🎵Aquacade🎵! Saturday W6Y5 Billy Rose was a producer and impresario from the 1930s to the '60s, as well as a lyricist. (He wrote the words to at least two songs that I recogznize--🎵Me and My Shadow🎵, and 🎵It's Only a Paper Moon🎵.) He liked extravaganzas, and made them happen often. Today, we're…

Fourteen campfires: Friday W6Y5 Fires are not such a common artistic subject, as I noted in a post back in week 5 of year 1. That was a post of a color etching of a campfire with embers floating up in the air by Richard Bosman, who was the very first artist I posted when I started this as a formal…

“No less lovely being dark”: Thursday W6Y5 I found today's image in a collection of art from historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) shared by the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The online exhibition is called "No less lovely being dark." To quote the…

Whistler’s Symphony in Grey and Green–The Ocean: Wednesday W6Y5 Whistler has become one of my favorite painters. It's interesting, as another of my favorites' style is so different. I love Canaletto for his sharply defined, detailed scenes, and Whistler for his foggy, indistinct nocturnes. I've…

Distracted basset hound & distracted matron? Tuesday W6Y5 The photo to the left generated a meme often called The distracted boyfriend, with its own Wikipedia article. I think the essence is self-explanatory but Wikipedia has lots of interesting context. This photo/meme was the first thing I…

The unexpected turnip: Monday W6Y6 Would you expect turnips to be the subject of a painting I used to introduce a new artist into this blog? Yet that is, in fact, the case. I learned of the contemporary Japanese painter Kazu SAITO in a Facebook art group. The picture posted there caught my eye,…

Kristallnacht: Nov. 9th, 2025, week 6, year 5, of share-a-print-a-day On this day in 1938, November 9th and into the 10th, Germans, including members of paramilitary organizations as well as civilians, unleashed a wave of violence against Jews, their homes, synagogues, and businesses. This was a…

“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Friday W5Y5 The story goes that the legendary violinist, Jascha Heifetz, was stopped on a Manhattan street by an unsuspecting tourist who asked “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” The response: “practice, practice, practice.” From 1892 to 1962, Carnegie Hall (7th…

Insects and dinos on ceramics, oh my!: Thursday W5Y5 Yesterday I shared the famous style of Wedgewood's jasperware ceramics. Today I'm sharing conceptually similar modern work by former archaeologist, now artist Sarah Ritchie (of Mohkinstsis, Alberta). She creates lovely ceramic vessels and then…

Who was Josiah Wedgewood? Wednesday W5Y5 I recently remembered one art interest I had as a child. My grandparents had a few ceramic pieces in beautiful colors--green, black, and especially pale blue--which were decorated with scenes in raised white (bas relief) on the surface. I delighted in…

“Every age has the Stonehenge it deserves – or desires.”–return to Ponyhenge: Tuesday W5Y5 “Every age has the Stonehenge it deserves – or desires.” — Jacquetta Hawkes Ponyhenge! A continuously rearranged Anonymous Cooperative Community Sculpture of toy ride-on horses in Lincoln, Massachusetts. I…

Silhouette meets Don Quixote: Monday W5Y5 One of my earliest themed posts was about Don Quixote, and over the years I've done 6 posts about this literary figure. Another early post explored the artform of cut paper silhouettes. And then of course there are papercuts and the like, a more elaborate…

Wind from the sea: Sunday, week 5, year 5, of share-a-print-a-day Yesterday I shared Andrew Wyeth's most famous painting, Christina's World, a portrait of his neighbor Christina Olson, who had a significant mobility challenge as a result of a progressive neuromuscular condition. Today's painting…

Christina’s World: Saturday W4Y5 Andrew Wyeth is a well-known American painter, and his most famous picture is called Christina's World. It shows his neighbor, Christina Olson, who suffered from a progressive neuromuscular disease, most likely a hereditary neuropathy called Charcot-Marie-Tooth…

Stephen King + Maurice Sendak + Hansel & Gretel: Halloween–Friday W4Y5 Kind of the kiddy fright dream team--a scary fairy tale worked over by Stephen King and illustrated by Maurice Sendak? Sendak designed the scenery for a 1997 production of a 19th century opera version of Hansel and Gretel (by…

Trompe l’oeil (Fool the eye!): Thursday W4Y5 Today, we look again at the work of Josef Albers, who was best known for a theory of color. Today is his second image I've shared, and the second black-and-white piece. It's fascinating, and it doesn't easily map to a really possible physical…

