressive new exhibition which runs through December of 2011. An exciting assortment of women’s accessories from 1830 to 1940, the exhibition demonstrates those items which allowed a lady to elevate her outfit from the pattern book to the ballroom. Hats, gloves, shoes, and fans and other specialty items were some of the few ways in which a woman could confidently express herself. As the roles and lives of women began to change, so did their attire. This unusual exhibition allows us to see the transition of women as told by their wardrobes.

The Lady Lever Art Gallery

The Lady Lever Art Gallery has assembled a gorgeous assortment of accessories ranging from before Victoria was Queen to the first rumblings of the Second World War. Sixty items in all have been assembled, many of which have never been displayed before. Of special note are: a pair of shoes worn by Queen Victoria, jewel-heeled “flapper” shoes from the 1920s, a swan’s feather hat from the Nineteenth Century, and an exquisite painted hand fan with mother of pearl guards and sticks. To learn more about “The Finishing Touch,” visit the Lady Lever Art Gallery Web site, and for a special video about the exhibition, click here.

The Belle Époque Today: “The Cult of Beauty” at the Victoria and Albert Museum

The Cult of Beauty

The Victoria & Albert Museum has launched a special exhibition which chronicles the history of the Aesthetic Movement (circa 1860 to 1890) and demonstrates the progression of the movement as well as its many influences. The exhibition, “The Cult of Beauty,” is a visual treat with examples of Aesthetic Movement fine and decorative arts from the museum’s permanent collection. Among the items on display are paintings, sculpture, photographs, furniture, decorative home goods, china, clothing, jewelry, prints, drawings and books.

Charger
William De Morgan, 1888
The Victoria & Albert Museum

For purposes of the exhibition, the Aesthetic Movement is defined by four ideas: The Search for the New Beauty, Art for Art’s Sake, Beautiful People and Aesthetic Houses, and Late-Flowering Beauty. The exhibit runs through July 17, 2011. To learn more about visiting this remarkable installation at the V&A and to see examples from the exhibit, visit the Web site of the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Mrs. Luke Ionides
William Blake Richmond, 1882
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The Belle Époque Today: An American Experience at the National Gallery, London



George Bellows
The National Gallery, London





The National Gallery in London recently unveiled twelve important American paintings never before seen in Britain. The work of George Bellows and his association of fellow artists known as the “Ashcan Painters”—William Glackens, George Luks, John Sloan and their teacher Robert Henri—are the masters behind these distinctly American canvases. Predominantly comprised of painters from New York and Pennsylvania, the Ashcan School rose in prominence in the early Twentieth Century and caught the attention of the public with their progressive ways of showing the speed, violence and starkness of the emerging modern society.


Seven of the twelve paintings in the exhibition are by Bellows himself and show his knack for depicting urban scenes. Similar to the works of British painters of the time period, these works are an interesting glimpse into a rare, but familiar, malaise with the changing world. The exhibition--An American Experiment--runs until the end of May. For more information, visit the Web site of London’s National Gallery.

The Belle Époque Today: The Enchanted Palace

The Enchanted Palace
The Historic Royal Palaces

As part of the massive renovation of Kensington Palace, The Historic Royal Palaces, in conjunction with WILDWORKS Theatre Company has transformed Kensington into “The Enchanted Palace.” A fascinating journey through art, fashion, history and mystery, “The Enchanted Palace” is set against the backdrop of the revitalization of the palace wherein secrets from the lives of those who inhabited it over the last three centuries have been uncovered.

WILDWORKS has created an exceptional show, combining theatricality with historical accuracy as they created tableaus and installation pieces which allow the viewer to become acquainted with the six princesses who called Kensington Palace home. Visitors to “The Enchanted Palace” are given maps which allow them to explore the palace on a hunt to divulge the identities of the princesses, and, in doing so, discover fascinating tidbits about their illustrious lives. Upon completion of the hunt, the visitors come face-to-face with the princesses.

