A Long Look Podcast

Karen Jackson
  • 5.0 (13)
  • VISUAL ARTS

Ever feel overwhelmed when you visit a museum? Discover a better way to connect with art! Join lifelong art lover and museum fan Karen Jackson as she shares in vivid detail what she sees and discovers when she slows down to look at a work of art for minutes instead of seconds. Then you'll find out the history, mystery or controversy behind the work or the artist! Monthly episodes are only about 10 minutes. The show is for all art lovers—from beginners to longtime fans and the visually impaired. No jargon, just an easy-going, sometimes irreverent look at works in Washington DC's world-class museums. Slow down, see more, avoid the overwhelm!

  1. The Bedroom by Pieter de Hooch

    05/17/2025

    The Bedroom by Pieter de Hooch

    Well, here we are my friends, the 100th and final episode!  We go back to where it all started, the National Gallery of Art, for a look at one of Pieter de Hooch's idealized depictions of what a Dutch household was supposed to be. This cozy home may have been more wishful thinking than reality, though!  We'll find out how an embarrassing meeting helped create the Gallery! And I'll share final thoughts and thank yous and a few podcast recommendations I think you'll really like (listed below). If you want to follow along, you can find it here on the Gallery's site SHOW NOTES "A Long Look" themes are "Easy" by Ron Gelinas https://youtu.be/2QGe6skVzSs and "At the Cafe with You" by Onion All Stars https://pixabay.com/users/onion_all_stars-33331904/ Episode Music "The Well Tempered Clavier, Book I, BWV 846-869 - Prelude No. 19 in A major, BWV 864" composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Performed by Kimiko Ishizaka. Courtesy of musopen.org https://musopen.org/music/43466-the-well-tempered-clavier-book-i-bwv-846-869 "Hand in Space" by Quantum Jazz https://archive.org/details/jamendo-046377 Artwork information https://www.nga.gov/artworks/1172-bedroom https://www.nga.gov/research/publications/online-editions/dutch-paintings-seventeenth-century-bedroom-16581660 Pieter de Hooch information "Pieter de Hooch, 1629-1684" by Peter C. Sutton (Archive.org) https://archive.org/details/pieterdehooch16200sutt https://www.theartstory.org/artist/de-hooch-pieter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_de_Hooch "Public and Private Life in the Art of Pieter de Hooch" by Martha Hollander (JSTOR) Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek (NKJ) / Netherlands Yearbook for History of Art 51 (2000): 272–93. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24706499 Women in Dutch life "The Embarrassment of Riches" by Simon Schama (Bookshop.org) Gallery history https://www.nga.gov/about-us/our-history https://www.doaks.org/resources/cultural-philanthropy/national-gallery-of-art "America's National Gallery of Art" by Philip Kopper (Internet Archive) https://archive.org/details/americasnational0000kopp/americasnational0000kopp Jazz in the Garden https://www.nga.gov/calendar/jazz-garden "The Mill" by Rembrandt https://www.nga.gov/artworks/1201-mill The Object Podcast--Minneapolis Institute of Art https://new.artsmia.org/the-object-podcast The Modern Art Notes Podcast https://manpodcast.com Tyler Greene presents in-depth discussions with artists about their practice and curators about current shows for a fascinating look at today's art world. Immaterial https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/series/immaterial-podcast The Metropolitan of Art's limited series podcast tells us surprising stories about the stuff art is made from. Transcript available at https://alonglookpodcast.com/bedroom-de-hooch

