Buffalo AKG Art Museum : 2026-05

I had enough time on a layover to visit the Buffalo AKG Art Museum. It is named for John J. Albright, Seymour H. Knox, Jr., and Jeffrey E. Gundlach. Great building and campus and great collection with rotating exhibits in nice open rooms. It also has an easy flow where you don't have to do backtracking and/or wondering if you missed something. I appreciate that. Here are some things that I wanted to capture.

(L) YAYOI KUSAMA, Pumpkin, 2016, fiberglass with acrylic enamel coating

(C) YAYOI KUSAMA, Infinity Mirrored Room, 2018

(R) EAMON ORE-GIRON, Talking Shit with Illapa (variation 1), 2023, mineral paint on canvas

I took pics of the Kusama work because it was the special exhibit and the pumpkin is arguably famous. The photo of Ore-Giron's piece was more for reference for something I was working on at the time.

(L) JOSE DELGADO ZUNIGA, Phoenix, 2023, oil on linen

(C) ALBERTO RAY, Aesthetics of Death Series: VIII, 2007-08, oil, resin, glue on wood

(R) GARY SIMMONS, D.C. Pavilion, 2007, paint and wax on canvas

Good colors/birds, good fish, good motion.

(L) ED CLARK, Untitled (New York Series), 1991, acrylic on canvas

(C) PER KIRKEBY, Jul 1 - Vinterbillede - Læsø, 1984-1985, oil on canvas

(R) PHILIP GUSTON, Multiplied, 1972, oil on canvas

I took the picture of Clark's painting mainly for reference for a project. The abstract style of Kirkeby's picture was interesting. The Guston was taken because I'd seen his work in San Francisco.

(L) SUSAN ROTHENBERG, Two-Tone, 1976, acrylic and tempera on canvas

(C) PABLO PICASSO, Baigneuse jouante (Female Bather Playing), 1958, bronze

(R) MARK ROTHKO, Orange and Yellow, 1956, oil on canvas

I thought the simplicity of Two-Tone was great, I haven't seen many Picasso sculptures, and a Rothko is always interesting to see.

(L) ROY LICHTENSTEIN, Head-Red and Yellow, 1962, oil on canvas.

(C) ANDY WARHOL, 100 Cans, 1962, casein, spray paint, and pencil on cotton

(R) JACKSON POLLOCK, Convergence, 1952, oil on canvas

I like Lichtenstein's work and like it even more after I learned they're painted by hand...not screened. I'd seen other soup cans by Warhol, but hadn't seen this one. I took the Pollock as a reminder that I saw it.

(L) FRANZ KLINE, New York, N.Y., 1953, oil on canvas

(R) ELLSWORTH KELLY,  New York, NY, 1957, oil on canvas

I like some of Kline and Kelly's work, but I thought a comparison of two New York works was cool.

(L) PIET MONDRIAN, Composition No 11, 1953, oil on canvas

(C) FRANCIS BACON, Man with Dog, 1953, oil on canvas 

(R) WILLEM DE KOONING, Gotham News, 1955, oil, enamel, charcoal, newspaper on canvas

I took a pic of the Mondrian because they are what they are. The full title is "Composition No. 11, 1940-42--LONDON, with Blue, Red and Yellow, 1940-1942". I like the rawness of Bacon's work and this painting was a great example. His unsettling images might have been reinforced by his environment - here's a picture of his studio. It's good to see a de Kooning painting. He supposedly had a significant impact on Kline's later work.

(L) ARSHILE GORKY, The Liver is the Cock's Comb, 1944, oil on canvas

(C) ELAINE DE KOONING, Scrimmage, 1953, oil on canvas

(R) CLYFFORD STILL, PH-110 (1949-C), 1949, oil on canvas

I thought the Gorky was unique in its own way. Scrimmage shows good energy with low-level detail and I don't think I'd seen something from Mrs de Kooning. There were several Still works but I thought this one was more unique because of it's lack of other colors.

(L) MILTON AVERY, Bucolic Landscape, 1945, oil on canvas

(C) EDGAR DEGAS, Self Portrait, ca. 1854-55, oil on canvas

(R) HONORE DAUMIER, Ratapoil, original plaster cast

I'd seen Avery's work in Portland and like his disregard for some details - I thought this painting was great. I don't think I'd seen a self portrait of Degas - ever. There was also a bronze study in the nude for the Dressed Ballet Dancer (aka Little Dancer of Fourteen Years). The details (particularly of the face) of Ratapoil were terrific. A bronze one from this case is in the Musée d'Orsay.