This ingenious exhibit makes good use of Kensington Palace’s majestic state rooms and gives visitors heretofore unimagined access to this magnificent structure. The Historic Royal Palaces’ Web site offers an interesting introduction to “The Enchanted Palace” and also features a truly cute and fun Flash game which complements the exhibit beautifully. I confess, I played the game, and I loved it. Give it a try!

The Belle Époque Today: The National Conservation Centre

The National Conservation Centre, Liverpool
at the Midland Wailway Goods Offices

While part of the work of a museum is to purchase objects of art and display them in a pleasing and interesting manner, a museum has a greater responsibility. Museums must not only house art, but preserve and protect it as well.


It’s in that spirit that The National Conservation Centre of England was founded in Liverpool. The Conservation Centre is dedicated to the care, preservation, repair and respectful handling of the artistic and cultural objects that define who we are as a people.

The Liverpool Museums found an abandoned Victorian warehouse, The Midland Railway Goods Offices, and rescued the building—renovating it so that it could be the permanent home of The National Conservation Centre. The Centre was open to the public until December of 2010 when the doors were closed to visitors due to budget restraints. However, the National Conservation Centre continues to thrive. Behind their locked doors, they’re still devoted to being good stewards of our past so that future generations can see where we’ve been and where we’re going.

Though closed to the public, the staff at The National Conservation Centre are happy to answer questions from collectors of art and antiques who are looking to discover the best way to care for their precious objects. For more information, visit the Web site of The National Conservation Centre.

The Belle Époque Today: “A Flash of Light,” The Dance Photography of Chris Nash

Chris Nash

Through August of this year, the Victoria & Albert Museum is featuring an exhibition of photographs by dance photographer Chris Nash. Showcasing over three decades of Nash’s work, we can see the artist’s keen eye for movement and color and can learn from his innate fascination with light and composition.


Here, we’re able to see a visual account of Nash’s long association with the most prominent names in Britain’s contemporary dance world. The photos are a beautiful marriage of motion and color and neatly encompass the ideals of two disparate, yet, similar media.

For more information about this exhibition, visit the Web site of The Victoria & Albert Museum.

The Belle Époque Today: "Kelda Discovers the Wirral" by The Thingumajig Theatre

"Kelda"
The Thingumajig Theatre

Puppets and masks have been used for centuries for both purposes of entertainment and education. Now, as part of Liverpool’s efforts to educate the residents of the Merseyside peninsula known as the “Wirral,” the Thingumajig Theater in Yorkshire has created an unique and wonderful show which will be performed in various locations across the Wirral. Since the Wirral was once occupied by the Norse, the puppeteers have built a gorgeous “giant” puppet known as Kelda—a young Viking girl who visits from the past to see what has become of the land which she once inhabited.

This is part of the “Liverpool Discovers” Program in association with the Lady Lever Art Gallery. Those in the area should make a point to go out an meet Kelda this upcoming Sunday, April 10, 2011.

The Belle Époque Today: Hitched! Wedding Clothes and Customs at Sudley House

"Traveler's Wedding Dress," 2010
Hitched: Wedding Clothes and Customs
Sudley House, Liverpool

Liverpool’s gorgeous Sudley House—the Nineteenth Century mansion of a wealthy corn merchant—has been neatly maintained as a museum of cultural trends. Sudley House is currently featuring an exciting exhibition of wedding clothes from the Victorian to the ultra-contemporary and everything in between.


The collections shows how the styles of wedding gowns and suits from era to era as well as focuses on the customs and wardrobes of different cultures and community groups. This fascinating exhibit runs through May 2, 2011. If you’re near Liverpool, I think it would a lot of fun to visit. If, like me, you’re nowhere near Liverpool, Sudley House’s nifty Web site will give you a glimpse at these beautiful items.

The Belle Époque Today: “Dare to Wear,” Glass Dresses by Diana Dias-Leão

The Walker Art Gallery

Fourteen dangerous dresses constructed of glass and two lethal barbed-wire corsets are the centerpiece of a new exhibit at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, England. The collection, created by Diana Dias-Leão, chronicles the artist’s experiences in the fashion industry as well as showcases her remarkable glass-making prowess.