    14 min
  2. Beach at St. Malo by Maurice Prendergast

    04/25/2025

    Beach at St. Malo by Maurice Prendergast

    When critics hinted Maurice Prendergast was getting a little repetitive as he approached 50, he could've hung up his brushes. After all, he'd been pretty successful. Instead, he headed back to where it all began--Paris--and came away reinvigorated with "a new impulse," as he called it.   Today's episode takes us to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington DC. We'll find out how an idea that started with Congress just before the Depression led to an official modern art museum on the National Mall!   SHOW NOTES "A Long Look" themes are "Easy" by Ron Gelinas https://youtu.be/2QGe6skVzSs and "At the Cafe with You" by Onion All Stars https://pixabay.com/users/onion_all_stars-33331904/   Episode music "Scenes from Childhood, Op. 15 - IX. King of the Hobbyhorse" by Robert Schumman Performed by Donald Betts.   "Children's Corner, L. 113 - III. Serenade of the doll" by Claude Debussy Performed by Edward Rosser Both courtesy of musopen.org   "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/   Artwork information  Beach at Saint-Malo https://iiif.si.edu/mirador/?manifest=https%3A%2F%2Fids.si.edu%2Fids%2Fmanifest%2FHMSG-HMSG-66.4131 (mirador zoom-in view)   https://hirshhorn.si.edu/collection/artwork/?edanUrl=edanmdm%3Ahmsg_66.4131   Prendergast info https://www.theartstory.org/artist/prendergast-maurice/   https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.5270.html   Maurice Prendergast. Wattenmaker, Richard J, and National Museum of American Art. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1994.  https://archive.org/details/mauriceprenderga0000watt/page/n5/mode/2up    Maurice Prendergast : By the Sea. Homann, Joachim. Brunswick, Maine: Bowdoin college Museum of Art, 2013.   "The Early Art Education of Maurice Prendergast." Glavin, Ellen. Archives of American Art Journal 33, no. 1 (1993): 2–12. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1557569. (JSTOR)   Hirshhorn info https://hirshhorn.si.edu/explore/the-founding-donor/   https://hirshhorn.si.edu/about-us/   https://siarchives.si.edu/history/hirshhorn-museum-and-sculpture-garden Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden : The Collection. Brunet, Briana Feston, and Romare Bearden. Edited by Stéphane Aquin, Anne Reeve, and Sandy Guttman. New York: DelMonico Books, 2022.   Transcript available at https://alonglookpodcast.com/saint-malo/

    12 min
  3. Luncheon of the Boating Party by Renoir

    03/22/2025

    Luncheon of the Boating Party by Renoir

    So much better than Instagram! Pierre-Auguste Renoir invited 14 friends to lunch one summer--several lunches actually--and ended up creating this spectacular work of art.  In today's episode we find out about this happy group and that beautiful riverside restaurant they're clearly enjoying. And I'll tell you a pretty funny story about how Duncan Phillips was able to get this stunner for his new modern art museum, the Phillips Collection in Washington DC.  SHOW NOTES  "A Long Look" themes are "Easy" by Ron Gelinas https://youtu.be/2QGe6skVzSs and "At the Cafe with You" by Onion All Stars https://pixabay.com/users/onion_all_stars-33331904/ Episode music "Parisian" by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 From Blue Dot Sessions: "Via Verre" https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/306837 "Symphony 40 In G Minor" https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/306840 "Etude 9 Stefan" https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/306841 Artwork information  https://www.phillipscollection.org/collection/luncheon-boating-party https://www.phillipscollection.org/event/2017-10-06-renoir-and-friends-luncheon-boating-party "The Eye of Duncan Phillips: A collection in the making" by Duncan Philips and David W. Scott. 1999. Edited by Erika D. Passantino. Washington, DC: Phillips Collection in association with Yale University New Haven. Sitters identified https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luncheon_of_the_Boating_Party Holston papers William H. Holston papers, 1915-1964. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Reel D-169 #1029-31 "Luncheon of the Boating Party" by Susan Vreeland https://bookshop.org/p/books/luncheon-of-the-boating-party-susan-vreeland/11716075?ean=9780143113522&next=t Maison Fournaise https://www.maisonfournaise.com  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maison_Fournaise Caillebotte episode https://alonglookpodcast.com/08-skiffs-caillebotte Transcript available at https://alonglookpodcast.com/boatingparty/

    12 min
  4. Callers by Walter Ufer

    02/21/2025

    Callers by Walter Ufer

    No bows and arrows, no hunting buffalo on horseback. Walter Ufer saw first-hand that Native Americans in the 1920s weren't the romanticized caricatures from the old Wild West shows. In today's episode we're looking at "Callers" and find out how a city boy from Chicago ended up in Taos, NM and broke all the rules when it came to depicting his friends and neighbors as real people trying to balance the modern world with tradition. SHOW NOTES  "A Long Look" themes are "Easy" by Ron Gelinas https://youtu.be/2QGe6skVzSs and "At the Cafe with You" by Onion All Stars https://pixabay.com/users/onion_all_stars-33331904/ Episode Music "Free Guitar Riding Blues" and "Follow the Little Creek" by Loco Lobo. Courtesy of Free Music Archive https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lobo_Loco/completly-free/free-guitar-riding-blues-f-014 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lobo_Loco/verona/follow-the-little-creek-faster-id-1386 "Clusticus the Mistaken" by Doctor Turtle. Courtesy of the artist https://doctorturtle.bandcamp.com/album/free-turtle-archive-everything-cc-by-by-turtle Artwork information https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/callers-24394 Artist info https://americanart.si.edu/artist/walter-ufer-4912 https://www.historynet.com/walter-ufer/?f https://cometatomic.com/walter-ufer-a-remarkable-journey-through-art-and-activism/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Ufer https://www.illinoisart.org/essays/walter-ufer#_ftn23 Ufer letter https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15324coll1/id/1930 Taos Artists Society "The Taos Society of Artists : Masters & Masterworks" by Amy Scott (Internet Archive) https://archive.org/details/taossocietyofart0000scot Transcript available at https://alonglookpodcast.com/callers-ufer/

