Essays and Articles
Browse through Stephen’s archiveof past writings
Essays
The Ides of March XLIV B.C.
In February of 44 B.C. the Senate of Rome declared military leader and politician Julius Caesar dictator for life. This declaration made...
Alexandre Cabanel
By Stephen Gjertson Introduction Alexandre Cabanel is one of the great French artists of the 19th Century. He was a product of the finest...
Articles
Richard F. Lack
Richard Frederick Lack (March 26, 1928 - September 27, 2009) was an American artist, educator, and writer. He is known for his work in...
The Artistic Heritage, Credo, and Thoughts on Drawing of James Joseph Childs (1945 – 2020)
By Stephen Gjertson and James Childs James Childs was devoted to his art, an art inspired by select masters of the past. This single-minded...
The Ateliers of R. H. Ives Gammell and Richard F. Lack
Tradition and the Training of Painters in the Second Half of the 20th Century By Stephen Gjertson"Art students are terrified at the prospect...
Hippolyte Flandrin: A Nineteenth Century Master, Part I
By Stephen Gjertson In 1857, seven years before the artist’s death, the eminent French art critic, Edmund About, wrote of Hippolyte Flandrin, “If...
Hippolyte Flandrin: A Nineteenth Century Master, Part II
By Stephen Gjertson The Portrait Painter Flandrin was a prolific portrait painter. In an age that boasted many fine portrait painters he became...
Hippolyte Flandrin: A Nineteenth Century Master, Part III
By Stephen Gjertson The Church of Saint Martin d’Ainay in Lyons In 1854 Flandrin completed his work in Saint Vincent-de-Paul. The following year...
Hippolyte Flandrin (1809-1864): A Nineteenth Century Master, Part IV
By Stephen Gjertson The Return to Rome Flandrin had completed the nave of Saint Germain-des-Prés and was preparing to paint the transept when, in...
Jean-Paul Laurens
By Stephen Gjertson Born in Fourquevaux, France (near Toulouse) on March 28, 1838, Jean-Paul Laurens came from a very modest background and...
Pictorial Design
An Outline of Basic Principles By Stephen Gjertson and Annette LeSueur Dedicated to Richard F. Lack (1929-2009) Artist, Teacher, Writer, Mentor,...
The Paris Opéra: Charles Garnier’s Opulent Architectural Masterpiece
By Stephen Gjertson Footnotes are inserted into the text within brackets. Many are the architectural jewels of Paris. Notable among them are...
Frontiers of Enchantment: The Outdoor Studies of William R. Leigh
By Stephen Gjertson For some of those interested in art of the American West, the name of William R. Leigh conjures up dramatic images of bucking...
Classical Realism: A Living Artistic Tradition
By Stephen Gjertson The Origin of the Phrase The expression “Classical Realism,” when applied to a specific group of artists, originated with...
The Mistress of All Masters
By Stephen Gjertson This article was originally published in The American Society of Classical Realism - Salon 1992, exhibition catalogue,...
The Ateliers of R. H. Ives Gammell and Richard F. Lack
Tradition and the Training of Painters in the Second Half of the 20th Century By Stephen Gjertson Art students are terrified at the prospect...
On Motion in Art
Considering the Relationships Among Patronage, Training, and the Arts By Stephen Gjertson Footnotes are inserted into the text within brackets....
In Response to the Man with the Camera
By Stephen Gjertson It was a sultry summer afternoon in central Minnesota. I was painting about three yards from Minnehaha Creek,...
The American Society of Classical Realism
A Legacy of Preserving and Promoting the Fine Craft of Picture Making By Stephen Gjertson This is adapted from an article published in the Winter...
Portrait Painting in the Boston Tradition: An Interview with Richard F. Lack (1928-2009)
By Stephen Gjertson Portrait painting is a difficult and sometimes exasperating art. To survive, the portrait painter must be talented, flexible,...
All images are copyrighted and the exclusive right of this website. Please respect the artist by obtaining permission before posting to other sites.
A selection of books, catalogues, and prints are available in the S G Galleries store.