(L) AUGUSTE RODIN, L'Age d'Airain (Age of Bronze), 1875-76, bronze

(C) WINSLOW HOMER, Croquet Players, 1865, oil on canvas

(R) PABLO PICASSO, La Toilette, 1906, oil on canvas

There are a lot of Rodin's Age of Bronze and I think I saw one in either Musée d'Orsay or Musée Rodin in Paris. The Homer is here because I love his work and this one did not disappoint. The Picasso was a good example that he worked in quite a large spectrum. There was a Monet, Chemin de halage à Argenteuil (Towpath at Argenteuil, Winter), but I didn't take a picture.

(L) JOHN SINGER SARGENT, Venetian Bean Stringers, 1880 or 82, oil on canvas

(C) VINCENT VAN GOGH, La Maison de La Crau (the Old Mill), 1888, oil on canvas

(R) GEORGES SEURAT, La nourrice (Nurse), 1884-85, conté crayon on paper

It's a Sargent, and I'm a fan. Even this painting shows a great use of limited light. The van Gogh is here because it's his but also because I'd argue less well-known. The Seurat was fantastic. So simple and in his style. Standing there and looking at it you can feel the emotion and the texture of the crayon on paper was perfect.

(L) MAX ERNST, Époque des forêts (Age of Forests), 1926, oil on canvas

(C) CHAÏM SOUTINE, Carcass of Beef, ca 1925, oil on canvas

(L) SALVADOR DALI, The Transparent Simulacrum of the Feigned Image, 1938, oil on canvas 

I've seen Ernst in Hartford, Philly, San Fran, Boston, Charlotte and now Buffalo. Kind of weird, but I like his work more each time. I liked this one quite a bit. I thought the boldness of Carcass of Beef was perfect for the subject. It's a Dali. I don't think I'll ever be disappointed seeing a Dali in person. Below left is La voix des airs (The Voice of Space), 1928, oil on canvas, by RENÉ MAGRITTE. There are four versions of this in oil. The most famous is in Venice and this is the other publicly displayed one. Magritte painted the man and apple which you might recognize, The Son of Man. I think it's great. Below right is Nude Figure, late spring 1910, by Picasso. Classic Picasso.

If you get a chance to visit this museum, it's a go-see!

There are several paintings I didn't capture mainly because of time.

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Portland Art Museum : 2025-10

I had a trip take me to Portland. It had been a while since I'd been there and this time I was able to visit the Portland Art Museum. I have to say, the first floor was a bit underwhelming and I was surprised for a larger city's art museum. However, I changed my mind once I visited the second floor. And they gave me a discount which was nice since I didn't have that much time. Above is the entrance and the floor map. On the floor map is a woodblock print by Chizuko Yoshida, Tanima no chō (Valley of Butterflies), 1979. She was one of the current exhibitions with over 100 works. I'll say it now...I have no idea why the museum labeled everything "Yoshida Chizuko" (and other members of the family in the same manner - which can be read about below). The family name is Yoshida, and her name is Chizuko. Even her works were signed "Chizuko Yoshida". I should have asked a staff member. Below are some works that caught my eye.

L: Leonard Drew, Number 232, 2020, wood, paint and sand.

R: Milton Avery, Bathers, Coney Island, 1934, oil on canvas.

Notes: I liked the disregard for detail and reality in Avery's Bathers.

L: Leonardo Drew, Number 432, 2024, wood, paint and plaster.

C: Keith Haring, Totem, 1989, woodcut.

R: Hiroshi Yoshida, El Capitan, 1925, color woodblock on paper.

Notes: I thought Drew's work had some great lines and motion. I snapped the Haring because I learned of him while walking through the Keith Haring Fitness Court in Green Mountain Falls, CO. I recognized the style and patterns immediately but hadn't known anything about the artist. I thought El Capitan was beautifully made.

L: George Luks, Mike the Bite, 1928, oil on canvas.

C: Chaïm Soutine, The Little Pastry Cook, ca 1921, oil on canvas.

R: Alfred Henry Maurer, George Washington, 1932, oil on composition board.

