When it comes to French commercial artists from the Art Nouveau period, one would be remiss to skip over Jules Cheret. Despite having passed away in the fall of 1932, his work continues to mesmerize art and advertising students alike. Here’s a snapshot of his career and some of his famous framed art:

Born in the late spring of 1836, Cheret officially began his artistic career in 1849. He started with a brief apprenticeship in France and later moved on to England. Once there, he focused his attention on London’s most famous entertainment venues. Among them were the now iconic Moulin Rouge, Olympia, Palais Garnier and Folies Bergere. During that time, he created a highly visible and coveted series of posters. Many of them featured dancing girls designed to promote the venues’ assorted shows. The collection of framed art produced for such venues includes the following prints:

• Folies-Bergere Le Miroir
• Pantomimes Lumineusses Theatre Optique of E. Reynaud
• Folies Bergere La Loie Fuller
• Alcazar d’ Ete Kanjarowa

The much sought after posters were not the only works he produced throughout his career. Cheret was also known for his paintings, book jackets and extensive advertising work with a variety of commercial enterprises. They often included elements like great coloring, watercolor washed backgrounds, floral designs and engaging subjects like actresses. Among the ones immortalized in Cheret’s works are Rene Maizeroy and Sarah Bernhardt. Examples of his commercial work include advertisements for the following companies:

• Monaco Parfumerie Distillerie, Iris Villa Monte-Carlo
• Quinquina Dubonnet Aperitif
• Saxoleine, Petrole de Surete
•  Vin Mariani, French Tonic Wine

Because of his large body of impressive artwork, he later went on to win the prestigious Legion d’honneur (1890).

The days before summer’s official kickoff are melting away faster than a slushy sitting in the midday sun. Celebrate summer art and hang up a few pieces of seasonal art before it arrives. We have made a list of a few summer art decorating tips to help you get started. They will help you create a sunny space within the home or office that is just too beautiful to ignore.

Do remember that summer is all about color. Choose artwork that brings bursts of color into the room. Summer is full of color from fields of bright yellow sunflowers with there deep green stems to orange red sunsets over the calm beach. These colorful scenes and more are portrayed in art. Not only does summer colored art brighten a room, but it also brings summer vacation memories due to the vibrant colors. Memories of vacation days gone by or those yet to come.

Canvas finishes are a great option for beach artwork. Brushstrokes give plain artwork texture and dimension. This is great for beach scenes because it makes the waves and sand come to life. If you would rather a frame finish, don’t forget to select mats, glazing options and frames that not only compliment the seasonal art but are tough enough to stand up to the sun too. After all, chances are high that you’ll be letting some natural sunlight filter into your home or business during the bright months ahead.

Do remember that summer is also about living easy. So, try to keep those frame and mat selections simple as well. Choose unpretentious patterns or stick with plain frames and single mats. Save the intricate, heavy pieces for the fall and winter.

Don’t skip over summer themes that may not immediately align with traditional, seasonal design schemes. We have found that there is something to be said for hanging summer art that fuels the imagination. Let’s take Panoramic Images’ print, Woman and High Heels on Beach as an example.

To find the ideal slice of summer art and start decorating your home or business’ bare walls, check out our summer art category. 

So you're a sports fanatic seeking to decorate your home or office with conversation pieces or maybe you just want a vintage sports theme for a specific room like your man cave or bedroom. Purchasing antiques can get expensive and require space to display them. Consider filling your space with vintage sports photography. Artwork is something that can hang on your walls so it doesn't take up too much space. It’s also a great way to surround yourself with conversation starters without going broke. There are a few tricks and things to consider when choosing vintage sports posters.

Choose a color!

One big thing to consider is the color. What will fit best in your decor, black and white, sepia toned or color sports photos. The color theme you choose can depend on the color of your walls, furniture and other accessories in the room. If the room is full of color it may be a good idea to use black and white or sepia to tone the colors down. Using color sports photography in a room full of color can become overwhelming. The sepia tones and photographs that lack rich colors is what tends to give the photograph a more vintage feel. When you find the right color for your room, the finish for the print is your next big step. If a frame compliments your piece best, you'll want to use a frame that has more of a vintage feel rather than a modern frame. Some mat colors that may pair well with retro sports photos include egg shell, buff and serene cream.

The Sport or the Name?

Before you automatically select photography that includes famous athletes or stadiums, browse pictures that feature the unexpected or show humankind’s love of the sport. Good examples are photos like Free Golf and Retrieving the Ball. Each one presents everyday people engaged in the sport of golf. We carry prints in various types of categories like football, racing cars, hockey, tennis, lacrosse and more. So take time to find the beautiful golf course or the motivational soccer poster rather than automatically searching for famous sports players and stadiums.

If you do feel compelled to spotlight famous athletes or locations, there are tons of sports places and people to choose from in our categories. One of our best illustrations in that regard may be found in the photo titled, Lou Gehrig – With Bats. It's almost a 3-D look the way that the baseball bats are positioned, it gives the illusion that they are literally coming out of frame. This piece and pieces like it would look great printed on a seamless piece of canvas or a two-toned, ebony and gold bastion frame.

