Yale Center For British Art Museum Experience

Amanda and I visited the Yale Center for British Art last week, and I'd have to say it was a great experience in which we enjoyed everything they had to offer. "Yale Center for British Art houses the largest and most comprehensive collection of British art outside the United Kingdom. The collection of paintings‚ sculpture‚ drawings‚ prints‚ rare books‚ and manuscripts reflects the development of British art‚ life‚ and thought from the Elizabethan period onward. The Center’s collection of approximately 1,900 paintings and 100 sculptures vividly narrates the story of British art, life, and culture since the end of the Middle Ages. Particularly strong in the period from the birth of William Hogarth (1697) to the death of J. M. W. Turner (1851), the collection reflects the tastes and interests of its founder, the late Paul Mellon.
Among the artists best represented are William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds, George Stubbs, Joseph Wright of Derby, John Constable, and J. M. W. Turner. The Center’s collection ranges from a late-fifteenth-century Nottingham alabaster to paintings and sculpture by such twentieth-century artists as Stanley Spencer, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, and, most recently, Rachel Whiteread and Damien Hirst.
The story of British art is by no means confined to artists born in the British Isles. Major figures from continental Europe and America painted for British patrons or spent periods of their careers in Britain. The Center offers a year-round schedule of exhibitions and educational programs‚ including films‚ concerts‚ lectures‚ tours‚ and special events. It also provides numerous opportunities for scholarly research‚ such as residential fellowships. "(The YCBA Website).
Here are some paintings that were my favorite of the museums collection:


"A Phaeton with a Pair of Cream Ponies in the Charge of a Stable-Lad"- George Stubbs, 1724-1806
Wax and resin on oak panel, ca 1780-85.
"Light, equipped with good wrought-iron suspension, and very fast, the "crane-neck" or "highflyer" phaeton was a stylish type of two-seat carriage popular among ladies, especially. The mythological name was borrowed from Phaeton, son of Zeus, who hurdled across the heavens in his chariot. The introspective mood of the stable-lad is beautifully offset by the playfulness of the dog at his feet." (YCBA). I love the environment portrayed around this scene. The color scheme used is very calming and easy on the eyes.


"The Sense of Hearing"-Philip Mercier, 1689-1760. Oil on Canvas, Ca. 1744-47
"The scores on the harpsichord are marked "Hendel Operas" and "Geminiani's Sonates. In the 1740s, both Georg Friedrich Handel and the Italian violinist and composer Francesco Geminiani were living in London. As a foreign artist striving for success in the British art world, Mercier may well have chosen these musical names t make the point that if other foreigners in Britain could take the lead in music, why should not well-connected foreign painters, such as he, take the lead in art?" (YCBA). The group of ladies are presumably performing a Geminiani trio sonata. I like how each lady is playing a different instrument, a bassist, flutist, violinist, and cellist. Everyone connected together musically. Beautiful scene portrayed.


"Mary Little, Later Lady Carr"- Thomas Gainsborough, 1727-1788. Oil on cava, CA. 1763
"This portrait was probably commissioned to mark the wedding of Mary Little to the successful London mercer of Ludgate Hill Robert Carr, who in 1777 was granted the form of hereditary knighthood known as a "baronetcy." Gainsborough, whose father was a weaver and whose sisters were milliners, revels in the description of his sitter's sacque or robe a la francaise, a fashionable style of cress with sumptuous panels sewn into the shoulders that, descending, formed a kind of train. The feathery rendering of the various fabrics and textures-especially the expensive, glossy, pink silk taffeta, which was known as "lute-string" or lustring- was especially appropriate since the sitters new husband was a fabric merchant, highly dependent in his business dealing upon the deman for new silks, lace, and other profitable trends in Georgian fashion." (YCBA). I just love the beautiful pink dress she is wearing. The way the linen is painted is with extrordinary flowing detail. You can practically know what the rendered cloth feels like just by staring into its composition.


"The Brown Family"- Francis Wheatley, 1747-1801. Oil on canvas, CA. 1778
"Francis Wheatley's distinctive style of painting the human figure, at once doll-like and realistically expressive, is on display in this portrait. He structured the portrait around a moment of suspended action, in which Mary Browne, the matriarch, catches a fish. Her son George leans over and delicately unhooks the prize. One of the younger girls, distracted from her father's drawing, toddles toward the lake. The decorous middle-clas leisure of the Browne family is contrasted with the thatched cottage in the distance. This humble dwelling suggests picturesque rural poverty, a subject that would occupy much of Wheatly's focus later in his career." (YCBA). I love how the sky and lake are beautifully rendered descending off into the background of the scene.


