The history of art, using the medium of the floaty pen…
Picasso
(Pen 1324, Drawer 120) Facial parts are floating all over this pen!
Gauguin, Tahiti, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
(Pen 1330, Drawer 60) In 1891, Gauguin, frustrated by lack of recognition at home and financially destitute, sailed to the tropics to escape European civilization and “everything that is artificial and conventional…nice to see him in a floaty pen!
Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam – Wheatfield with Crows
(Pen 1972, Drawer 120)
Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam – Sunflowers
(Pen 1973, Drawer 120)
It’s a scream!
(Pen 182, Drawer 60) Aaaaaaaagh
Rijks Museum Amsterdam – Winterlandschap met schaatsers, Hendrick Avercamp, ca. 1608
(Pen 1956, Drawer 120) Avercamp showed all kinds of uncouth details in this bird’s-eye view, including couples making love and going to the toilet and in the distance, in the middle, a man urinating. Not all of this has been squeezed into the pen, but we love it any way. Thanks again Andy and Kathy.
Americans in Paris (1860-1900) Boston Museum of Fine Arts
(Pen 2050, Drawer 120) “When today we look for ‘American art’ we find it mainly in Paris. When we find it out of Paris, we at least find a good deal of Paris in it.” —Henry James, 1887 – John Singer Sargent captured the pearly light of dusk in Paris in his 1879 work ‘In the Luxembourg Gardens’
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966) Pennslyvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia
(Pen 2083, Drawer 120) Maxfield Parrish was an American painter and illustrator who died just a couple of months after Susan was born. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. The illustration used in this pen is taken from the 1906 ‘Old King Cole’ which stands in the King Cole bar in New York. It has recently had a $100,000 rennovation and appears in the film “The Devil Wears Prada”
Keep in touch
(Pen 183, Drawer 60) The left hand floats towards the outstretched finger of the right hand – influenced by Michaelangelo, or the opening credits to the South Bank Show!
Rodin’s Thinker
(Pen 185, Drawer 60) From the Detroit Institute of Arts
The Last Supper
(Pen 186, Drawer 60) The bread and wine float between these thirteen famous diners.
Van Gogh’s sunflower
(Pen 187, Drawer 60) A lovely trade from Petra in the Netherlands. I asked her to surprise me and I couldn’t be happier.
St Louis Art Museum – Monet
(Pen 189, Drawer 61)
Vincent – brush
(Pen 190, Drawer 60)
Van Dyke, Rijks Museum Amsterdam
(Pen 191, Drawer 60)
Tate, Lady of Shallott
(Pen 192, Drawer 60) A present from Mandi, and our most moving moving pen! Taken from the J.W.Waterhouse painting,1888, illustrating the poem by Tennyson: And down the river’s dim expanse, Like some bold seer in a trance, Seeing all his own mischance, With glassy countenance, Did she look to Camelot, And at the closing of the day, She loosed the chain, and down she lay, The broad stream bore her far away, The Lady of Shalott.
Whistler’s mother
(Pen 1414, Drawer 120) She seems to be waiting for an e-mail
National Gallery, Pisanello
(Pen 173, Drawer 60) The vision of St Eustace
Klimt
(Pen 179, Drawer 61)
Portland Art Museum – Monet
(Pen 180, Drawer 120)
Ballet (Degas)
(Pen 194, Drawer 60)
Paris 1886 (Seurat)
(Pen 195, Drawer 60)
Tate Surrealism
(Pen 174, Drawer 60) This is a truly surrealistic pen. The Tate Modern is shown in the background, with a giant lobster floating in the foreground. Floaty pens just don’t get any better than this!
National Gallery, Canaletto
(Pen 198, Drawer 60)
Corcoran Gallery of Art – Hopper
(Pen 199, Drawer 61) The Ground swell
Tate, Wallis
(Pen 200, Drawer 61) Taken from The Blue Ship, about 1934.
Bayeux Tapestry
(Pen 201, Drawer 60) Tapisserie Reine Mathilde – A wonderful extract from the Bayeux tapestry
V&A a Surreal Thing
(Pen 205, Drawer 120)
Peggy Guggenheim collection, Venice
(Pen 679, Drawer 26)
The National Gallery
(Pen 1856, Drawer 60)
Love forever, Yayoi Kusama
(Pen 1857, Drawer 120)
Yayoi Kusama
(Pen 1858, Drawer 61)
Rembrandt’s the Night Watch, Rijks Museum Amsterdam (non-metallic)
(Pen 1918, Drawer 120) A big thank you to Andy and Kathy, who called into Amsterdam whilst they were cruising Europe.
Rijks Museum Amsterdam – Kinderen der zee, Jozef Israëls, 1872
(Pen 1957, Drawer 120) Another great gift from Andy and Kathy
Rembrandt 400, 1606 to 2006
(Pen 1965, Drawer 120) Rembrandt floats between ‘The anatomy Lesson’ on the left, and Rijks Museum on the right. As with all genuine floaty pens, this journey takes seven seconds. The pen is to celebrate 400 years.
Between God and Man, Angels in Italian Art, Mississippi Museum of Art
(Pen 2047, Drawer 120) We are waiting to hear form the museum for more details of this lovely pen
Tate St Ives
(Pen 2132, Drawer 60) And Val didn’t think we would want this because it was so similar to pen 200 – that’s not how it works! The rear panel shows is especially made for Tate St Ives – now we have to look out for more variations of our other Tate pens.
