DK Arts & Entertainment: Artists
Artists are people who create art. Although some of them have no formal training, most great artists have studied art. Today, artists can study at art schools, but in the past they learned by apprenticeship, working with more experienced artists. Every culture and period of history has its great artists.
Most artists have a studio—a room or other place where they make their art. Many also work outside. For example, landscape painters might make sketches in the open air, and complete the work in their studio. Other artists work mainly in the landscape, completing paintings outside, or creating land art within the natural environment.
Sometimes artists receive commissions (orders) for work from a patron—an individual or an institution. Sometimes existing work is bought by an individual, an institution, or a GALLERY. Earning a living as an artist is not easy. Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), whose works now sell for vast sums of money, sold hardly any paintings during his lifetime.
A gallery is an exhibition space where works of art are shown. Galleries show all kinds of art and crafts—including painting, sculpture, ceramics, installations, video, and photography. They can be public institutions (which are like museums) or privately owned.
Table 36. GREAT GALLERIES OF THE WORLD
| LOCATION | MAJOR GALLERIES |
|---|---|
| London | National Gallery, Tate, Victoria & Albert Museum |
| Madrid | Prado |
| New York | Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art |
| Paris | Louvre, Musée d’Art Moderne, Musée d’Orsay |
| Rome | Vatican Museums |
Privately owned commercial galleries sell the works they exhibit. This type of gallery often specializes in certain types of art—such as contemporary art, or traditional landscape painting. Public galleries acquire works of art to add to their permanent collections—not to sell, but to show to the public.