"The Education of Achilles"- James Barry, 1741-1806. Oil on Canvas, CA, 1772
"Beside a veiled herm inscribed in Greek with enigmatic message:"all things:one and in one," the wise and leared centaur Chiron initiates Achilles into the mysterious art ( represented by the lyre). Mathematics (the Euclidean diagram traced on the ground) and war ( the spear and shield). He points to the spear, and the shadow of his hand points to the greek inscription and Achilles, an omen of the young warrior's death in battle."(YCBA). This painting is very mysterious in nature. The setting is in the gloomy woods. You ask a lot of questions when looking at this painting. The centaur is dominating with crucial knowledge.


"Vesuvius from Posillipo"- Joseph Wright Of Derby, 1734-1797. Oil on Panel, CA. 1788
This painting is described in the artist's account book as "A picture of a distance View of Vesuvius from the shore of Posillipo. "Wright first visited Naples years earlier, in 17774-75, and made the bulk of his sketches of Vesuvius then. Eventually he produced in England about twenty-seven paintings in which he captured those remarkable effects of light, color, and atmosphere. The view is taken from the cape of Posillipo, looking west across the Bay of Naples." (YCBA). The city seems to be obscured by the high bluff of pink and blue. This painting immediately caught my eye due to the pastels used to create the atmosphere. Your eye is brought straight into the skyscape. I love the pink sunsetting sky and the bright moon beaming above the gleaming sea.


"Inverary Pier, Loch Shira: Morning" - J. M. W. Turner. Oil on Canvas, CA. 1845
"This is one of the roughed-out beginnings of paintings that Turner kept in his studio and worked up to a higher degree of detail, is and when he decided to exhibit them. Inverary Pier belongs ti a group of nine views that were based on Turner's much earlier set of mezzotint engravings, the Liber Studiorum (1804-19). Inverary stands on the western shore of Loch Shira in the Scottish Highlands. The view is looking east toward the morning sun."(YCBA) I love how the style of this painting is not exactly a clear view, rather a foggy window look into the open environment. The pastel colors used, make this painting soft and airy in nature. There are no line anywhere on the canvas, everything is painted so smoothly blending into one another.


"Sandown Bay, From Near Shanklin Chine, Isle of Wright" - John Glover, 1767-1849. Oil on Canvas, CA. 1827
"John Glover, who was a major figure in the Regency art world, traveled on horseback throughout Britain in search of picturesque views. The Isle of Wright had been explored from the 1790s by , among others, J. M. W. Turner and Glover's friends, the watercolorists George Barrett and Peter de Wint. Portrayed in this painting, the rugged cliff-top, a vntage point for ramblers; the empty drop to the beach; the impressive effects in the lowering sky; and the puny insignificance of the human activity below it- all con-form to the general pattern of sublime- romantic view painting." (YCBA). I am a big fan of the focal point of this painting, being the huge open stormy-cloud sky. I love the texture of the stormy dark clouds, fluffy in composition. They're stretching across the sky covering the setting sun, but the sun still seems to slightly peek through beneath and beyond, causing a beautiful sunset colored sky.


"The Deluge"- John Martin, 1789-1854. Oil on canvas, 1834.
"According to the Book of Genesis, mankind showed some wickedness in the generations after Adam that God repented of the whole of Creation and sent down a huge flood, destroying almost every living thing on earth. Martin attempts to capture the divine violence at its most destructive, when all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of the heaven were opened." The only people to be spared were the righteous Noah and his family, whom God instructed to build an ark. Martin makes this symbol of hope and redemption barely visible, resting on one of the highest rocky ledges near the ominous conjunction of sun, moon, and blood-red comet." (YCBA). I love the red glowing sky portrayed in this paining. It really brings highlight to the intensely rendered violent waves of the sea. Everything is swallowed up in a big whirl of crashing waves. The story behind this is very evident in one glance.


"The Sense of Sight"- Philip Mercier, 1689-1760. Oil on Canvas, CA. 1744-47
"Echoing most closely the composition of "The Sense of Hearing", this scene of three young women and a boy sitting with their tutor beside a parapet in the open air, employs optical accessories to stand for the sense of sight. The gentleman examines with his magnifying glass a map of part of the east coast of spain and the islands of Mallorca and Menorca, perhaps explaining to the girl seated beside him their geographical and political significance to Britain. Over his shoulder, the other two girls peer through a telescope (left) and tilt a small mirror (right), while the boy in the foreground bows his head and refrains from looking at anything." (YCBA). This painting symbolizes the importance of the sense of sight. Everyone in the painting contributes to the symbolization by viewing something different in a intriguing way, causing wonder and provoking thought. The composition is cool and easy on the eyes.


