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Gallery 1001, 1001 Main Street, Winfield, KS (2026)

10/21/2026

"Photo Montage" (c1980) - Zdzislaw Beksinski

As mentioned yesterday our dear friend, Zdzislaw Beksinski, not only created creepy paintings, he also created creepy Photomontages. Yeeesh! Looks like he succeeded here.
Oh, don't worry, my friends. This artists completed around 800 works of art during his lifetime and, since we are approaching Halloween, I think I'm going to take a deep dive into the vast pool of Mr. Zdzislaw Beksinski's art while looking at the history of Halloween.
Oooohwhooooohahahahahaaaaaaa. (That was an evil laugh)

10/20/2026

"Untitled" (1975) - Zdzislaw Beksinski - (1929 – 2005)

Beksinski was a Polish painter, photographer, and sculptor. Born in Sanok, southern Poland. He studied architecture at Krakow Polytechnic in 1947, finishing his studies in 1952. He returned to Sanok in 1955, where he worked supervising construction sites and designing buses. It was during this period when he discovered an interest in montage photography, sculpting, and painting. When he first started sculpting, often using his construction site materials for his medium.
His early photography was a precursor to his later paintings, often depicting peculiar wrinkles, desolate landscapes, and still-life faces on rough surfaces. His paintings often depict anxiety, such as torn doll faces, or faces erased or obscured by bandages wrapped around the portrait. His main focus was on abstract painting, His paintings were mainly created using oil paint on hardboard panels that he personally prepared, although he also experimented with acrylic paints.
It did not take long for Beksinski to become one of the leading figure in contemporary Polish art. In the late 1960s, he entered what he called his "fantastic period," which lasted into the mid-1980s. This is his best-known period, during which he created disturbing images, showing gloomy, nightmarish environments with detailed scenes of death, decay, landscapes filled with skeletons, deformed figures, and deserts. But despite the grim subjects, Beksinski claimed that his works were rather optimistic or even humorous.
Unfortunately, Beksinski was stabbed to death at his Warsaw apartment on February 21, 2005, by a 19-year-old acquaintance from Wogonin, reportedly because Beksinski refused to lend him money.

Well, at least it wasn't an art critic. Right?

10/18/2026

“Bacchanalian Scene” (1862) - Richard Dadd (1817–1886)

Born in Chatham, England. he would attend the Royal Academy of Art. He showed some talent and excelled at painting fairies. Yes, Fairies!
It seems that Victorians were obsessed with fairy lore, and much of the art of this period reflects this.
In 1842, Dadd and Sir Thomas Phillips, traveled extensively in the Middle East and Europe. In Egypt, he encountered a group men smoking an Arabic style waterpipe, and joined them. For the next five days and nights when he was convinced that the sound of the bubbling pipe was actually a form of communication. On the fifth day, he deciphered a message, which he claimed was from the Ancient Egyptian god, Osiris. (You know. the one who killed and dismembered brother.)
Afterwards, he began to suffer from headaches and odd behavior. He thought it was just "sun stroke". However, while In Rome, he expressed an uncontrollable urge to attack the Pope during a public appearance.
He left Phillips and returned to England, where a family physician examined him. Dadd was found him to be "non compos mentis", or as I say, "Bat Sh*t Crazy!" On August 28th, 1843, at a chalk pit, he brutally murdered and dismembered his father with a knife and a razor. (Remember Osiris) He fled to France. Back in England, after finding Dadd's dad, authorities feared that he had also been murdered. When his London apartment was searched, police found his sketchbook full of portraits; each one shown with their throat slashed.
In Paris, he attempted to slash the throat of a fellow tourist and was arrested. He confessed to the murder of his father, was jailed, and later transferred to an asylum where authorities found a list of people "who must die", with dear old dad being number one. In England in July of 1844 for trial and was committed to the famous insane asylum known as Bedlam. He was 27.
He stayed in Bedlam for almost 20 years and was later transferred to another asylum called Broadmoor, where he remained for the rest of his life, dying at age 69 from "acute lung disease".