Notes: I really liked how Luks captured the moment and emotions without overworking details. Soutine's work is very expressive and it's that emotion that draws you into his images. You might recognize his Le Garçon d'étage which is in the Musée de l'Orangerie. That museum has the famous oval room with The Water Lilies by Claude Monet. I took a picture of the Cubist style George Washington because it was very striking. It was painted on the 200th anniversary of Washington's birth and the 100th anniversary of Maurer's father's birth. I also took the picture because works like this beg the question of relativity. If I'd typed this was a Picasso, would you have accepted that as true? Are Picasso works 'better' because they've been forced upon us? That's what's nice about art - if it captures you, it captures you - regardless of the notoriety of the artist. The fact that I reference Picasso in relation to Cubism is indeed the notoriety he deserves. Finally, this was the last thing Maurer would paint. He killed himself the same year.

L: Milton Avery, Portrait of Louis Kaufman, 1927, oil on canvas mounted on Masonite.

C: Pablo Picasso, Tête de femme (Fernande), 1909, bronze.

R: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Seine at Argenteuil, 1874, oil on canvas.

Notes: Another Avery - with more detail but still the 'blockiness' I liked from Bathers. Good to see a sculpture from Picasso, and the lines were great. Probably not one of his most famous paintings, but it's a Renoir and it certainly shows his style. This is one of ten landscapes he made while working side-by-side with Claude Monet.

L: Paul Gaugin, Garden View, Rouen, 1884, oil on canvas.

C: Edgar Degas, Madame de Nittis, ca 1872, oil on canvas.

R: Claude Monet, River at Lavacourt, 1879, oil on canvas.

Notes: Three legends. Degas' painting reminds me of the power of contrast.

L: Jeanne Selmersheim-Desgrange, View of Seine, ca 1910, oil on canvas.

C: Paul Cézanne, La Halle aux Vins à Jussieu (The Wine Market at Jussieu), 1872, oil on canvas.

R: Claude Monet, Waterlilies, 1914-15, oil on canvas.

Notes: Desgrange used pointillism and was one of few women working in that style. The individual rectangles of color are really impressive to see in person. Another less-famous piece, but it's a Cézanne. Waterlilies by Monet...how can you pass up taking a picture. Even if you don't like it, he's known for these and Impressionism. Just like Picasso is known as the co-founder of Cubism, artists who start a movement / style deserve to be famous.

L: Vincent van Gogh, Charrette de boeuf (The Ox Cart), July 1884, oil on canvas.

C: Théodore Rousseau, In the Pyrenees, 1844, oil on paper laid on canvas.

R: Charles C. McKim, Cascade Head, ca 1910, oil on canvas.

Notes: The van Gogh caught my eye before realizing it was a van Gogh - once again boldness and contrast caught my eye. I think this is a fantastic van Gogh and many people might not know it's his. The lighting in In the Pyrenees was well executed and it's a Rousseau. I liked the McKim painting for the simplicity, contrast and colors. Interestingly, he trained with Winslow Homer whom I think has some incredible work. The plaque accompanying Cascade Head said McKim became one of the Pacific Northwest's most evocative landscape painters. I was quite surprised how little I could find about McKim on the Web.

L: John Singer Sargent, Assistant Sketch for "The Triumph of Maria de Medici", 1877, oil on canvas

C: John Singer Sargent, Franciscan Monk in the Garden of Gethsemane, 1905/6, oil on canvas

L: George Inness, Sr., Apezzo Pass, Titian's House, 1876, oil on artist's board

Notes: It's a Sargent and I'm a fan. Followed by another Sargent. Sargent was the leading American portraitist of the Gilded Age, and I can only aspire to paint fabric and flesh like he did in a 'sketch'. When writing this post, I stubbled across a Sargent I'd never seen before and think it's brilliant. It's titled Gassed and depicts the aftermath of a mustard gas attack in WWI. As a stickler for titles of work, I couldn't've titled it better myself. The Inness painting had wonderful colors and trees, and the depth created by the mountains in the background is perfect - something I definitely have to work on.

L: Ayomi Yoshida, Misty Rain, 2021, color woodblock print on paper.

C: Thomas Moran, The Grand Canal, Venice, 1899, oil on canvas.

R: A Family Affair - this plaque discusses five members of the Yoshida family.

Notes: Misty Rain had wonderful colors and just the right amount of detail (or lack thereof). Also, it was done by another member of the Yoshida family. The Moran painting has incredible lighting. It also highlighted an artist I was not aware of/tracking. Moran has some amazing work and I think would make an excellent artist to study. The Family Affair is there because it's a nice summary of the Yoshida family members.

If you get to Portland and have time, I would highly recommend a visit. Also, if you visit after 20 November 2025, you will get to experience the museum's transformation of expansion and renovation.

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