    10 min
  5. Encore-Woman Holding a Balance by Vermeer

    01/11/2025

    Encore-Woman Holding a Balance by Vermeer

    While I'm taking a break, I thought you might enjoy this encore presentation of a popular episode from 2019—the gorgeous Woman Holding a Balance at the National Gallery of Art. If you want to follow along, you can find it at alonglookpodcast.com/vermeer.  And make sure to stick around to the end for a special announcement! SHOW NOTES  "A Long Look" themes are "Easy" by Ron Gelinas https://youtu.be/2QGe6skVzSs and "At the Cafe with You" by Onion All Stars https://pixabay.com/users/onion_all_stars-33331904/ Episode theme is "Caro Mio Ben in C Major" by Giuseppe Giordani, performed by Joel Meza. https://soundcloud.com/joel-meza-1/caro-mio-ben-in-c-major "Women Holding a Balance" information https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.1236.html https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/vermeer-woman-holding-a-balance.html Vermeer information https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1951.html "Essential Vermeer" website (extensive amount of info!)  https://www.essentialvermeer.com Widener information "Dutch Paintings at the National Gallery of Art: The Untold Stories behind the Acquisitions of the Rembrandts, Vermeers, and Other Treasures in the Collection" (audio) https://www.nga.gov/global-site-search-page.html?searchterm=wheelock+audio RECOMMENDED READING "Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting" by Adriaan Waiboer, et al. Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland, 2017. Exhibit brochure https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/exhibitions/pdfs/2017/vermeer-brochurel.pdf "Vermeer: Faith in Art" by Daniel Arasse Transcript available at https://alonglookpodcast.com/encore-woman-balance-vermeer/

    11 min
  6. Adoration of the Magi by Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi

    12/14/2024

    Adoration of the Magi by Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi

    And you thought YOU were gonna have a lot of holiday company! Poor Mary, who's only given birth a week or so ago, now faces this onslaught of unexpected visitors in today's episode.  We'll find out who exactly all those folks are, their connection to one of the most powerful families in Europe, and what's up with the peacock. Pretty sure that wasn't one of the animals at the Nativity... SHOW NOTES "A Long Look" themes are "Easy" by Ron Gelinas https://youtu.be/2QGe6skVzSs and "At the Cafe with You" by Onion All Stars https://pixabay.com/users/onion_all_stars-33331904/ Episode music "Joy to the World" and "We Three Kings" performed by John Sayles http://www.jsayles.com/familypages/holidaymusic.htm "Mass for 4 Voices," composed by William Byrd, performed by Ensemble Morale. Courtesy of musopen.org https://musopen.org/music/44138-mass-for-4-voices "Suite in F Major" composed by Michael Praetorius. Performed by Michel Rondeau. Courtesy of musopen.org https://musopen.org/music/43633-suite-in-f-major Artwork information  https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.41581.html https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/angelico-lippi-the-adoration-of-the-magi.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adoration_of_the_Magi_(Fra_Angelico_and_Filippo_Lippi) https://www-jstor-org.dclibrary.idm.oclc.org/stable/20074684?seq=6 (JSTOR article, may need to log in through your library) Magi gifts https://uscatholic.org/articles/202212/why-did-the-magi-bring-jesus-gold-frankincense-and-myrrh https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/why-did-the-magi-bring-gold-frankincense-and-myrrh/ Medici information https://www.britannica.com/topic/Medici-family Karen's favorite illuminated manuscript "The Hours of Catherine of Cleves" https://www.themorgan.org/collection/Hours-of-Catherine-of-Cleves Recommended Reading: "Fra Angelico" by Laurence Kanter and Pia Palladino. Published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Press, 2005. Pgs 278-283. Explains Magi's visitation. (Free PDF) https://cdn.sanity.io/files/cctd4ker/production/f9c70388da067f22ea0e43e5e512fb5f8d2b0d33.pdf Transcript available at https://alonglookpodcast.com/adoration-magi-angelico-lippi/

