SELECT FINE ART

Johann Victor Kramer was born in Vienna on the 24^th August 1861.  He received his formal art instruction at the Academie des Beaux Arts in Vienna with Leopold Carl Muller (1834-1892), an important art master and an accomplished artist in his own right.  Muller was regarded as the founder of the Austrian School of Orientalist Painting and, of course, was a great influence on Kramer’s work.   Having completed his studies, Kramer embarked on extensive travels, which were a major factor in enhancing his already accomplished work, exhibiting at the Paris Salon, the Royal Academy in London and the Royal Academy of Arts, Berlin.  He received numerous awards including Le Prix Reichel in 1888 and a Silver Medal at the Exposition Universelle in 1900.   Reverie is a striking example of his work.  It is a lovely rendition of a young lady, captivating in serene and exquisite beauty.  She is wearing a silk palla, or draped cloak, reminiscent of the Classical Greek and Roman times.  This type of cloak was worn by a young maiden or married woman of the 1^st century, draped over her head as a sign of her marriage status, just like it was for the first time on her wedding day.  A superb example of Kramer’s work, both in execution and subject matter, Reverie is painted with accuracy and enormous detail. 

One of the most important society portrait painters, Sir James Jebusa Shannon was born in Auburn, New York on 3^rd of February 1862 and died in London on the 6^th of March 1923.  He received his formal art education at the Royal College of Art under Sir Edward Poynter, where he was awarded the Gold Medal for figure painting.  As Poynter's most gifted and accomplished pupil, he received commissions from Queen Victoria in 1881 and 1892.  Shannon was a prominent exhibitor at the Royal Academy, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Royal Society of Portrait Painters, Grosvenor Gallery, New Gallery, New English Art Club, and Society of British Artists.   During the 1880's, Shannon together with John Singer Sargent dominated the field of portraiture internationally.  Shannon's painting, Portrait of Lady Graham, pays homage to 18^th century portraiture, and artists such as Thomas Gainsborough, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and George Romney.  It is the absolute best of his work.  His masterly drawing and accurate eye for detail, along with a creation of spontaneity and glorious colour tones, create a beautiful painting, only achieved by a true master.