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running: Wednesday W4Y5 The title of this post is after the title of a book by Haruki Murakami. Murakami, a well-known novelist (Norwegian Wood, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle), started running not long after he started writing. He describes running for him as both…

Ponte/Arco del Paradiso: Tuesday W4Y5 In Venice, in the Castello district (northeasternmost of the six districts of Venice, called sestieri), there's a street called the Calle del Paradiso. This is named after a Paradiso family who apparently owned many of the houses on this short street, although…

Fifth Avenue at twilight: Monday W4Y5 One of the first American Impressionists, Lovell Birge Harrison (1954-1929) studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. He admired the French Impressionists but felt like their colors were too intense, so he adapted the style to soft lighting and muted…

La Jolla Birdwomen a la Dr Seuss: Sunday, week 4, year 5 of share-a-print-a-day The current administration is cutting funds and eliminating much of the governmental support for arts and humanities. It is forcing arts organizations to increase fundraising from private donors. Artist Theodor Geisel…

The Committee for Staying Alive: Saturday 10/25/25 W3Y5 Jewish congregations around the world read the Torah (The Five Books of Moses) in an annual cycle, starting with Genesis 1:1, and reading prescribed chunks each week until the end of Deuteronomy is reached, and then start over again with…

Origami–folded paper sculptures: Friday 10/24/25, W3Y5 Origami is an ancient art form that involves turning a flat sheet of paper into a finished sculpture by folding, with no cutting or adhesive allowed. Origami purists feel quite strongly that cutting or gluing are part of a different paper art,…

Waxing crescent moon: Thursday W3Y5 The creator of the most successful art print of the 20th century (per the National Museum of American Illustration) is an American commercial artist who I'm featuring here for the first time. Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966) did illustrated childrens' books, did…

I, Leonardo (aka Gonzo Giocondo): Wednesday W3Y5 I recently read a book called I, Leonardo, a fictionalized biography of Leonardo da Vinci with both text and illustrations by Ralph Steadman (Hunter S. Thompson's partner in creating the medium of gonzo journalism via the book Fear and Loathing in…

College drinking (not what you think): Tuesday W3Y5 One of the most popular categories of pictures I post are photos of gargoyles, the carved stone figures used both for decoration and to direct rainwater from a waterspout away from a building. Most of the gargoyles I've posted come from my alma…

The gestures of little flowers: Monday W3Y5 Another of Ben Shan's series of 24 lithographs based on a passage from Rilke’s single novel, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge! We’ve looked at a few of them already. Rilke was a poet, and the passage these prints are based on feels very poetic. The…

Infinite reflections: Sunday, week 3, year 5, of share-a-print-a-day There are two distinctive features to this photograph, right? First, the arches carrying the electricity (I presume to trolleys/light rail) appear to recede into the distance forever. Second, the gorgeous inverted reflection in…

Beautiful pond scum? Saturday W2Y5 Sounds like a contradiction, doesn't it? But it's true. The green stuff floating on the surface of this little waterway is likely green algae, which is pond scum. This life form accumulates on the surface of water when there's good light and a lot of nutrient…

Builders of Babylon: Friday W2Y5 Samuel Margolies was a 20th century artist, whose print work seems to be split between urban scenes like today's, and bucolic countrysides. He seemed to have a particular affinity for urban construction. Today's print combines the construction theme with the view…

The family umbrella: Thursday W2Y5 Why is this print called "The family umbrella"? I'm guessing because we have a picture of a small child holding a rather large umbrella--presumably meant for an adult to hold over the whole family, rather than for this little one to hold by themself. This is a…

Elevated houses: Wednesday W2Y5 No, I don't mean spiritually! I mean physically high above the ground. Why? To stay dry in places on the water or that might flood or in a tidal area. To avoid predators and at least some insects. For safety against foes--can see them coming from farther off, and if…

Art of the sun: Tuesday W2Y5 Numerous imaging techniques use the light of the sun. There's photogravure and solar plates and a variety of techniques utilizing variations on etching with a photosensitive resist. There's cyanotype, which is a photosensitive paper which can be used to make monochrome…

Imagined incarcerations–Capricci: Monday W2Y5 A capriccio is a term of art, in art. "It is is an architectural fantasy, placing together buildings, archaeological ruins and other architectural elements in fictional and often fantastical combinations."* The genre was first identified in Renaissance…

“#SendMeDeadFlowers”: Sunday, week 2, year 5, of share-a-print-a-day I was surprised when I realized that I have at least 3 very talented artist/photographers among my friends. While I have several other media represented, I think I have only one of each. My friend David Harlow recently had a show…

