Sausalito by Augustus Dunbier |
By James Turrell
Forget Jeeves. Try Art!
When it comes to asking a pesky question in the virtual world, many people go to www.askjeeves.com. But art aficionados take note: There’s a new, specialized site for your art-related questions. The Web site www.askart.com has information about more than 20,000 North American artists, and it’s growing daily. The database was originated by Roger Dunbier, the son of Nebraska painter Augustus Dunbier. Roger grew up in his father’s studio and later became a computer whiz. In 1983 he began cataloging information about artists and auctions. After he died in 1998, his wife, Lonnie, and her husband’s good friend, Roger Collins, propelled the project into cyberspace. The site contains information about artists and samplings of their works divided into categories such as wildlife, western, women, and California artists. The user-friendly search engines include one that allows the browser to type in an artist’s name, like California Scene painter Millard Sheets, and discover that the highest price one of his paintings has fetched at auction is $35,750 in 1990.
A Taste of Texas
For a taste of the art scene in the Lone Star State peruse www.canvasmag.com. The Web site contains stories and information about Texas artists, events, and galleries. Click on “museums” for a list of some major art museums in the state with a link to their home pages. Museum links include the Dallas Museum of Art, Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum, Houston’s Menil Collection and Museum of Fine Arts, and the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio.
Five O’Clock Bird by Priscilla Barton, $895, at Fathorse.com |
Just Browsing
For a wide array of southwestern and Native American art try www.fathorse.com. The online gallery, based in Tucson, AZ, features a variety of paintings, sculptures, glass works, pottery, kachinas, and fetishes. Diedre Larrabee, owner of the virtual gallery, says her focus is on “art of the spirit.”
Another site worth checking out is www.artnet.com. This site features a lengthy list of galleries around the world including ones like Heritage Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ, that specialize in southwestern art, and Edenhurst Gallery in West Hollywood, CA, that feature an impressive list of works by early California impressionists. The Web site guarantees that all works are vetted and have a precise condition report.
The Web site www.artinsider.com offers a number of art-related features including a virtual gallery of works by more than 100 artists. There’s also a section on art news and events around the country.
Not Exactly Household Names
Staffers at Askart.com have compiled a list of unusual artists’ names that made them smile. Here’s a sampling: Otto Botto, James Croak, Otto Dinger, Wanda Gag, Leota Loop, Candace Lovely, Isabel Lusty, Ruby Newby, Stanley Mouse, and Minnie Tingle.
Daily Art Dish
If keeping up with what’s happening in the art world is important to you, check out www.artdaily.com. The informative Web site has received a number of awards and kudos, including Yahoo’s pick of the week and four stars from the Britannica-Newsweek Internet Guide. The site, established in 1996, bills itself as “the first art newspaper on the net.” It features a story menu that changes daily. On recent trips to ArtDaily, we discovered articles about the French painter Auguste Renoir, the opening of a new facility for the Austin Museum of Art in Austin, TX, and a show of works by Frederic Edwin Church at the Terra Museum of American Art in Chicago, IL. The site contains additional information about exhibitions, events, and auctions around the world. Finally, if you like pithy, entertaining stories about famous artists, click on “anecdotes” for delicious tidbits.
Featured in October 2000