I was very young when my father took me to visit Chicago's Art Institute. Sounds like an art school, which it is, but the school is quite secondary to the galleries, which are huge. I was too little to know there was anything like great artists. My father was an artist. But wasn't everyone's?
We came to this one painting. I think I was picking my nose or looking at other people in that particular room, when my father said, "This guy was famous, but look how he draws." I remember an empty chair in the painting. I think it was Van Gogh's bedroom. My father went on, "See how he outlines everything so it looks like a little kid drew it."
Little kid? This I could relate to. I gave all my attention to the painting, and yes, it looked like something the way I would have drawn it. My father added, "Van Gogh went nuts. Cut off his ear, and sent it to his girl friend." Hey this art stuff is more interesting than I thought!
Now I can't walk buy a Van Gogh with out studying it. If you say, "Famous artist," the first thing I think of is Van Gogh. If you say, "Michelangelo," the first thing I think or is Van Gogh.
That was my first exposure to important art, and something I never forgot.