🎵”I’m sittin’ in a railway station/got a ticket for my destination”🎵: Saturday W1Y5 Go back even 75 years, and train travel was ubiquitous in the developed world. It's not as common now, but I enjoy traveling by train. I'm speaking now of longish-haul railroad travel, not the daily commute or the…

Art on graph paper: Friday W1Y5 Eugene Andolsek was a solitary soul who created these incredibly elaborate, colorful, patterned drawings, using graph paper. He did these to while away his unoccupied time--to cope with his solitary existence and his boredom. His talent was recognized only in his…

Low tide at Little Harbour: Thursday W1Y5 Sometimes I fall in love with a picture because of how very realistic it looks. There are other times when there are lots of discernible differences from "reality", but somehow even those obvious deviations from reality somehow make the picture look more…

Painting with marbles? Wednesday W1Y5 When I hear the word marbles in an art context, my first thought is statuary, e.g. "The Elgin Marbles". Of course, "painting with marbles" has a different resonance. I suspect whether we've done it or not, the notion of coating marbles with paint or ink,…

A spiral staircase on a bridge: Tuesday W1Y5 I think of spiral staircases as interesting architectural features, used especially when space is tight. I wouldn't expect to find one on a bridge--yet one of my favorite graphic artists, Martin Lewis, who was the inspiration for my art interest,…

🎵Gone fishin’🎵: Monday W1Y5 What a lovely image! A spontenaously assembled group fishing on the side of a river. This print by Jean Frélaut is one of a series called Le promeneur accompagné (The accompanied stroller), which is set in Paris, making the river the Seine. Frelaut's style is quite…

“The world behind her eyes”: Sunday, week 1, year 5, of share-a-print-a-day A spectacular new-to-this-space artist! Starting off year 5 with a bang, I bring Roberta Boffo, a native Italian artist who spent many years in China, which I think informed her aesthetic. She works in black and white, in…

Bonus post–What art does? Ezra Klein interviews Brian Eno: Saturday W1Y5 Brian Eno is a musician/composer and music producer (Coldplay, U2, and many more) as well as a visual artist. He is often credited with the genesis of ambient music ("So there’s no narrative quality to the music. It just sort…

Colorful symbols and motifs–Robert Vickrey: Saturday, Bonus/leap week “53” year 4 Robert Vickrey got a LOT of views from y'all. He's the late 20th century painter who LOVED his specific symbols and motifs--ranging from yellow balloons to bicycles to nuns of the St. Vincent de Paul order in their…

The eagle has landed: Friday, Bonus/leap week “53” year 4 Ink brush paintings were another popular category this past year. I found a gorgeous inkbrush painting that is quite different from most of those I've shared to date, and hope you all enjoy it. This is the work of Rosetsu NAGASAWA, whose…

The anatomy of melancholy: Thursday, Bonus/leap week “53” year 4 In 1621, Robert Burton, a scholar at Oxford published a treatise called The Anatomy of Melancholy, which began as a detailed discussion of the affective disorder we now call depression, but grew to include discussions of psychology…

When the lights went out: Wedesday, Bonus/leap week “53” year 4 One of the things I'm pleased about is that all of the top performing artists in year 4 of the blog were my favorites as well. I mean, it's not as if I post any artists I don't like at all, but there are some one hit wonders, or…

Pictures that tell a story: Tuesday, Bonus/leap week “53” year 4 Another of your most popular artists on the blog in the past year was Phil Lockwood. Lockwood's paintings often tell a story--or at least create a rich, detailed setting that could be a launchpoint for a story. They are usually views…

Ben Shahn produces a portrait of Sigmund Freud: Monday, Bonus/leap week “53”, year 4 Ben Shahn, the Eastern European-American Jewish artist of the 20th century, was one of the most popular artists of year 4. I tend to think of him as a draftsman ("Draw-er") --even his prints (Lithographs most of…

Popular! Minimalist artist Mohssin Amghar: Sunday Bonus/leap week “53” year 4 The most hits for a specific artist in year 4 went to French draftsman/painter Mohssin Amghar. I haven't been able to find a lot of information about him, but his often minimalist works have earned him one of the top…

Announcing bonus/”leap” week on Ben’s Passion for Prints blog: Year 4, week “53” After three years of trying to start the new blog year on a Sunday rather than the anniversary of the first post, things have gotten a little off kilter, as you might expect. Week 52 of year 4 ends on Saturday…