Artists: Their Muses and Mothers
/Art & Object has reissued my essay honoring mothers in art in time for this Mother's Day. You can read it here: https://www.artandobject.com/slideshows/8-artists-who-painted-their-mothers-muses-and-metaphors
Here you will find postings of recently published articles, book, film and exhibition reviews written by me. Occasionally I'll toss in a link to something of interest to practicing writers, artists, and filmmakers.
Art & Object has reissued my essay honoring mothers in art in time for this Mother's Day. You can read it here: https://www.artandobject.com/slideshows/8-artists-who-painted-their-mothers-muses-and-metaphors
My piece on the connections between visual art and jazz was published today on Art & Object. Matisse's last great works included his portfolio of paper cutouts called Jazz.
https://www.artandobject.com/news/visual-art-and-jazz-crossover-media
Meanwhile, Art & Object has republished an oldie but goody of mine. I think they haul this article out every spring.
https://www.artandobject.com/slideshows/art-spring-10-paintings-mark-season-2
Had a blast writing about comic book artist R.Crumb's rise in the world of the high-end art market for Art & Object. I also discovered Frank Frazetta whose painting skills rival 17th century European masters.
https://www.artandobject.com/news/comics-enter-fine-art-market-david-zwirner-london
Read my article on Montreal’s Festival of Films on Art in the March/April print issue of Art & Object. https://artandobject.mydigitalpublication.com/march-april-2026/cover
I occasionally write for the Artist’s Network. I was surprised to discover the huge number of watercolor societies that are thriving across America in nearly every state, today. I had the opportunity to interview the president of the Baltimore Watercolor Society, one of the oldest, on the occasion of their 140th anniversary. You can read about it here:
https://www.artistsnetwork.com/artist-life/an-enduring-legacy-celebrating-the-persistence-of-watercolor-societies/
I'm always learning something new when I'm assigned to review artists I think I know well. That was the case with the J.M.W. Turner and John Constable exhibition about their rivalry currently at the Tate Britain that was published today on Art & Object. You can read it via the link below:
https://www.artandobject.com/news/turner-constable-rivalry-impacting-artists-today
My article in response to the recent reassessment of the great Renaissance master Fra Angelico in an exhibition at the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and the Museo di San Marco, a Medici-commissioned Dominican convent in Florence where Angelico lived and worked, was published today in Art & Object.
You can read it here:
https://www.artandobject.com/news/exploration-fra-angelicos-artistic-development-and-impact
I love that I've had the opportunity to interview, and experience the work of the quintessential American painter, the indefatigable Lois Dodd, who is still breaking barriers at age 98. You can read my latest profile of her published today on Art & Object.
https://www.artandobject.com/news/how-lois-dodds-paintings-frame-everyday-life
I am very pleased to have my essay HUMAN REMAINS be the featured piece of nonfiction in the 16th issue of Empyrean Literary Magazine.
It might resonate for those who have lost someone dear to them this year. You can read it here: https://www.empyreanliterarymagazine.com/close-human-remains.html
The full, print issue can be ordered here: https://www.empyreanliterarymagazine.com/issues.html
Shattered Glass: The Women who Elevated American Art now on view at The Canton Museum of Art in Ohio was a revelation for me. I made so many new discoveries of great women artists, some who spent their whole lives in Ohio, in writing this review for Art & Object. I hope you will be pleasantly surprised too.
https://www.artandobject.com/news/women-who-elevated-american-art
at the Met and was able to review this eyeopening exhibition published today on Art & Object: https://www.artandobject.com/news/native-american-art-history-and-practices-met
It’s been awhile since I’ve had creative nonfiction published in a literary magazine so this message was welcomed today:
Hello Cynthia!
I have reviewed your submission for Empyrean Literary Magazine Issue 16: Vol 4, No 4. Empyrean would like to congratulate you on the acceptance of "HUMAN REMAINS." Empyrean will publish these pieces under your name, both in the print and web editions of Empyrean Literary Magazine. At this point I want to confirm that you still want Empyrean to publish these pieces under your name, in the Empyrean Literary Magazine. This means Empyrean will have the exclusive right to publish the chosen pieces for six months from first publication in The Empyrean Literary Magazine, and that you will not post or publish these on any other websites, magazines, or social media pages during that time. After six months, the rights will revert back to you and you can republish them as you see fit.
I will need confirmation on or before November 25th.
Thank you for submitting to Empyrean Literary Magazine!
--
Kaylyn Marie Naumann
Empyrean Literary Magazine, Editor-in-Chief
I'm so pleased that I was able to pay homage in this article on the Artist's Network to Boston artist and founder of the Boston University Visual Arts program, Reed Kay. He was also the most influential professor in my young life as an emerging artist on the path of getting my BFA and MFA at Boston University. I owe him more than I could possibly capture in words, so I enlisted others to speak about the role he played in their lives. Click on the link below to see what a few of his former students had to say.
https://www.artistsnetwork.com/artist-profiles/the-fine-art-of-teaching-art/
Today I am happy to see that Art & Object published, online, my article describing the components of the art market ecosystem. It was previously only available in their print magazine. Check it out in the link below.
https://www.artandobject.com/news/how-artists-gallerists-and-collectors-shape-creativity
For over 40 years Art New England has been the regions premier magazine covering visual and performing arts. However, like many other publications, it has not managed to fully recover from the impact of COVID. I have been a contributor to the magazine since it’s inception in 1980 when as a young artist I was proud to have my work featured on the cover and in an interview with my dear friend, Boston artist Lois Tarlow. Since then my work appeared periodically and for the last decade or so I’ve been a contributing writer. Today Art New England is struggling to survive. Primarily a subscription-based print publication, it has been arriving over two months late in peoples mailboxes. While it is still beautifully designed and it’s striking covers are a joy to see, most of the announcements, reviews and previews are out of date by the time they are read. Despite that I continue to write for them out of respect for their legacy and in hopes that they will survive. In the current Sept/October issue you can read my profile of Vermont artist Anna Dibble, my preview of the always exciting Art at the Kent, and coverage of the many recent awards honoring Vermont artists. I hope you will subscribe.
Founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art, Gloria Vanderbilt Whitney, succeeded through grit, talent and an abiding self-confidence during an era when it was shocking if a woman wore pants.
I loved writing this profile about her for Art & Object.
https://www.artandobject.com/news/gertrude-vanderbilt-whitney-sculptor-collector-museum-founder
The Hampton's have a rich history as a summer haven for artists escaping the heat of their NYC studios. I originally wrote this feature for Art & Object in 2022 but they have recently republished it as it remains relevant today.
https://www.artandobject.com/articles/enduring-legacy-art-and-artists-hamptons
Writing about the upcoming Hamptons Fine Art Fair for Art & Object was a nostalgia trip back to happy childhood summers spent on the white sand beaches of Long Island. It remains fertile ground for artists and collectors alike.
https://www.artandobject.com/news/overview-years-hamptons-fine-art-fair
Strong women have been around, leading countries, cultures and empires FOREVER! Americans seem to be blind to that fact. I have written about one of them, the great Egyptian Pharaoh Hatshepsut. This article was published today on Art & Object.
https://www.artandobject.com/news/pharaoh-hatshepsut-successful-ruler-and-art-collector
The published works of Cynthia Close on documentary film, art, and women in the arts.
© 2026 Cynthia Close
Website developed by Radiance Studios LLC | Powered by Squarespace.