About Art History

French Impressionism remains one of the most beloved movements in art history, capturing fleeting light, modern life, and the quiet beauty of everyday moments. In 2026, museums around the world are celebrating these artists in extraordinary ways, from major international exhibitions to intimate, focused studies of individual painters. Monet exhibitions are particularly popular this year since it’s the 100 th anniversary of his passing. Whether you’re planning a trip or simpl

Few artists capture joy, movement, and modern life quite like Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Known for his luminous color, soft brushwork, and scenes of everyday leisure, Renoir helped define Impressionism , and his paintings continue to draw crowds around the world. If you’re planning your art travels (or simply dreaming from afar), 2026 offers a remarkable opportunity to experience Renoir’s work across major exhibitions and world-class collections. From Paris to Pittsburgh, here’s

When most people think of John Singer Sargent, they picture the dazzling society portraits done in oil paint (like the one in Sargent's Deadly Commission ) that I’ve been showing in previous posts . But whenever Sargent could step away from the grand salons and aristocratic drawing rooms, he enjoyed painting with watercolors. These paintings, created primarily in the last three decades of his life, reveal an artist painting not for patrons but for himself. They’re intimate, l

I know I've been spending plenty of time on the French Impressionists because they're part of my first book, Revenge Among the Renoirs . But I'd be remiss if I didn't devote at least a little attention to the American Impressionists of the following generation. Led primarily by artist Childe Hassam, American Impressionism took the light-filled brushwork and modern sensibilities of French painters like Monet and Renoir and translated them into distinctly American scenes of sun

If you’re planning your cultural calendar for 2026, there’s no better artist to build a trip around than Francisco de Goya. Few painters capture the full spectrum of human experience—beauty, brutality, power, and madness—quite like Goya. From glittering royal portraits to haunting visions of war and despair, his work feels as urgent today as it did over 200 years ago. Whether you’re drawn to blockbuster exhibitions or world-class permanent collections, here are the must-see p

Few artists captured the elegance of high society quite like John Singer Sargent. Born in 1856 to American parents in Florence, Sargent grew up traveling across Europe, absorbing artistic influences from Paris to Madrid. As a teenager living in Paris, he trained at the prestigious atelier of Carolus-Duran, where he mastered a fluid, confident brushstroke inspired by Diego Velázquez. By his late twenties, Sargent had become one of the most sought-after portraitists in Europe.

If you’re even remotely obsessed with artist John Singer Sargent (and I'm hoping you are after reading my cozy mystery called Sargent's Deadly Commission ), you’ve got a perfect excuse to plan an art-inspired itinerary that spans the U.S. and Europe. Whether you’re chasing his dazzling portraits, his atmospheric landscapes, or those loose, luminous watercolors, here are four must-see places to experience Sargent in 2026.   Temporary Exhibition John Singer Sargent: An American

The French Impressionists are often praised—and sometimes criticized—for the beauty of their paintings. But when they first emerged on the Paris art scene in the late 1800s, they weren’t just painting pretty pictures. They were radicals, rewriting the rules   of what art was supposed to be. At the time, the art world was dominated by the official Salon, which favored polished, highly detailed paintings of historical events, myths, and noble heroes. Then came artists like Edou

A little background on Goya's portraits of the Spanish royal family