Pierre-Auguste Renoir | Luncheon of the Boating Party, 1881

Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir remains the best known and most popular work of art at The Phillips Collection, just as Duncan Phillips imagined it would be when he bought it in 1923.

The painting captures an idyllic atmosphere as Renoir's friends share food, wine, and conversation on a balcony overlooking the Seine at the Maison Fournaise restaurant in Chatou. Parisians flocked to the Maison Fournaise to rent rowing skiffs, eat a good meal, or stay the night.

The painting also reflects the changing character of French society in the mid- to late 19th century. The restaurant welcomed customers of many classes, including businessmen, society women, artists, actresses, writers, critics, seamstresses, and shop girls. This diverse group embodied a new, modern Parisian society.

Rabindranath Tagore | Stay in front of my eyes / Rimani davanti ai miei occhi

Laurie Blank

Stay in front of my eyes, and let
that your eyes inflame my songs.
Remains one of your stars, and their light
let me turn on my worship.
The land remains on hold
the roadside of the world;

Claude Monet | The Houses of Parliament, 1900-1905 | Painting series

Claude Monet* painted a series of oil paintings of the Palace of Westminster, home of the British Parliament, in the fall of 1899 and the early months of 1900 and 1901 during stays in London. All of the series' paintings share the same viewpoint from Monet's window or a terrace at St Thomas' Hospital overlooking the Thames and the approximate canvas size of 81 cm x 92 cm (32 in x 36 3/8 in). They are however painted during different times of the day and weather circumstances.

Lindsey Kustusch | Cityscape painter

Lindsey Kustusch - "I am an oil painter based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. My ambition is to try and capture the fleeting moments in life using this medium as an opportunity to see the world with a more interesting and colorful perspective. To stay present and aware by seeing the extraordinary in the mundane, challenging the insignificant versus the significant, and at the end of the day creating a deeper connection with the world around me".

Carlo Wostry | La Belle Époque painter

A painter of historical and genre subjects, Carlo Wostry (1865-1943) was also a sculptor and engraver. He studied in Vienna and also at the Baviere School in Munich, so gaining a varied and comprehensive training as a young man.

His first exhibition was in his hometown of Trieste, Italy and he painted a number of fine portraits there and soon produced a good living from his vocation as an artist.

Greatly influenced by Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931) the great portrait and genre painter from Ferare, Italy.