Title: Masters in pieces
First published: 1997
Description: This is the first collection of Connor's works - paintings that have appeared in galleries around the world and in The New Yorker, Time, and The New York Times Book Review. In these lively pieces, Connor draws on his own experience working in museums and hosting TV art programs to breathe some fresh air into the sometimes stuffy world of art history.

"What if Monet, concerned that Toulouse-Lautrec's fragile health was endangered by all those nights in the smoky cabarets and dance halls of Montmartre, had invited him to paint in the fresh air of his (pre-Giverny) garden at Vetheuil?" Such unlikely but intriguing scenarios are the basis of Connor's paintings in which he pays homage to Manet, Van Gogh, Caillebotte, and Gauguin, to name a few.

More than tongue-in-cheek deconstructions of the great master paintings, Connor's revisitations lovingly bring the masters back to life, often putting them in the center of their own works in new relationships and new narratives. His compositions reveal the structure of the original canvases and cast a fresh light on the nature of tradition, creativity, and originality. Each work is an art lesson, a history lesson, and a keen observation on human nature.
Subjects: Themes, motives, Appropriation (Art), Art criticism, Art, catalogs, Art, themes, motives, etc., Criticism and interpretation
People: Russell Connor (1929-)
LC classification: ND237.C6775 A4 1997