Claire

I’m Surviving the Art World: Part 2

In which I explain why self-care in the arts matters to me.

How I’m Surviving the Insanity that is the Art World: Part 1

The Art World today is in poor shape. It depends on a group of people who are willing to sacrifice themselves, give away their labor, and be nearly constantly rejected. In the interest of the United States gaining power in STEM and conservative politics in cutting funding, it has become increasingly difficult to have the […]Read Post ›

Boston Bombing and American Photography

Tomorrow is Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts. It’s a day to celebrate American Victory in the Revolutionary war. It’s the day that Bostonians host one of the most difficult to enter marathons, and reenact the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Three years ago, it was the day of the Boston Bombing. Always around this time of […]Read Post ›

Female Gaze on Female Gaze: Dorothea Lange

Photography, for many reasons, has always been ever so slightly more available to women. It was such a new medium, without the systems of training being set up for centuries like they were in painting or sculpture. While it meant that photography had to fight for its place in the art world, it also meant […]Read Post ›

My Frenemy: Nydia

In all my travels, I’ve seen her at least three times.Each time, we end up being in an odd spot where I feel bad for her, but also impressed by her beauty. I stare at her face, the smooth marble finished so perfectly and her expression so intense. I could spend few true minutes uninterrupted […]Read Post ›

Lady Louisa Greville: One of the Many Unknown Artists

(This was originally written as a justification of a purchase for an object collected by the Davis Museum. The full text may be found by viewing the object file. This is part of a Monthly Series of focusing on Female Artists by Claire Milldrum.) In the 18th century, women faced particularly difficult challenges to build […]Read Post ›

Kathe Kollwitz and War

(This is an edited version of a justification of an acquisition at the Davis Museum. The original can be found in the object file for 2014.127.1-.7. The works were on display at the Davis from Sept 16 to Dec 13 2015 and are part of a book edited by Dr. Claire Whitner.) Käthe Kollwitz (born 1867 in […]Read Post ›

The Green Lady at the Davis Museum

A Joshua Reynolds painting at the Davis Museum recently had a symposium on its research. Here’s a bit of back story of the preliminary research.

When your love for learning a subject trumps student debt

A few days before the New Year, my power went out and I was alone. It was scary, and without the distraction of entertainment run by electricity, I decided to write. I decided to draft my application to graduate school. I lit some candles, poured some red wine, wrapped myself in blankets and used what […]Read Post ›

I love finding the Dead

I love finding the dead. Not in a way that will start the apocalypse or American Horror Story. Instead, it’s historical research. I’m finding people who had loose ends, who left a story behind tied to some event or object in a museum to have a deeper understanding. It’s about resolving the past […]Read Post ›