10/17/2026

"Saint Francis in Ecstasy" (c 1577 - 1580) - El Greco

I am going to finish out El Greco with beautiful portrait of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Here we see the martyred saint depicted in deep spiritual contemplation, and perhaps even mystical ecstasy. His crossed hands over his chest reveal the stigmata (the wounds of Christ). We also see a human skull on the rock beside him. This symbolizes mortality and ascetic reflection, while a diagonal shaft of divine light illuminates the upper left corner.
The style of this paintings is so characteristic of El Greco’s mature Mannerist period. We can see that he uses a more subdued, austere palette, elongated anatomy, and dramatic lighting to emphasize spiritual intensity over physical realism.
As I wrote at the beginning of this month's posts, I have been discussing artists who's mental illnesses impacted their works. In a somewhat ironic twist, although
his dramatic style, swirling compositions, and radical use of color struck early modern critics as bizarre or "mad," there is no historical or medical evidence that El Greco suffered from mental illness.
Art historians and modern scientists have thoroughly debunked the idea that his art was the byproduct of a psychological or physical pathology.
So, you might ask, "Why did I include him in this series?" The answer is quite simple; if you went through life with everyone around thinking that you were mentally ill, wouldn't you be mad? (see what I did there)

10/16/2026

"The Burial of Count Orgaz" - (1586) El Greco

Quite possibly my favorite of El Greco's paintings due in part to the fascinating story behind it.
The church of Santo Tomé (Saint Thomas) was founded in the 12th century. In 1312 a leading light in the society of Orgaz, a suburb of Toledo.
The painting is divided into two sections; the upper semi-circle representing heaven evoked by the swirling icy clouds and angels while the oblong forming the lower half represents the earthly section and all that is going on at the funeral. If you look closely at the upper “heavenly” section we can see the clouds parting in readiness to receive the Count into Paradise. Christ dressed in a white shroud sits at the very top of the painting and forms an apex to a holy triangle which is formed by the Virgin Mary, dressed in blue and red, on the left and St John the Baptist, dressed only in a loin cloth, on the right. These three figures are surrounded by elongated figures of apostles, martyrs and Biblical kings and others who have passed into paradise. Well, with the exception of King Philip II of Spain who was very much alive at the time of the painting.
The lower part of the painting, the “earthly” section. We see Saint Stephen on the left and Saint Augustine on the right, dressed in gold and red vestments, cradling the body of the dead count who is dressed in his reflective armor. We are witnessing the burial of the benefactor of the church with the posthumous assistance of the two saints who have miraculously appeared to thank Count Orgaz for the money he gave to religious institutions.
There is a small boy pointing to the dead Count in the lower left. This El Greco's son, Jorge Manuel. On the white handkerchief which we can see hanging from his pocket is inscribed the artist’s signature and the date 1578 which was the year El Greco’s son was born.
In the cloud formations above the funeral, we see, what appears to be a vortex and the soul of the Count, which has the appearance of a child, being escorted to heaven by an angel towards the seated Christ, who is waiting to receive him.

10/15/2026

"The Opening of the Fifth Seal" (1614) - El Greco

Yesterday, we began by scratching the surface of the artist, El Greco. Now, his early works helped put him on the map, however, it was in his later works where his fame, popularity, and legend grew.

As you can see on the photo (also somewhat in yesterday's post) these works are marked by exaggerated, and often distorted, figures, stretching beyond the realities of the human body (which is what modern viewers generally have found so appealing). Among them are The Adoration of the Shepherds (1599), Concert of Angels (1610) and this, The Opening of the Fifth Seal. Fifth Seal, in particular, went on to spark great debate, as it has been suggested that it was an influence on Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, often considered the first cubist painting.

El Greco’s effect on Picasso’s evolution is just one thread of his influence. The twisting figures and brash, unreal colors that form the very foundation of El Greco’s art influenced scores of artists, from the cubists following Picasso to the German expressionists to the abstract impressionists after them. His work also inspired those outside the realm of painting, such as writers Rainer Maria Rilke and Nikos Kazantzakis.

Although he was unappreciated overall during his career, 250 years later, artists and patrons were embracing his his status as a true master.

10/14/2026

"Portrait of an Old Man" (c. 1600) Domenikos Theotokopoulos (1541 - 1614)

Born in the village of Fodele near what is now known as Heraklion, on the island of Crete, young Domenikos was trained in the Byzantine artistic tradition, particularly in icon painting. However, once his distinctive style became known, he became "El Greco," meaning “The Greek.”

