On This Day

February 28, On this day A slice of Finnish art Each February 28 in Finland is celebrated as Kalevala Day or Finnish Culture Day, in honor of Finnish national epic The Kalevala. This is a 19th-century epic poetry from Finnish and Karelian oral folklore and mythology, regarded as one of the most significant works of […]

February 27, On This Day From the Dutch Golden Age Dutch painter Carel Fabritius was born on this day in 1622. A pupil of Rembrandt, this Dutch Golden Age artist developed a style unique from the master. Some of his most famous works include A View of Delft (1652), The Goldfinch (1654), and The Sentry

February 26, On this day An artful award sweep! While the French and the Americans continue to spar over the nationality of this movie, the 2011 flick The Artist was a groundbreaking cinematic ouevre, artfully portraying a comedy-drama in the style of a black-and-white silent film or part-talkie. On February 26, 2012, at the 84th

February 25, On this day Making an impression(ist) Born on February 25, 1841, Pierre-Auguste Renoir is one of the artists who gave the entire movement of Impressionism its name — a legacy that has continued to inspire and involve creators across the world, centuries down the line. It was in April 1874 that Renoir exhibited

February 24, On this day Art in the time of racial segregation Now recognized as a major American painter of the 20th century, Alma Thomas achieved this success as an African-American female artist, despite the segregation and prejudice of her time. Alma was born in September 1891 and died on February 24, 1978. She is

On this day, February 23, 1945, Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press took the iconic photograph that shows the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima by six United States Marines atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in the final stages of the Pacific War during World War II. The photograph was

The most famous voice of of Pop Art, Andy Warhol, died in Manhattan at 6:32 am on February 22, 1987. He was 58. While he had been recuperating well from a gallbladder surgery at New York Hospital, he suddenly died in his sleep from a sudden post-operative irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). Prior to his diagnosis and

February 21, On This Day Instant imagery For the very first time on February 21, 1947, inventor Edwin Land demonstrated the Land Camera to a meeting of the Optical Society of America in New York City. Today, you may know it better by its more popular name — the Polaroid Camera. Using developer and fixer

February 20, On this day Met, set, go! One of the foremost museums in the world had its main, most iconic building opening up on February 20, 1872, with the purpose of bringing art and art education to the American people. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City — colloquially as “the Met”

February 19, On this day   Constantin Brâncuși, often called the ‘patriarch of modern sculpture’, was born on February 19 close to Romania’s Carpathian Mountains, an area known for its rich tradition of folk crafts, particularly woodcarving. Inevitably, Brâncuși’s influences emerge from Romanian folk art traceable through Byzantine and Dionysian traditions. His art emphasizes clean