"Gulliver Addressing the Houyhnhnms"- Sawrey Gilpin, 1733-1807. Oil on Canvas, 1769
"Sawrey Gilipin took his equestrian subject from the great satire Gulliver's Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift. In Book IV, Gulliver describes the civilized country of the "Houyhnhnms", who are horses endowed with reason, culture, and institutions of civil government. By its cleanliness, goodness, and gentleness, the land of the Houyhnhnms- their name obviously alludes to the whinnying of horses- provided Swift a convenient contrast with that of the brutish and all too recognizable "beasts in human shape," whom he called "Yahoos." The Houyhnhnms were wary of he Yahoos, treating them as servants, but the Yahoos disgusted Gulliver. This Swift encouraged his readers to form an equally harsh judgement of the morals and behavior of their own species." (YCBA). I like the setting of this painted scene. It's over all painted in a gloomy way with dark colours, but enlightening at the same time. I love how the white horse stands out in the scene, and how he is butting heads with the other brown horse, in a humanistic way.

Here are some other beautiful paintings that grabbed my atention:

Yale Center for British Art

Alyssa and I visited the Yale Center for British Art. The Museum was different from the other museums that we had viewed, however I still enjoyed the pieces eventhough I was familiar with the artisits. "The Yale Center for British Art houses the largest and most comprehensive collection of British art outside the United Kingdom. The collection of paintings‚ sculpture‚ drawings‚ prints‚ rare books‚ and manuscripts reflects the development of British art‚ life‚ and thought from the Elizabethan period onward." (YCBA)

Stratford Mill
John Constable in 1819-20, oil on canvas. "Mill painted each sketch before each of the large landscapes that he showed the annual Royal Academy exhibitions from 1819 onward. His main goal at this stage was to see how the masses of light and dark would work across the composition. Brilliant and full of life though his sketches are he regarded them as a means to an end, he preferred to be judged by works of detail and finished works." (YCBA) I like this piece to me it is a little dark in some areas but I do like his detail and the action of the characters featured in this piece. His dept of feel looks really good, you are able to see the river disapearing into the horizon.

Sandown Bay, From Near Shanklin Chine, Isle of Wight
John Glover in 1827, oil on canvas. "The rugged cliff top is a vantage point for ramblers the empty drop to the beach and the impressive effects in the lowering sky also the insignificance of human activity below all conforms to the general pattern of sublime." (YCBA) I like how the sun is setting behind the clouds and the ships are in the distance. This is a creative view to paint of the island. I love how this is painted at a birds eye view, I wouldnt think to paint the scene like this but I'm glad Glover did becuase it works well.

Landscape Near Quillebouf, France
Richard Parkes Bonington in 1824-25, oil on canvas.
"Bonington’s shore profiles are often almost completely flat, the horizon line kept daringly low and the composition shorn of extraneous detail. The overall effect is one of calm, a fusion of personal observation of the French coast and Dutch maters of the 17th century." (YCBA) The sky is boring however I like the boat in the foreground and the ships in the distance. I would have liked this piece more if it wasn’t as dull and had more detail in the middle ground and sky. But I do like the two mules just standing by the calmn water looking out into the horizon.

Grand Canal, Venice Italy
Richard Parkes Bonington in 1826, oil on millboard
This is a view of the entrance to the Grand Canal in Venice with the church of S. Maria della Pieta and the long Riva degli Schiavoni stretching away into the distance. "The forground palaces are the Ca’ Barbarigo, two minor 15th century facades. Bonington was here painting in a gondola that was stationary but presumably swaying on the water." (YCBA) Several gondolas are in this piece. What caught my eye was the colors and detail of the shore. I would like to go to Italy and see Venice someday soon. I like how the brush strokes are viewed to be painted very quickly not creating much detail however capturing the basic shapes.

A Grotto in the Gulf of Salerno, Sunset (right image)
Joseph Wright of Derby in 1780-81, oil on canvas. "The deep sea washed grottos that intrigued Wright on his excursion south to Salerno. Wright adapted his grottoes for quasi-genre subjects like for a hide out for thieves and history subjects both conventional and unusual. "(YCBA)I was drawn to this piece because it reminded me of the Disney movie Peter Pan for some reason. I like how the ship was abandoned and the light from the sun was shining through lighting up the walls of the grotto.

Eagle, A Celebrated Stallion
James Ward in 1809, oil on canvas. "Ward is known as the mammoth of animal painters. Although he is remembered as a major force in the British Romantic tradition for his subject pictures and landscapes. The horses he painted are animals who had been carefully bred to achieve maximum speed on the racecourse. Eagle is one the finest of these portraits of thoroughbreds and it exhibits Ward’s remarkable ability to create an accurate physical portrayal of a particular animal. He also evokes a transcendent romantic type suggesting the latent power of the barley tamed creature is full of drive, dash, and tension with swollen veins and flared nostrils."(YCBA) To an extent it this piece does sum up the elemental forces of nature itself. I like this piece because the horse is very bright and realistic the colors of the background are bight and they appeal to the eye. Eventhough there isnt much else going on in this piece I do like how he captures the beauty of the horse.

