Nature

Two Crows in the Snow by Ito Sozan 

1931, Woodblock Print, 6 3/4" x 15"

This Japanese woodblock print is landscape-orientated print features two crows. One crow occupies the foreground within the right half of the composition, while the latter is shown in profile, facing the left. On the left side of the composition are several gently curving lines and shapes where the horizon meets the ground. The effect is that of grasses bent under the snow. The artist, Ito Sozan designed twenty-eight bird and flower prints throughout his career including this one. 

Horse and Foal by Cameron Booth 

Print, 8 3/8" x 11 1/8"

This print shows a horse and foal in a landscape that suggests a field and the side of a building. The print is monochromatic with a white-yellow, a warm and buttery yellow, and dark brown yellow. With these three values, the artist manages to convey an entire image including the shadows that the sun coming from the top left would be casting onto the horses. Within this shadow, we can see the blades of grass that the horses are standing on. Booth was known for using color as a means of communicating emotion and creating a compelling visual balance and expression. 

Morning Star by Maybelle Stamper 

1949, Oil on Cardboard, 8" x 7 5/8"

This abstract painting features bright and warm colors overlapping to create large multicolored shapes. These shapes are created through pointillism, a technique of painting using tiny dots of various pure colors that become blended in the viewer's eye. With the five-pointed star and the warm color pallet, the shapes could imply the sky during the rising of the sun. 

Parrot Tulips by Jean Cameron 

Oil on Canvas, 39 1/4" x 29 1/4"

This still-life features a bouquet of parrot tulips in a translucent yellow pitcher, surrounded by opaque glass jars the same colors as the large tulips set against an olive green background. The flowers are the center focal point, taking up more than half of the canvas, they have bloomed showing the viewer the beautiful splay of the petals. The organic shapes of the glassware lend themselves in contrast with the thin table they sit on. Like a bit of the outside was brought inside to sit for a portrait. 

Boat by Pak-hing Kan 

1979, Screenprint, 12 x 28" 

Pak-hing Kan was a Chinese artist who specialized in ceramics. This piece is one of her few prints, featuring a simple wooden boat with decorative details on the sides. The flat colors of this piece lead to creative representations like the body of water being conveyed through concentric blue circles. In the foreground, there are green grasses, reeds, and small flowers shaped like stars. Overall this print conveys a serene lakeside image reflected in the stillness of the water.

Isu Eri Coast by Tomikichirō Tokuriki 

1939-1940, Woodcut Print

Snow-capped mountains partially obscured by craggy foothills. We recognize the mountain in the background as Mount Fuji. The only evidence we have of this landscape being occupied is a small boat on the lefthand side of the print in the darkest point of the water. 

Hatching the Universal Egg (Part of the Birth Project) by Judy Chicago and Kris Wetterlund

1984, Embroidery, ~18 x 18"

This piece of artwork was done by needlepoint on fabric and was created by Kris Wetterlund as a part of the Birth Project: Born Again by Judy Chicago. This collection of art utilized the skills of 150 needle workers from around the United States, including the work of Kris Wetterlund. Judy Chicago, a well-known artist and feminist, started the project in response to the lack of art devoted to birth in Western culture. This project spanned from 1980-1985. The artwork itself is a beautiful depiction of birth as your eyes are drawn to the egg which creates a wonderful connection to nature and the natural quality of giving birth.

Art Department Photographs; Student Exhibition: 1959, Attributed to Sonia Daleki

35mm Color Slide

This slide is likely showing an image from a 1959 College of St. Catherine Art Majors Annual Exhibition: this image is a detail showing a 2D abstract painting likely by Sonia Daleki. The reds and oranges of this piece evoke the colors of fall tree leaves and the cool tones of the piece are reminscient of cool weather.

Cows and Nuns by Adolf Dehn

Ink Drawing, 20 x 26"

This delightful piece is by the Minnesota artist Adolf Dehn. Here we see a group of nuns drawing or painting cows while in a field. The composition of the piece provides us a view as if we are actually there with the nuns as they are the primary focus of the drawing. 

Art Department Photographs; Student Exhibition: 1959, Attributed to Sonia Daleki

1959, 35mm Color Slide

This 35mm color slide is likely showing an image from the 1959 College of St. Catherine Art Majors Annual Exhibition: this image is a detail showing two colorful abstract 2D oil paintings by Sonia Daleki. The bottom painting shows greens of various colors which can remind the viewer of grass or other natural foliage shown on earth. The top painting has various colors that can be found outside, like blue from the sky and brown from the ground.