The Delaware Art Museum – Part 1
Friday, December 22nd, 2017
I have an early holiday gift for you! I went to the Delaware Art Museum when I was at Illuxcon a couple months ago and managed to get some high quality captures and details. The images are large, so be sure to click on them or download them to see them in their large size.
I left all the images a little under exposed to preserve the data. If you want, download the zip file and you can adjust them in PS to bring out a little more contrast if you want. I shot everything in manual mode and for each painting the settings stayed the same across image. I did this so that the darker detail shots would stay accurate relative to the lighter close-ups.
This painting is full of so many wonderful caricatures. I don’t know if he had models for the specific faces or how much liberty he took, but if I ever captain a pirate ship, this is definitely the handsome crew I want. Faces only a scurvy dog could love.
Another beautiful painting full of wonderful characters.
The thick impasto paint was so rich and compelling to see in person.
This painting captured my imagination as a kid and hasn’t let go. What a treat to see it in person. What a great composition!
I thought this painting was beautiful. Cool to see how little contrast there was between foreground, figure and background. If you squint down, or convert to greyscale it becomes a study of 2.5-3 values and very abstract.
Another power composition, simple but with plenty of impact and depth. The thin sharp line of the ocean on the horizon is perfect, as is the little arc of a wave in the lower left. It creates such strong tension. The sky in this kept me studying this painting for a long time.
This piece inspired my own pirate painting when I was just getting started with freelance. It is one the truly great masterpieces of American illustration.
A shot from the side to show some light raking across the paint.
Thanks for giving the post a read and I hope you have a wonderful, safe, and memorable holiday season!
I won’t be posting again until 2018! Here’s to a great year of learning and growth, new opportunities and friendships. Be kind and generous with your time and knowledge and thank you again for supporting Muddy Colors. Thank you Muddy Colors for having me on board for these past few years.
– Howard
Thanks for the pictures and thoughts! I hadn’t seen the one of the woman against the yellow background when I visited a few years back. That museum makes for one hell of a pilgrimage. ‘Extorting Tribute’ in particular is stunning in person, much more so than I ever expected from photos- I didn’t appreciate just how well Pyle painted until seeing it there and looking at it for a long, long time.
Thanks, Howard. Good and informative post. I appreciate it.
Thank you for the post! I was fortunate enough to see some of Russel’s paintings a few years ago and these remind me of that. Very inspiring works. Where do I get the zip file?
Thanks for sharing !!! Awesome post
I would love to see those artworks up close. We’ll be visiting the museum for sure.
Irene
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Great shots, thanks!