Jonathan Cohen's photos with the keyword: painting

A painting of a rotund bird surrounded by other birds such as parrots and ducks. Many spectacular island terrestrial vertebrates have disappeared over the past few centuries – a minutia in terms of geological time – yet the pitiful epitaphs of these vanished species comprise frequently just a few bones and a handful of inadequate historical accounts. Prior to the discovery of sufficient skeletal material, Strickland & Melville in 1848 presented a most fitting summary in their now classic monograph on the dodo Raphus cucullatus, highlighting the complications that study of a species so recently lost to the world could entail. "In the case of the didinae, it is unfortunately no easy matter to collect satisfactory information as to their structure, habits, and affinities. We possess only the rude descriptions of unscientific voyagers, three or four oil paintings, and a few scattered osseous fragments, which have survived the neglect of two hundred years. The paleontologist has, in many cases, far better data for determining the zoological characters of a species which perished myriads of years ago, than those presented by a group of birds, which were living in the reign of Charles the First." Following the discovery of Mauritius by the Dutch in 1598, tales of the idyllic paradise soon spread around the maritime powers of Europe. Year-round fresh water, lagoons teeming with fish and dugong, an array of tame birds together with immense quantities of valuable ebony made the island an important staging post between west and east. Sadly, this paradise was altered beyond recognition and within a hundred years, many of the endemic species including the dodo became extinct. Virtually nothing was recorded about the dodo’s life history. After the discovery of the first skeletal material in the Mare aux Songes in 1865, the dodo received its first full anatomical description by Richard Owen, founder of the Natural History Museum, London. Subsequent dodo research resulted in a number of publications; however, most were founded on speculation, an unfortunate practice that continues to the present day. The main basis for the assumptions lay in contrasting discrepancies in the early accounts, including contemporary and non-contemporary illustrations, and too much emphasis has been placed on these inaccuracies. Strickland and Melville were not misled by the available literature and their dodo monograph is testament to a cautious approach.

The Beat Museum in San Francisco is a labour of love focusing on the influential group of bohemian writers and artists that included Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady (the charismatic ex-con who was at the center of the movement), the poets Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti and the novelist William S. Burroughs. This painting depicting the exterior of the museum is by Alan Russell-Cowan (also konwn as Alan Streets). Streets was born in London in 1970, his mother is German, his father English. He has been painting since the age of 8 and is primarily self-taught. Alan believes that his schizophrenia has been the passion and inspiration of his painting, and that his painting has been the stimulus for the suppression of his schizophrenic symptoms. He paints obsessively and prolifically. He stars in the documentary "My Name Is Alan and I Paint Pictures," which covers six years of his life and focuses on the relationship between his diagnosis as a paranoid schizophrenic and his struggle to find success in the art world. He specializes in stylized landscapes of New York City, San Francisco, and other US cities along with his native England. He also paints imaginary visualizations of his perceived realities

From the artist’s statement: My art work is entirely carved in white pine and then painted with acrylics. Each piece is a unique original. I am untaught and untrained as a visual artist. I learned a number of useful skills by building my own house, and during my work in the trades as a signpainter and carpenter. I do pictures of subject matter that is important to me. My artwork documents the events and feelings of my life, with much of it fitting into one of four series: "Diner," "Farm," "Outdoor/vacation" and "Dreams." Since 1974 I have completed approximately 1500 carved and painted wood pictures. For fourteen of those years I supplemented my art income by working as a sign painter/ carpenter. Since 1990 I have worked as a psychotherapist, and thus you might notice a focus in my work on people – their faces, suffering, hopes, endurance and beauty.

Born in Silver Creek, Pennsylvania, in 1910 Jack Savatsky was well known for his bright and colorful depictions of life in and around the hard-coal regions of Lansford, Pennsylvania. He drew with a variety of materials and painted in oils on all kinds of surfaces (in this case on fiberboard). Many folk artists get their start late in life as a way to keep themselves occupied after retirement. They bring rich memories and personal views of the world to their subjects. In this painting, Savitsky shows a train bringing workers to the mines of Silver Creek, the "coal town" in Pennsylvania where he grew up. He worked in the mines for more than thirty-five years before health issues forced him to retire in 1959. He died in Coaldale, Pennsylvania in1991.

Lily Furedi was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1896 and died in New York City in 1969. In this painting she boldly did something that few dare to do: she looked at people on the subway. She took the viewpoint of a seated rider gazing down the car at her fellow passengers. The Hungarian-born artist knew of the subway riders’ customary avoidance of staring at one’s fellow riders; most people in her painting keep to themselves by hiding behind a magazine or newspaper, or by sleeping. Those who violate the unwritten rule do so furtively. A woman takes a quiet sidelong glance at the newspaper read by the man next to her, while a man steals a peek at a young woman applying lipstick. Only two women in the foreground, who obviously know each other, dare to look directly at each other as they talk companionably. Furedi takes a friendly interest in her fellow subway riders, portraying them sympathetically. She focuses particularly on a musician who has fallen asleep in his formal working clothes, holding his violin case. The artist would have identified with such a New York musician because her father, Samuel Furedi, was a professional cellist.

The Swedish Classroom reflects a peasant cottage. A subtle sense of humor associated with the Swedish people is revealed in the room's paintings. In this painting, Justice uses her blindfold to hold scales that appear balanced but have an off-center fulcrum.

This mural is painted on the stairwell leading to "le Mas de Provence," a basement-level boutique specializing in products imported from the southern part of France. Unfortunately, Montréal winters are much harsher than the ones in Provence, and the mural shows signs of having been battered by the elements.

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On December 6, 1962, 460 feet directly beneath this site, 37 miners lost their lives in the U.S. Steel Robena Mine's Frosty Run Explosion - one of the worst mine disasters in Greene County history.

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