Beach at St. Malo by Maurice Prendergast
A Long Look Podcast
When critics hinted Maurice Prendergast was getting a little repetitive as he approached 50, he could’ve hung up his brushes. After all, he’d been pretty successful. Instead, he headed back to where it all began--Paris--and came away reinvigorated with “a new impulse,” as he called it. Today’s episode takes us to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington DC. We’ll find out how an idea that started with Congress just before the Depression led to an official modern art museum on the National Mall! SHOW NOTES “A Long Look” themes are "Easy" by...
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Luncheon of the Boating Party by Renoir
A Long Look Podcast
So much better than Instagram! Pierre-Auguste Renoir invited 14 friends to lunch one summer--several lunches actually--and ended up creating this spectacular work of art. In today’s episode we find out about this happy group and that beautiful riverside restaurant they’re clearly enjoying. And I’ll tell you a pretty funny story about how Duncan Phillips was able to get this stunner for his new modern art museum, the Phillips Collection in Washington DC. SHOW NOTES “A Long Look” themes are "Easy" by Ron Gelinas and “At the Cafe with You” by Onion All Stars...
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Callers by Walter Ufer
A Long Look Podcast
No bows and arrows, no hunting buffalo on horseback. Walter Ufer saw first-hand that Native Americans in the 1920s weren't the romanticized caricatures from the old Wild West shows. In today's episode we're looking at “Callers” and find out how a city boy from Chicago ended up in Taos, NM and broke all the rules when it came to depicting his friends and neighbors as real people trying to balance the modern world with tradition. SHOW NOTES “A Long Look” themes are "Easy" by Ron Gelinas and “At the Cafe with You” by Onion All Stars Episode Music “Free Guitar Riding...
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Encore-Woman Holding a Balance by Vermeer
A Long Look Podcast
While I’m taking a break, I thought you might enjoy this encore presentation of a popular episode from 2019—the gorgeous Woman Holding a Balance at the National Gallery of Art. If you want to follow along, you can find it at . And make sure to stick around to the end for a special announcement! SHOW NOTES “A Long Look” themes are "Easy" by Ron Gelinas and “At the Cafe with You” by Onion All Stars Episode theme is “Caro Mio Ben in C Major” by Giuseppe Giordani, performed by Joel Meza. “Women Holding a Balance” information Vermeer information ...
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Adoration of the Magi by Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi
A Long Look Podcast
And you thought YOU were gonna have a lot of holiday company! Poor Mary, who’s only given birth a week or so ago, now faces this onslaught of unexpected visitors in today’s episode. We’ll find out who exactly all those folks are, their connection to one of the most powerful families in Europe, and what’s up with the peacock. Pretty sure that wasn’t one of the animals at the Nativity... SHOW NOTES “A Long Look” themes are "Easy" by Ron Gelinas and “At the Cafe with You” by Onion All Stars Episode music “Joy to the World” and “We Three Kings” performed...
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On the Coast of New Jersey by William Trost Richards
A Long Look Podcast
Today’s episode is all about relaxing, taking a little break after a long year and before the holidays hit. So I offer you a quiet beach at the Jersey Shore in this serene painting by William Trost Richards. We’ll find out how this Philadelphia-born artist embraced the idea of nature and art as keys to a better life and his connection to the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C. Thomas Cole and the Corcoran are key parts of the story, so here are previous episodes about them: tells the story of the founding of this influential museum and is one of Cole’s dramatic...
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Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl by James Whistler
A Long Look Podcast
Welcome back! I hope you all had a great summer. We’ll be spending the rest of 2024 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, starting off with a stunning portrait of a red-headed Irish beauty that shocked London society. We’ll find out who she is and how she was much more than a pretty face. Then we’ll learn about the very mercurial artist she had to put up with, James McNeill Whistler and the chaos he caused in his own life and others! SHOW NOTES “A Long Look” opening and closing themes are by Ron Gelinas: “Ascension” and “Easy” Episode...
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What's Ahead for A Long Look?
A Long Look Podcast
“A Long Look” returns with new episodes soon! Meanwhile, I've been looking down the road trying to figure out the future of the show and realized I've been doing all the talking for the past 7 years! So now, I'd like to hear from you. I’ve put together a short audience survey to find out your thoughts and experience with “A Long Look.” To be honest, I'm deciding whether or not to continue the show and your feedback will really help. You can find it at and it shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes. It's a Google form but you DO NOT need a Goole account to fill it out. The...
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American Art Finale
A Long Look Podcast
Well, we’ve reached the end of our brief tour of the Smithsonian American Art Museum! I hope you’ve enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun getting to share this unique place with you and introduce you to some artists you might not have heard of. I’ll tell you about the two-for-one experience of visiting the museum and its hidden gems. And I have...thoughts...about the stories it tells. SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT BELOW) “A Long Look” themes are "Easy" by Ron Gelinas and “At the Cafe with You” by Onion All Stars Smithsonian American Art Museum Luce Foundation Center for...
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Floating Clouds by Hisako Hibi
A Long Look Podcast
In today’s episode we look at “Floating Clouds” by Hisako Hibi, one of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans incarcerated in prison camps on the West Coast during WWII. Paintings like this served as the only visual record of life in the camps as well as a way for prisoners to deal with the harsh conditions. We’ll find out how she and her family were able to build a new life after the war and how she persevered through her art and with the help of fellow immigrants. SHOW NOTES “A Long Look” themes are "Easy" by Ron Gelinas and “At the Cafe with You” by Onion...
info_outlineMeet St. Francis, who’s in the middle of receiving a…um…complicated divine visitation. This wealthy young party lover and man about town gave it all up to live a more meaningful life and lead others to embrace self-sacrifice, love nature, and encourage peace.
In today’s episode we find out how his spiritual devotion led to this rather mixed blessing and why he’s one of the most popular saints.
If you want to follow along, you can find it at here on the Frick Collection’s site.
Photo of St. Francis in gallery https://www.frick.org/blogs/middle_ground_bellini_breuer
SHOW NOTES
“A Long Look” opening and closing themes are by Ron Gelinas:
“Ascension” https://youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo and “Easy” https://youtu.be/2QGe6skVzSs
Episode music:
“Byrd O Magnum Mysterium” by William Byrd. Performed by Ensemble Morales
https://musopen.org/music/10537-o-magnum-mysterium/
“Ale and Anecdotes” by Darren Curtis | https://www.darrencurtismusic.com/
Music promoted on https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Artwork information
https://collections.frick.org/objects/39/st-francis-in-the-desert
https://www.frick.org/interact/miniseries/cocktails_curator/bellinis_st_francis_desert
St. Francis info
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi#Character_and_legacy
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Francis-of-Assisi#ref2420
In a New Light : Giovanni Bellini’s “St. Francis in the Desert.” Rutherglen, Susannah et al. New York: The Frick Collection in association with D Giles Limited, London, 2014.
“Cocktails with A Curator” St. Francis in the Desert
https://www.frick.org/interact/miniseries/cocktails_curator/bellinis_st_francis_desert
“Canticle of the Creatures”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canticle_of_the_Sun
Meaning of stigmata
https://www.franciscantradition.org/blog/78-feast-of-the-stigmata-of-saint-francis
Transcript available at alonglookpodcast.com