The Last Game

The last best thing to consider is the last game. If you have a favorite athlete, finding photographs from their last game is not only great decor but a great conversation starter as well. A good example would be to pair photos like Lou Gehrig – Farewell #2 or Babe Ruth - Farewell.

Finish it Off

Artwork is not complete with out a frame, laminate or canvas finish. If a canvas best suites your desired piece, choose a painted sides color that matches something in the frame. For black and white photos, black painted sides is always an amazing finish. If you're choosing a frame finish, choose a vintage styled frame. You can also choose a frame that matches the furniture in the room it will decorate. If you have a mahogany colored bed frame and the chosen piece is going in that bedroom, try choosing one of our mahogany frames if they match the piece as well.

All of our frame and canvas finishes come with 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.

Mother's day is almost here, every mother or soon to be mother should be appreciated always but especially on this day. So, what should you get her to commemorate the occasion? Every mother is different so if you don't already know what mom likes, it can be tricky shopping for a gift for her. An easy and meaningful gift to give mom is artwork. If your mother likes the beauty of flowers or wine then getting artwork is easier than ever. But for mothers that don't like anything specific, that you know of at least, what about art that highlights the special bond between parents and their children? Let’s take a look at some unique fine prints and you’ll quickly see why art is truly the best gift for moms.

For the Flower Loving Mom

Flower art is a great gift for mom's that like flowers and gardening. If you know her favorite flower, you can shop by flower type and get her a painting or photograph of her favorite flower. If she doesn't have a favorite or you don't know her favorite, try searching by color. Giving mom a flower print that is her favorite color is a gift that keeps on giving. Even a print that matches the color scheme in her bedroom or living room. This will make decorating so much easier....all she has to do is open the box and hang the frame or canvas piece.

Another good alternative to getting her flower art that is not her favorite (if you don't know her favorite) is getting a painting or photograph of two flowers together. Giving this to her as a gift can represent you and her and it can also represent your relationship together. If it is a gift from both... find flower art with three flowers.

For the Wine Loving Mom

If mom loves wine, chances are she'll love wine art as well. With over 1,600 art prints in our wine category, you're bound to find one that mom likes. Some women don't like to drink wine, but they love the beauty of wineries and the beauty of wine glasses and bottles. Prints like Vineyard Hill I by Sung Kim and A Wine Tasting by Marilyn Hageman are perfect for the Mothers that love wine for the beauty.

For mothers that love the beauty of wine, but also love drinking it for the taste prints like Wine Bottle, Grapes and Walnuts by Loran Speck would be a better choice. It shows a wine glass with food and also shows foods that go great with wine like fruit and nuts.

For the Animal Loving Mom

Animal paintings are always a great path for a gift, it can speak to lovers and non lovers of animals and gives a personal touch to your gift. The first way you can go about shopping for animal gifts for mom is to shop by animal. If she has a favorite animal, you can start there. If you don't know Mom's favorite animal, you can look for images of animals in pairs. We carry many art prints of baby animals with their mother. Art prints like First Christmas by Bonnie Mohr, Watching the Horizon by Lucie Bilodeau or Makulu by Ron D'Raine are few of the many mother animal and baby animal prints we carry that would make a perfect gift for Mom.

Motherhood Gifts for Any Mother

Emile Munier Collection:

First on our list is Mother’s Day art by Emile Munier. He was a French-born painter who specialized in portraits of women, children and household pets. We have several of his best works in our collection, including Pardon Mama, A Special Moment (1874) and Maternal Affection. Some of these paintings that would be a perfect gift for Mother's Day are ones that include a mother embracing her child.

Giving these paintings to a mother can show that she is passionate and loving. These specific pieces are best when given from the mother's child but can also be given from a spouse or other close relative as well. These paintings can be grouped together or paired with paintings by Munier’s mentor, William Adolphe Bourguereau. Bourguereau is the next French-born figure painter on our list.

William Adolphe Bouguereau

Unlike his student, William Adolphe Bouguereau liked to paint cherubs and angels too. His paintings relate to all mothers as he has paintings of young mothers with their children as well as older mothers. He also has portraits of couples together which would be a great gift from the spouse to the mother. Paintings like Mother and Child and Not Too Much to Carry are perfect depictions of motherhood. In some of William's paintings, women and children often appear in a holy light. Examples include paintings like Awakening Heart and Whisperings of Love (1889). However, not all of his women and children were given angel’s wings. These pieces that show women and children as angels and other spiritual figures are perfect pieces for a religious mother or a mother that believes her children were a gift.

Giving Mom the gift of art is a gift that keeps giving. She will feel appreciated and loved every time she sees it hanging on the wall. Have Mom's gift already hanging on the wall and surprise her! Check out our how to hang framed art and how to hang canvas art pages for help on hanging the art for her.