National Geographic – Vision of Division
(Pen 2400, Drawer 120) Commissioned by Assaf Shaham, an Israeli artist, for National Geographic
Museum of Contemporary Arts – Retrofuterism
(Pen 2588, Drawer 137)
National Gallery Eckerberg
(Pen 2589, Drawer 120)
Fogg Art Museum Harvard University Art Museums
(Pen 2593, Drawer 120) Ingres, Raphael and the fournarina 1812
Underground Art Tour, New York Subway
(Pen 2597, Drawer 120)
This is not a pen – Paint over, Accelerator
(Pen 1027, Drawer 81) CAUTION: THIS IS NOT A PEN, THIS IS THE WORLD’S SMALLEST PARTICLE ACCELERATOR. An affordable particle accelerator for your home that fits in the pocket without burning a hole in it. Gravitational and electromagnetic waves are generated within the tiny machine. Brain waves guaranteed to be affected. Quarks and leptons supplied.
This is not a pen – Peter Callesen, Wishing Pen
(Pen 1028, Drawer 81) Wish upon a star and your dreams may come true. Watch the elusive shooting star travelling on its endless journey through the vastness of a frozen universe. Then why not turn the universe upside down and watch it return. Use the pen to express your wishes in writing and allow the star to turn your dreams into reality…
This is not a pen – Mat Collishaw, Ophelia
(Pen 1029, Drawer 81) An oneiric version of the drowning of Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Relive her poignant last moments as she floats amongst the clinging water weeds. Her movement suggest the possibility of escape, but the endlessly repeating action reminds us that she is trapped forever in her watery coffin, always on the brink of death.
This is not a pen – Katherine Aertebjerg, The Big Flower
(Pen 1030, Drawer 81) A mercurial landscape is dominated by a luscious, fleshy, pink flower which appears to be sweet and edible. At the same time, its lurid colouring and voluptuous form could indicate its poisonous and treacherous nature. The movement of the silhouetted figures towards and away from the flower underlines the contradictory nature of this simultaneous attraction and repulsion.
Tippoo’s Tiger
(Pen 175, Drawer 60) Tippoo was a big boss man in India who was known as The Tiger for trying to get rid of the British. This pen is an excellent souvenir of the automaton in the museum,
Mica Ninagawa – goldfish
(Pen 176, Drawer 61) A lovely goldfish swims in this pen
Mica Ninagawa – slug
(Pen 177, Drawer 61) A lovely yellow grub floats past the bright flowers
Chrissy Caviar
(Pen 181, Drawer 61) Chrissy, in the name of art, has had her eggs harvested as a sort of human caviar, and sold in jars. This pen accompanies her exhibitions, but does not actually contain a real egg.
Die Grune Zitadelle von Magdeburg
(Pen 1441, Drawer 14) Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (December 15, 1928 – February 19, 2000) was an Austrian painter and architect. In 1999 Hundertwasser started his last project named Die Grüne Zitadelle von Magdeburg. Although he never finished this work completely, the building was built a few years later in Magdeburg, a town in central Germany, and opened on October 3, 2005.
Wallace Collection – Fragonard
(Pen 1625, Drawer 60) Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732 – 1806) – The Swing – The girl is delicious in her froth of pink silk, poised mid-air tantalizingly beyond reach. This pen doesn’t really do the painting justice – if you come to London, try and see it in person.
Wallace Collection
(Pen 1626, Drawer 60) François Boucher (1703 – 1770) Madame de Pompadour
Wallace Collection – Cannon
(Pen 1627, Drawer 60) We’re struggling to match this pen to a painting in the Wallace Collection – it is certainly very beautiful, with the tiniest cannonball as the floater! Any ideas?
Underground D-Signs Alis-Brickwall
(Pen 188, Drawer 61)
Underground D-Signs Alis-paint (2)
(Pen 193, Drawer 61)
Underground D-Signs (Half-ware)
(Pen 196, Drawer 61)
Underground D-Signs-paint (4)
(Pen 197, Drawer 61)
Underground D-Signs Alis-lorry
(Pen 202, Drawer 61)
Underground D-Signs Alis-Skateboard
(Pen 203, Drawer 61)
Underground D-Signs Alis-teddy bear
(Pen 204, Drawer 61)
Bo Bendixen – Bicycle
(Pen 206, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Dog
(Pen 207, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Elephant
(Pen 208, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Frog
(Pen 209, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Hedgehog
(Pen 210, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Horses
(Pen 211, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Horses (coloured)
(Pen 212, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Tiger
(Pen 213, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Monkey
(Pen 214, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Mouse
(Pen 215, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Owl
(Pen 216, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Pig
(Pen 217, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Rabbit
(Pen 218, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Raindeer
(Pen 219, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Sea lion
(Pen 220, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Yachts
(Pen 221, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Bo Bendixen – Cat
(Pen 1012, Drawer 53) All the pleasures of Scandinavian lifestyle and nature are captured in the colourful designs of Bo Bendixen.
Janet K Miller
(Pen 1745, Drawer 61) Janet is known for her amazing ‘reverse glass’ paintings – check her out