Michael Lobel
@mlobelart.bsky.social
Professor of Art History, Hunter College & CUNY Graduate Center. I look at things and then write about them.
Author of Van Gogh and the End of Nature, from Yale University Press: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300274363/van-g
Author of Van Gogh and the End of Nature, from Yale University Press: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300274363/van-g
Pinned
Michael Lobel
@mlobelart.bsky.social
· Jun 25
I'm excited to share that today is the official publication date for my new book, Van Gogh and the End of Nature, from Yale University Press, which more firmly grounds Van Gogh within the industrial era in which he lived & worked (thread)
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
My absolutely favorite artwork for today, capturing the holiday more poignantly than any other: Alice Neel, Thanksgiving, 1965
November 27, 2025 at 1:48 PM
My absolutely favorite artwork for today, capturing the holiday more poignantly than any other: Alice Neel, Thanksgiving, 1965
Reposted by Michael Lobel
"Eggs Having Turkey Dinner," 1985–95, painting in nail polish on metal tray by inimitable artist & drag performer Jerome Caja #Thanksgiving
November 26, 2025 at 2:53 PM
"Eggs Having Turkey Dinner," 1985–95, painting in nail polish on metal tray by inimitable artist & drag performer Jerome Caja #Thanksgiving
Reposted by Michael Lobel
Pablo Picasso, The Turkey (Le Dindon), 1936 www.moma.org/collection/w...
November 27, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Pablo Picasso, The Turkey (Le Dindon), 1936 www.moma.org/collection/w...
Pablo Picasso, The Turkey (Le Dindon), 1936 www.moma.org/collection/w...
November 27, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Pablo Picasso, The Turkey (Le Dindon), 1936 www.moma.org/collection/w...
Reposted by Michael Lobel
Relatedly, if you're in academia and read an essay or article or book by a scholar that really impresses you, consider sending them an email to let them know. I think this is especially important to do for younger scholars, who may not have many other ways of getting positive feedback on their work
Remember your favorite creator possibly might be struggling with imposter syndrome and doubt and this timeline sucks.. so if you find yourself thinking “wow I really relate to this persons work” or that persons work gives you joy, you should probably tell them. It’s a hard time to be a creative.
November 26, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Relatedly, if you're in academia and read an essay or article or book by a scholar that really impresses you, consider sending them an email to let them know. I think this is especially important to do for younger scholars, who may not have many other ways of getting positive feedback on their work
Reposted by Michael Lobel
Felix Gonzalez-Torres's Untitled (Death by Gun) is a stack of posters listing the more than 460 people killed by firearms during a single week in 1989. Viewers are invited to take a poster as the stack is constantly replenished www.moma.org/collection/w...
June 14, 2024 at 3:10 PM
Felix Gonzalez-Torres's Untitled (Death by Gun) is a stack of posters listing the more than 460 people killed by firearms during a single week in 1989. Viewers are invited to take a poster as the stack is constantly replenished www.moma.org/collection/w...
Reposted by Michael Lobel
this might be the saddest story I've ever written, about a seal that I will be thinking about for a long, long time.
defector.com/why-wont-nor...
defector.com/why-wont-nor...
Why Won’t Nora The Leopard Seal Abandon Her Dead Pups? | Defector
In the fall of 2021, Renato Borras-Chavez, a marine mammal ecologist at the University of Rhode Island, spotted a leopard seal on an ice floe. Borras-Chavez was on a research expedition to a glacial f...
defector.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:54 PM
this might be the saddest story I've ever written, about a seal that I will be thinking about for a long, long time.
defector.com/why-wont-nor...
defector.com/why-wont-nor...
Roy Lichtenstein, Turkey, 1961 #Thanksgiving www.lichtensteincatalogue.org/catalogue/en...
November 26, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Roy Lichtenstein, Turkey, 1961 #Thanksgiving www.lichtensteincatalogue.org/catalogue/en...
Relatedly, if you're in academia and read an essay or article or book by a scholar that really impresses you, consider sending them an email to let them know. I think this is especially important to do for younger scholars, who may not have many other ways of getting positive feedback on their work
Remember your favorite creator possibly might be struggling with imposter syndrome and doubt and this timeline sucks.. so if you find yourself thinking “wow I really relate to this persons work” or that persons work gives you joy, you should probably tell them. It’s a hard time to be a creative.
