Tom has a PhD in Physiology, is a serial entrepreneur in the life sciences, teaches biology at junior colleges in California, and is a fan of the painters of the Dutch Golden Age. He takes particular joy in finding the hints that artists leave us to help us understand the stories they are telling us. Contact him at [email protected].
10 Things You Must See When You Visit the Frida Kahlo House
Frida Kahlo is the most famous female Latin American artist in history, a politically active feminist, and a cultural icon. After her death, her...
Tom Anderson, Guest Author, 3 July 2025
Vermeer’s Love Letters: Vermeer Paintings on Display in New York
Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) left us with a small collection of paintings. Only about 36 survive, scattered in 12 different collections around the...
Tom Anderson 24 June 2025
Amy Sherald: American Sublime at the Whitney Museum
Amy Sherald (b. 1973) has identified herself as “an American realist painter painting American people.” The current retrospective of her work...
Tom Anderson 5 May 2025
What Can Art Tell Us About Love?
This aptly titled book examines ideas about love through the eyes of various artists: idealized love, passionate love, unrequited love, resentments...
Tom Anderson 28 April 2025
The Feel of the Newly-Restored Frick Collection
There has been plenty of press around the reopening of the Frick Collection in New York this month. There is a lot to say: $220 million spent over...
Tom Anderson 17 April 2025
A New Take on the Iconic Girl Reading a Letter by Vermeer
The recently restored Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window by Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) is often said to be that of a young woman reading a...
Tom Anderson 13 April 2025
Masterpiece Story: The Music Lesson by Johannes Vermeer
Music was a big part of daily life in Holland in Johannes Vermeer’s time. As a testament to that, 14 Vermeer paintings include a musical...
Tom Anderson 13 April 2025
Masterpiece Story: The Sentry by Carel Fabritius
Carel Fabritius (Dutch, 1622–1654) died at age 32 in a gunpowder explosion in Delft, a disaster that presumably destroyed many of his paintings. We...
Tom Anderson 17 March 2025