    13 min
  7. On the Coast of New Jersey by William Trost Richards

    11/22/2024

    On the Coast of New Jersey by William Trost Richards

    Today's episode is all about relaxing, taking a little break after a long year and before the holidays hit. So I offer you a quiet beach at the Jersey Shore in this serene painting by William Trost Richards.  We'll find out how this Philadelphia-born artist embraced the idea of nature and art as keys to a better life and his connection to the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C. Thomas Cole and the Corcoran are key parts of the story, so here are previous episodes about them:  "A Pastoral Visit" tells the story of the founding of this influential museum and "The Voyage of Life: Childhood" is one of Cole's dramatic allegorical paintings. SHOW NOTES "A Long Look" themes are "Easy" by Ron Gelinas https://youtu.be/2QGe6skVzSs and "At the Cafe with You" by Onion All Stars https://pixabay.com/users/onion_all_stars-33331904/ Episode Music "Morning" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 "Database Of Problems, Rolodex Of Lies" by Doctor Turtle https://doctorturtle.bandcamp.com/album/free-turtle-archive-everything-cc-by-by-turtle Artwork information  https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.195170.html William Trost Richards information https://chrysler.org/exhibition/seascapes-by-william-trost-richards/ https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.2710.html New York Times article on Richards https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/16/arts/design/william-trost-richards-at-national-academy-museum.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare "William Trost Richards: American Landscape & Marine Painter" by Linda S. Ferber https://archive.org/embed/williamtrostrich0000ferb (archive.org) "Niagara" by Frederic Edwin Church https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.166436.html Episode on the Corcoran Gallery  "A Pastoral Visit" Episode on Thomas Cole "The Voyage of Life: Childhood" Transcript is available at https://alonglookpodcast.com/coast-new-jersey

    10 min
  8. Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl by James Whistler

    11/01/2024

    Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl by James Whistler

    Welcome back! I hope you all had a great summer. We'll be spending the rest of 2024 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, starting off with a stunning portrait of a red-headed Irish beauty that shocked London society. We'll find out who she is and how she was much more than a pretty face.  Then we'll learn about the very mercurial artist she had to put up with, James McNeill Whistler and the chaos he caused in his own life and others!   SHOW NOTES "A Long Look" opening and closing themes are by Ron Gelinas:  "Ascension" https://youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo and "Easy" https://youtu.be/2QGe6skVzSs Episode music "Chopin Waltz in A Minor, B. 150." Performed by Aya Higuchi String Quartet no. 2 in B minor - II. Minuetto moderato." Composed by Joseph Miroslav Weber, Performed by Steves Bedroom Band. Courtesy of musopen.org Artwork information https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.12198.html https://www.nga.gov/features/joanna-hiffernan-the-white-girl.html https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.12198.html#relatedpages https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2022/woman-in-white.html https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/whistler-symphony-in-white-no-1-the-white-girl.html https://www.nga.gov/blog/how-whistler-painted-white-in-full-color.html James McNeill Whistler info https://www.theartstory.org/artist/whistler-james-abbott-mcneill Joanna Hiffernan Bio https://www.dib.ie/biography/hiffernan-joanna-jo-a9605 The Peacock Room https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/interactives/peacock-room/making-the-peacock-room/ Transcript available at https://alonglookpodcast.com/symphony-in-white/

    10 min
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5
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

Ever feel overwhelmed when you visit a museum? Discover a better way to connect with art! Join lifelong art lover and museum fan Karen Jackson as she shares in vivid detail what she sees and discovers when she slows down to look at a work of art for minutes instead of seconds. Then you'll find out the history, mystery or controversy behind the work or the artist! Monthly episodes are only about 10 minutes. The show is for all art lovers—from beginners to longtime fans and the visually impaired. No jargon, just an easy-going, sometimes irreverent look at works in Washington DC's world-class museums. Slow down, see more, avoid the overwhelm!

Information

  • Creator
    Karen Jackson
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2025
  • Episodes
    99
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2017-2026 Karen Jackson
  • Show Website
    A Long Look Podcast