November 26, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Relatedly, if you're in academia and read an essay or article or book by a scholar that really impresses you, consider sending them an email to let them know. I think this is especially important to do for younger scholars, who may not have many other ways of getting positive feedback on their work
"Eggs Having Turkey Dinner," 1985–95, painting in nail polish on metal tray by inimitable artist & drag performer Jerome Caja #Thanksgiving
November 26, 2025 at 2:53 PM
"Eggs Having Turkey Dinner," 1985–95, painting in nail polish on metal tray by inimitable artist & drag performer Jerome Caja #Thanksgiving
Reposted by Michael Lobel
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
November 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
Jodorowsky's Dune
November 25, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Jodorowsky's Dune
Reposted by Michael Lobel
Taking a cue from @onceatrophic.bsky.social to let you know this would be a great time to purchase my Van Gogh book, now 30% off. Beautiful full-color reproductions of Van Gogh's art & a completely new view of this iconic modern artist. Use code GIFT30 thru Dec. 5: yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
November 24, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Taking a cue from @onceatrophic.bsky.social to let you know this would be a great time to purchase my Van Gogh book, now 30% off. Beautiful full-color reproductions of Van Gogh's art & a completely new view of this iconic modern artist. Use code GIFT30 thru Dec. 5: yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
Reposted by Michael Lobel
"What Is the Mysterious New Group Behind Trump’s Venice Biennale Pick?" Some observations about the American Arts Conservancy news.artnet.com/art-world/am...
What Is the Mysterious New Group Behind Trump's Venice Biennale Pick? | Artnet News
What is the American Arts Conservancy? Who are its advisors? Why is a pet foods entrepreneur in charge of the U.S. Venice Biennale pavilion?
news.artnet.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:36 PM
"What Is the Mysterious New Group Behind Trump’s Venice Biennale Pick?" Some observations about the American Arts Conservancy news.artnet.com/art-world/am...
Sonia Delaunay-Terk's designs for pajamas for Dadaist poet Tristan Tzara, 1923
November 24, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Sonia Delaunay-Terk's designs for pajamas for Dadaist poet Tristan Tzara, 1923
"Udo Kier as the image-conscious Dracula"
November 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
"Udo Kier as the image-conscious Dracula"
Taking a cue from @onceatrophic.bsky.social to let you know this would be a great time to purchase my Van Gogh book, now 30% off. Beautiful full-color reproductions of Van Gogh's art & a completely new view of this iconic modern artist. Use code GIFT30 thru Dec. 5: yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
November 24, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Taking a cue from @onceatrophic.bsky.social to let you know this would be a great time to purchase my Van Gogh book, now 30% off. Beautiful full-color reproductions of Van Gogh's art & a completely new view of this iconic modern artist. Use code GIFT30 thru Dec. 5: yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
Reposted by Michael Lobel
Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, La Brioche, 1763, Oil on canvas, 47 x 56 cm (Musée du Louvre, Paris)
November 24, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, La Brioche, 1763, Oil on canvas, 47 x 56 cm (Musée du Louvre, Paris)
What's tragically ironic about this photo of a museum auctioning off works from its collection is that it is taking place in a landmarked building once seen as iconic home of yet another museum—the Whitney—that was itself sold off in recent years to a private auction house (Sotheby's)
i really can't tell if it's funny or not that they made it feel like a ~branded sale~
November 24, 2025 at 3:06 PM
What's tragically ironic about this photo of a museum auctioning off works from its collection is that it is taking place in a landmarked building once seen as iconic home of yet another museum—the Whitney—that was itself sold off in recent years to a private auction house (Sotheby's)
Reposted by Michael Lobel
American artist Walter Quirt was born on this day in 1902 and was an enthusiastic early adopter of artistic trends such as cubism and surrealism. Conflict, 1935, from the Smithsonian American Art collection, shows him really swinging from the surrealist chandeliers:
November 24, 2025 at 2:03 PM
American artist Walter Quirt was born on this day in 1902 and was an enthusiastic early adopter of artistic trends such as cubism and surrealism. Conflict, 1935, from the Smithsonian American Art collection, shows him really swinging from the surrealist chandeliers:
Do me a favor, in memory of the great Jimmy Cliff (RIP). Next time you need your mood lifted—and who doesn't these days? —just listen to this song. Pure, unadulterated joy
November 24, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Do me a favor, in memory of the great Jimmy Cliff (RIP). Next time you need your mood lifted—and who doesn't these days? —just listen to this song. Pure, unadulterated joy
Reposted by Michael Lobel
Andy Warhol, Udo Kier, 1973 #RIP😢 whitney.org/collection/w...
November 24, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Andy Warhol, Udo Kier, 1973 #RIP😢 whitney.org/collection/w...
How is it that college administrators get paid high salaries to come up with such dumb ideas, over & over again...? Is there someone who will pay me for dumb ideas? If you really want I can come up with plenty (and even some good ones as well) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/n...
November 23, 2025 at 7:54 PM
How is it that college administrators get paid high salaries to come up with such dumb ideas, over & over again...? Is there someone who will pay me for dumb ideas? If you really want I can come up with plenty (and even some good ones as well) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/n...
The vibrancy of Southern California flora
November 23, 2025 at 6:58 PM
The vibrancy of Southern California flora
