The Artist

Ariana Richards possessed a love of traditional art at an early age. An internationally noted actress, known especially for her role as “Lex” in Jurassic Park, she went on to Skidmore College to earn a B.S. Degree in Fine Art and Drama, with distinction.

She continued with instruction at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California and has been mentored by some of the finest names in Contemporary Impressionist art.

Art has long been a tradition in Ariana Richards’ family. Her own genealogy can be traced back to the early Italian Renaissance with Carlo Crivelli, a contemporary of Botticelli. Ariana’s ongoing work shows the classical influence of the Old Masters, along with the dynamics of Impressionist artists, most notably Monet and Degas.

She draws inspiration from historic painters such as John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, Mary Cassatt, and Joaquin Sorolla.

Though Ariana paints works for occasional exhibitions, currently she focuses on painting special pieces by commission for individuals.

“It’s all about the light… Light illuminates the essence and the heart of things.” – Ariana Richards

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Scores of media interviewers asked, “What can she possibly do as a follow up to her film career?”

She hasn’t disappointed them. Ariana is an award-winning artist, has been featured in many art magazines, and has already become one of the most celebrated young artists of our time, known among her collectors for her evocative figures and landscapes.

She is also a member of the Portrait Society of America, and is a Member of the California Art Club est. 1909.

“Ariana, – It’s difficult to find words that describe how we feel about the astonishing masterpiece you’ve created for us. Julie was moved to tears and I look at it in awe wondering if it’s really hanging in here in our home. It is so very special. Thank you just doesn’t express that gratitude we have for you and what you have done for us. But, Thank You a thousand times.”

. – Louis & Julie M., Hadley, NY ~ Production Test Manager, Espey Mfg & Electronics Corp

Ariana’s Heritage

Early Italian Painter

Carlo Crivelli

Venetian (active 1457-1493)

“My maternal grandmother, born Alma Giovanna Crivelli, would have been given one of Carlo Crivelli’s original paintings held in keeping by the Crivelli family for Crivelli daughters had she married in Italy. Because she married William Otto Garrison in 1943 during WWII in Ross, California, she was not able to receive her inheritance. Shortly thereafter, the Nazis confiscated the paintings of the Old Masters, the Crivelli paintings among them.” – Ariana Richards

This piece, “Madonna and Child”, resides at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The following description of the painting was published in 1960.

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“Madonna and Child” – by Fern Rusk Shapley Washington D. C. National Gallery of Art (1960)

Crivelli’s Madonna is reminiscent of the Hodegetria type (wherein the Virgin is represented as “She who points the Way,” as the Madonna’s left hand points towards the Child Jesus, Saviour of Mankind.) The Virgin’s gestures of affection in this painting are those of the Glykophilousa, “She who is sweetly loving.” The Child is still very solemn, and He makes the sign of blessing. But He clings to His mother with His left arm, and she presses her face against His. The graceful, curving lines. inherited from the Gothic style, are appropriate for expressing this tender relationship. Suitable also are the detail which relate the holy figures to our familiar world. The cherry dropped casually on the parapet and the apples and pears hung on the wall suggest—quite apart from the Christian symbolism—a healthy attention to daily needs. The red silk cloth spread on the parapet reminds us of the tidiness and comfort of home.

All these accessories serve a decorative purpose also. As we like to arrange fruits in baskets and bowls, so Renaissance artists bound them together in festoons and garlands. Crivelli displays these against a traditional gold background, which harmonizes with the rich brocades of jewelry in which he decks his figures. Even the hair of the Virgin is made to look like strands of gold, and the smooth flesh seems as firm as marble. Here, as frequently in Northern painting, technical excellence, in itself, affords much pleasure. We delight in the simulation of jewel, luxuriant brocade, and watered silk, in the masterly drawing of the clean-cut contour lines throughout.