More so sculpture than couture, the dresses represent Miss Dias-Leão’s belief that the attitudes of those in the fashion industry have put more of an emphasis on appearance than substance. With this collection of shimmering glass gowns, she hopes to encourage people to look past the trappings of fashion and view it as simply a covering for what’s really important.

This unique and attractive collection is on display at the Walker Art Gallery through the end of September. Admission is free; so, if you’re in the Liverpool area, you should definitely pay a visit.



Dare to Wear - About the artist from National Museums Liverpool on Vimeo.

The Belle Époque Today: The Walker Art Gallery’s “Talking Heads”

The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, England, is known as “The National Gallery of the North” and houses one of the largest and most thorough collections in the U.K. outside of London. Aside from its fantastic collection of paintings and sculpture from the Thirteenth Century to the present, the gallery has a superbly interesting and interactive Web site which showcases important items from the collection as well as shares invaluable information about them.


One of the most interesting features of The Walker Art Gallery’s Web site is their “Talking Heads” feature wherein several of their most famous paintings have been animated to answer pre-recorded questions. It’s quite a lot of fun. Take a look!

The Belle Époque Today: The Art of Paul Brason, PPRP, RWA

HRH Prince Michael of Kent
Paul Brason, 1986

A past president of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (PPRP), Paul Brason has been exhibiting his work since 1977. His large figural paintings have a haunting quality to them. With subjects composed of detailed planes of light, Brason employs a sense of color that allows his models to seem to break away from their backgrounds. Brason has painted a host of exclusive commissions from high-profile sitters including HRH Prince Michael of Kent.


Known primarily for his portraiture, Paul Brason is also an accomplished painter of non-figural works including studies of interiors, genre paintings and landscapes. This multi-talented artist has also been involved in publishing, working with the Tate Gallery on the book, Voyage Round Great Britain and as editor for Banks' Florilegium. This prize-winning artist now resides and keeps a studio in Bath. To see more of Brason's work, visit his official Web site. 




Delphi
Paul Brason



The Belle Époque Today: The Art of Peter Kuhfeld, RP

The Wyndham Family
Peter Kuhfeld

A member of the Royal Academy, The Royal Society of Portrait Painters, and the New English Art Club, Peter Kuhfeld has been painting since 1972. This multiple-prize winning figurative painter has impressed critics and art lovers with his richly-colored portraits.


Kuhfeld not only shows the essence of his sitters in his romanticized portraits, but also has mastered showing them in their natural surroundings and in compositions which don’t appear to be posed, but rather seem to be captured moments in time. While his loose brushstrokes lend an ethereal quality to his subjects, his brave use of color affords them weight and permanence while his brilliant rendering of light and shadow anchor his subjects into the frame of the composition.

HRH Charles, The Prince of Wales
Peter Kuhfeld

A proponent of the New English Art Movement, Kuhfeld continues to prove that a portrait doesn’t need to be a photographic representation in order to effectively and attractively showcase both the sitter’s beauty and the artist’s talent.

Reminders: White Collar and Christopher Miller’s Art Show

As a follow-up to other recent posts from Stalking the Belle Époque, I wanted to take a moment to offer two reminders about upcoming events.


Tonight—Tuesday, March 1, 2011—is the last episode before next week's season finale of the USA Network’s brilliant White Collar starring the charming duo of Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay. White Collar season finales are always quite exciting and this one promises to be no less exceptional. With only two episodes to go, make sure to tune in to USA at 10/9 Central tonight and for the finale on March 8, 2011.

Also, last week, I cast the spotlight on the artwork of Christopher J. Miller. If you’re in the Dallas area, Mr. Miller’s current exhibition of his paintings—The Silence Between the Sounds—opens tomorrow night at the WaterTower Theatre in Addison. The exhibit runs through May 1. For more information, visit Mr. Miller’s Web site.

