Osman Hamdi Bey | The Tortoise Trainer, 1906

The Tortoise Trainer Hamdi's 1906 painting, The Tortoise Trainer, has held the record until 2019 for the most valuable Turkish painting, after being sold for 5 million Turkish Liras (approx. US$3.5 million) in December 2004.

At the 2004 Artam Antik A.Ç. auction in Istanbul, the Pera Museum and the Turkish Modern Museum fought to acquire the painting, and was ultimately purchased by the Pera Museum.

The painting depicts Hamdi's likeness clad in antiquated clothing, training tortoises in a mosque.

This choice of subject matter leads many to see this painting as a commentary on Turkey's conflicted national identity.

Walt Whitman | If you later to see me.. / Se tardi a trovarmi..

Se tardi a trovarmi, insisti.

Se non ci sono in nessun posto,

cerca in un altro, perché io sono

seduto da qualche parte,

ad aspettare te...

Roelof Rossouw | Autumn Solitude

Antonino Leto | Pittore verista

Antonino Leto (Monreale, 14 giugno 1844 - Capri, 31 maggio 1913) è stato un pittore Italiano figurativo, aderente al movimento verista.

Antonino Leto nacque a Monreale nel 1844. Grazie al sostegno dei concittadini intraprese i primi studi a Palermo sotto la guida dell’abate Gravina e presso i pittori Luigi Barba e Luigi Lojacono.

Nel 1864, durante un breve viaggio a Napoli, conobbe Filippo Palizzi e Domenico Morelli, frequentando i pittori della Scuola di Resina.

Eastman Johnson | At the Closing of the Day, 1878-80

Beginning in 1870 Eastman Johnson (American painter and co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, 1824-1906) produced a string of anecdotal narrative subjects depicting daily life on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

In the years after the Civil War, Johnson drew upon the visual character of the island and its inhabitants to portray everyday scenes which rank among the artist's most memorable paintings.

In an effort to find new and relevant subject matter, the painter found inspiration in the quiet whaling community of Nantucket. Johnson relished the island's simple way of life, its setting, and its population which offered models of distinctive appearance and character.

René Gruau (1909-2004)

Il conte Renato Zavagli Ricciardelli della Caminate, conosciuto professionalmente come René Gruau (4 febbraio 1909 - 31 marzo 2004) è stato un illustratore di moda Italiano, la cui esagerata rappresentazione del design della moda attraverso la pittura ha avuto un effetto duraturo sull'industria della moda.

A causa delle abilità e della creatività intrinseche di Gruau, ha contribuito a un cambiamento nell'intero settore della moda attraverso le nuove immagini che rappresentavano i disegni già popolari creati dai designer del settore.

Diana Armfield RA, 1920 | Centenarian painter of Flowers / Landscapes

Diana Armfield RA is a British painter who celebrated her 100th birthday on 11 June 2020. She was born on 11 June 1920.

Armfield is known for landscapes, and has also painted portraits, literary subjects and still lifes.

She has a particular interest in flower paintings, and is considered to owe much to the Sickert tradition.

She studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and the Central School of Arts and Crafts. Armfield was elected as a Royal Academician in 1991.

Bernard Dunstan RA (1920-2017)

Bernard Dunstan studied at Byam Shaw School of Art in 1939 and subsequently at the Slade School of Fine Art, London from 1939-1941.

He went on to teach at the West of England School of Art in Bristol from 1946-1949, Camberwell School of Art from 1950-1964, Byam Shaw School of Art from 1953-1974, Ravensbourne Art College from 1959-1964 and City and Guilds of London Art School from 1964-1969.