El Greco's paintings and sculptures defined the Spanish Renaissance and influence various movements to come. In his mid-twenties, he traveled to Venice and studied under Titian, who was the most renowned painter of his day. At 35, he moved to Toledo, Spain, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life, producing his best-known paintings. His works from this period are seen as precursors of both Expressionism and Cubism. He is remembered chiefly for his elongated, tortured figures, often religious in nature, the style of which baffled his contemporaries but helped establish his reputation in the years to come.

By the way, the painting included in this post is a self portrait.

10/13/2026

"Self Portrait with a Lowered Head - (1912) - Egon Schiele (1890 - 1918)

Schiele, born near Vienna in the small town of Tulln, was an expressionist painter, draftsman, and printmaker noted for the eroticism of his figurative works.
He studied art at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. Influence by German Art Nouveau, he met Gustav Klimt who's works influenced the young artist.

Created in the summer of 1912, Self-Portrait With Lowered Head came out during a period of frenzied experimentation in the Viennese art world. Gustav Klimt’s ornamental Jugendstil had dominated the previous decade, but younger artists like Schiele rejected decorative surfaces in favor of an art that laid bare the inner turmoil of their subject. Schiele studied briefly under Klimt yet quickly diverged, embracing a leaner palette and a focus on bodily tension.

The line-work is prominent in Schiele’s technique. Here, black contours oscillate between trembling precision and sudden, jagged outbursts. Rather than creating smooth, classical surfaces, his strokes emphasize tension points. As one can see, Schiele’s deliberate distortions such as an overly broad forehead, an asymmetrical jaw, and elongated fingers are not caricatures but deliberate strategies to externalize inner states.

The lowered head suggests shame or depression, while the direct, almost accusatory gaze implicates the viewer in an unspoken dialogue. The hand pressed to the chest can be read as a gesture of self-protection or as a ritualistic invocation of the heart. By exposing his vulnerability so explicitly, Schiele transforms the portrait into a confessional act. The tension between retreat and aggression captures the ambivalence of youth on the threshold of adulthood. In this way, the work resonates beyond its biographical moment, touching on universal themes of self-consciousness, alienation, and the desire to be understood.

I was introduced to Schiele's work while I was in college. many years before I developed a true interest in art and the image has always stuck with me.

10/12/2026

Hello Everyone. After a brief medical break I am once again back. Yet again I do apologize for these lapses, and I may be turning these posts over to someone else in the not too distant future. However, for now you have me and over the course of the next couple of days I will be writing out for the remainder of the month.

Todays painting is "Vampire II" (also known as Love and Pain) (cs. 1895 - 1902)
It was created by none other than Norwegian symbolist painter Edvard Munch (1863–1944).

Munch initially conceived the image in Berlin in 1893 as part of his groundbreaking "Frieze of Life" series, which explored universal psychological themes of love, anxiety, and death. The original composition was supposedly sparked by a moment in Munch's messy studio when a friend knelt before a model with fiery red hair, who leaned forward to comfort him.

It has been noted that Munch's Intent was to title the artwork simply as "Love and Pain." "The Vampire", was actually coined by Munch’s friend and occultist Stanisław Przybyszewski who, upon seeing the piece, described it as a "broken man with a biting vampire face on his neck". It seemed that the public completely ran with this interpretation.

10/05/2026

"Summer Days" (1936) - Georgia O'Keefe (1887 – 1986)

Today Is "World Teachers Day"

Celebrated annually around the world, World Teachers' Day is celebrated as a campaign by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Education International (EI) to help give the world better understanding of teachers and the role they play in the development of students and society.

That is why today, we present this piece from Georgia O'Keefe. For those unaware, From 1912-14, O'Keefe, the artist famous for painting the beauty of the American Southwest taught drawing and penmanship in the public school system in Amarillo, Texas. Imagine, the highest-selling woman in art auction history teaching you how to sharpen your cursive!

So, as we celebrate art and artists, today we celebrate those who teach and have taught (including art teachers)!

Gallery 1001

10/21/2026

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10/18/2026

10/17/2026

10/16/2026

10/15/2026

10/14/2026

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10/05/2026

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Friday	10am - 4pm
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