Winter Landscape
George Morland in 1790, oil on canvas.
"In the third quarter of the 18th century towards the end of the little ice age winter was dangerous and many people died of exposure."(YCBA) This wintry landscape captures the setting with frozen rivers and mountainous quantities of ice and snow. This piece makes you feel the cold and the dark sky almost makes a depression scene along with the grays. I would not want to be stuck in that storm. This piece made me feel like I was there and drew me away from it becuase I dont care for winter and all the preparing you have to do to make sure your warm and comportable.

A Midnight Modern Conversation
William Hogarth in 1732, oil on canvas.
According to the clock in the piece it is four in the morning. The drinkers seem to be decent men and well dressed middle aged men. They have gone through more than two dozen bottles in this piece of art and are in various different states of disarray. Most are depressed of asleep. "At the round table the debauched clergyman ladles punch while a politician lights his sleeve in his mouth."(YCBA) So much is happening in this piece and it was funny to see a painting of what happened after hours. Hogarth has changed British art with this piece. It is very different from traditional portraits.

The Deluge
John Martin in 1834, Oil on canvas.
"In the generation after Adam that Dog repented of the whole of creation and sent down a huge flood destroying almost everything on earth. Martin tried to capture the divine violence at its most destructive when all the fountains of the great deep water were broken up and the windows of heaven were open." (YCBA) This piece is very dark and symbolized redemption because it rests on highest rocky ledge near the ominous conjunction of the sun, moon, and the blood red comet. This piece was very large and my favorite piece, you cant walk by it without stopping to stare at the detail and meaning of it. The curves of the waves look very realistic and I like how the moon is reflecting on the treacherous waves.

The Sense of Taste
Philip Mercier in 1744-47, oil on canvas. "The scene involved two pairs of lovers sitting in an open loggia. The couple on the right are the merrier of the two, in charge of the wine bottles and filling glasses. The couple on the left appear more restrained, the young ladies glass is being filled." (YCBA) This is what caught my eye to the piece because the action of the wine falling was captured beautifully. I like the detail in this piece. I also like the lighting and how the light is focusing on the important people in the scene and the ones not involved are darker or almost to be blurred out in the background.

A Green Land Falcon
George Stubbs in 1780, oil on canvas.
"This is the only known portrait of a falcon by Stubbs and may have been commissioned by Colonel Thomas Thornton one of the artists best known sportsman patron. The picture has not survived in as pristine a state as many of the other paintings by Stubbs in this collection and the flattening and deterioration of the background may be a consequence of the artist’s experimentation with new media for oil paint that might have included beeswax." (YCBA) I like how Stubbs captured the detail of the bird and it almost appears to be brighter than the rest of the piece which could be because of its condition or Stubbs might have purposely created the piece that way. This is a beautiful bird, I like how Stubbs focusing on animals instead of people. I feel that he really captured their beauty and detail in nature.

An English Water Spaniel
George Stubbs in 1769, oil on canvas. "The English water spaniel no longer exists as a pure breed but it is the ancestor of various types of modern poodles. It was employed by sportsmen to spring and retrieve games from rivers, streams, and ponds." (YCBA) It is the only dog portrait for which Stubbs provided a plain dark background and not a suitable setting out doors. But I still enjoy the piece I think he painted it very realistically and the dark background makes the dog pop out from the canvas. The dog almost appears to be glowing because of the dark background which makes him pop off the canvas which I feel draws in the viewers I becuase it caught mine.

Lion Attacking a Stag
This was painted by George Stubbs in 1765, oil on canvas. "This picture was commissioned by the Marquess of Rockingham as a companion to the great lion and horse picture that hung on the wall next to this one. Stubbs took great trouble to execute drawings and studies of a real if caged and somewhat subdued lion. The animal belonged to the early of Shelbourne one of Rockingham’s Whing cronies and Stubbs went to draw him at cord Shelburne’s villa on Houslow Heath which is west of London." (YCBA) This is a beautiful piece, I liked the action in this piece however I thought that the lion shouldn’t have been looking straight out. The animal that the lion is clawing is darker taking the attention off of the attach and bring it to the lions face which is calm. He doesnt appear to be angry or tired from crushing the animal below him. I enjoyed looking over the details of this piece. Stubbs is a very talented painter, I think he really knows how to bring out the beauty.

Here are just some other pieces that I also enjoyed....

New Britain Museum of American Art.