The Belle Époque Today: The Art of Christopher J. Miller

Sentience
Christopher J. Miller, 2009

As consumers, we view the end result of the creative process—judging it with a critical eye, placing a value on it and trading it like currency. However, for those who fall into the rather vague and wonderful category of “artist,” very often, the finished product isn’t as remarkable as the process of achieving it.


Painter Christopher J. Miller emphasizes the importance of embracing the artistic process with his latest series of paintings, “Silence between the Sounds.” Urging everyone to look upon the act of creating something remarkable with as much reverence as we consume the finished product, Miller presents works which represent those sacred moments wherein the artist is consumed by his work.

Miller offers a masterful handling of color and a delicacy of hand which reminds one of the works of Paul Klee and Matisse. It’s easy to get lost in the forms and shapes of Mr. Miller’s paintings, and the process by which they were created becomes immediately evident. Here we see the measure of art’s effectiveness as a means of communication, showing that even the most abstract of compositions can have a very clear message.

To learn more about C.J. Miller and his art, visit his Web site.

The Belle Époque Today: George Bruce, RP

Self Portrait
George Bruce

Former president of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, George Bruce is one of the few remaining painters of the “grand manner” of portrait artists. His work decidedly has the flavor of great Victorian portrait artists such as John Singer Sargent.


Bruce, with his strong hand and bold use of color, has been invited to paint portraits of many British luminaries including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sir Campbell Addison and the Lord Chief Justice.

His work is monumental with a theatricality which reminds us of the works of the mid-to-late Nineteenth Century. Bruce strives to capture to true essence of the characters of his sitters while maintaining a grandeur which represents not only their surroundings, but also their positions in British Society.

For more about the lovely work of George Bruce, visit his Web site.

The Belle Epoque Today: The Art of Jeff Stultiens, RP

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II
in Garter Robes
Jeff Stultiens, 2003
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters

A figurative painter with an interest in portraiture, Jeff Stultiens has been a member of the royal Society of Portrait Painters since 1991. This award-winning painter has been the focus of many an exhibition and has been surrounded by art throughout his entire life. The son of two artists-- Thomas Stultiens HMI & Kate (née Whittaker), he married Catherine Knowelden, also an artist, who whom he has two daughters.


As a child in 1953, Stultiens was witness to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II’s limousine on the day of her coronation. Fifty years later, he was asked to paint the commemorative portrait of the Queen in honor of the her fiftieth year as monarch. His larger-than-life portrait of Her Majesty in garter robes caught the attention of the world, and added another layer of notability to this already celebrated portrait artist whose ability to render almost photographic realism owes largely to his brilliantly subtle use of his media.

Richard King, Sculptor
Jeff Stultiens
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters

The Belle Époque Today: The Art of Frederick Cuming, RA

The Wave, Golden Cap, Dorset
Fred Cuming, RA

A member of the Royal Academy since 1969, Fred Cuming first began studying art in 1945. His first group exhibition came in 1953, with his first solo showing in 1978. Since the, Fred Cuming has been the focus of major exhibitions in both the United Kingdom and the U.S.


Cuming’s work is intelligently abstracted. He says of his paintings:

I am not interested in pure representation. My work is about responses to the moods and atmospheres generated by landscape, still life or interior. I am interested in the developments of 20th-century painting in abstraction...and in new ideas and art forms. My philosophy is that the more I work the more I discover. Drawing is essential as a tool of discovery; skill and mastery of technique are also essential, but only as a vocabulary and a means towards an idea. I struggle to keep an open mind.

Take his painting of “The Wave, Golden Cap, Dorset,” (above) for example. While the work is by no means literal, it is an instantly recognizable subject. Cuming has a way of exposing the bones of his compositions, and thereby, recreating them with a life all of their own. By laying bare the elements of each scene, Cuming imbues each canvas with an unmistakable natural essence.

Even interiors and still lifes such as 1995's floral still life of Spring (left) have an overall ethereal effect which instead of abstracting the composition only serves to make it seem more realistic.

To learn more about Mr. Cuming's lovely work, visit his Web site.