Mental Floss

PAINTINGS





A museum visitor photographs a painting by modernist artist Georgia O'Keeffe.

Georgia O’Keeffe’s enchanting floral still life paintings are now a deeply ingrained part of American culture—so much so that they often eclipse her other colorful accomplishments.

Kristy Puchko




A man checking out Caspar David Friedrich’s ‘The Sea of Ice.’

From post-battle landscapes to cold weather fun, the events that occurred during frosty temperatures have led many an artist to pick up their brush and get painting.

Jane Alexander








Keith Haring.

Keith Haring was best known for his graffiti-inspired artwork and contributions to the New York City art scene in the 1980s. Though he died in 1990 at just 31 years old, his artwork and legacy live on.

Suzanne Raga








Picasso's ‘Guernica.’

Though it’s now considered one of Pablo Picasso’s masterpieces, ‘Guernica’ didn’t have many fans when it debuted—one critic even called the artwork “one of the poorest things produced in the world.”

M. Arbeiter