The Easel

21st October 2025

A Night at Max’s Kansas City: Seeing and Being Seen in the 1970s NYC Art World

Pat Lipsky | Literary Hub | 9th October 2025

Montmartre was the art world’s epicentre in 1890, In the 1950’s it was Max’s Kansas City bar in New York. “You’d see handsome Bob Mapplethorpe with … Patti Smith. Their plans already incorporated the power shift we couldn’t quite feel taking place under our feet. [There was] acknowledgment: [Andy] had found this surprising and direct route to money. A moment when the wheels came off and the chassis sat there and you realized the art world was a small place bounded by compromise and disappointment.” 

Renoir’s drawings showcased in major exhibition, the first of its kind in over a century

Jane Levere | CNN Style | 17th October 2025

Berthe Morisot thought Renoir’s drawings were great, but Gauguin was less enthused. The difference might be because Renoir had a casual view of his drawings. Some were preparatory studies for a painting but others were spontaneous and more finished. They profile his evolution, from early drawings that show his “rigorous academic training “ to subsequent “brisk on-the-spot” sketches and finally softer, more intimate works.  A “distinguished collection” says one writer. A detailed view of ten drawings is here.

New York’s Biggest Monet Show in 25 Years Is a Revelation

Alex Greenberger | ARTnews | 10th October 2025

Brooklyn Museum has been castigated for its superficial exhibitions. A show of Monet’s paintings from a reluctant visit to Venice in 1908 gets a more positive reception. Monet, noticing the changing autumnal weather and shifted “closer to abstraction”. The real consequence of that was evident when, on returning to France, he resumed work on the Water Lilies series he had been unable to finish. Feeling renewed, his lilies became swirls of pink and red paint, ever “farther from legible figuration”. Critics were delighted.

14th October 2025

The sublime and silly art of Sèvres

Rachel Hunter Himes | Apollo | 9th October 2025

China had a monopoly on fine, durable porcelain until around 1710 when Meissen cracked its secrets. Sèvres was close behind. To secure Sèvres’ know-how, Louis XV made it a royal enterprise and it has since become a byword for refined taste. Curators regard its high-end pieces as sculpture – no surprise given that they were intended for the tables of imperial clients. These were items of exquisite taste as well as a projection of French state power. Eye candy of the highest order. More images are here.

Rauschenberg’s New York and the problem of seeing only surfaces

Samuel Abrahms | newgeography | 26th September 2025

A spate of exhibitions mark Rauschenberg’s 100th anniversary. The fact there are so many shows is testimony to his diversity – painting, photography, collage, assemblage. Not all this work was of high quality, but it was always inventive. His photography, for example, was skilful but really stood out when incorporated into his complex, layered work. In that aspect, Rauschenberg was prescient, his fragmented urban imagery anticipating today’s “civic crisis”.

Older links