February 22 in Art History
7 real events recorded on February 22, the earliest from 1778. 2 artists were born , 1 died on this date.
The day's biggest moments
Born on this day 2
- 1778 Born
Born this day: Rembrandt Peale
Rembrandt Peale, born on February 22, 1778, was a prominent American artist and museum keeper known for his portraits, particularly those of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, showcasing a style influenced by French neoclassicism. His work continues to be celebrated for its historical significance and artistic merit.
Rembrandt Peale's portraits remain iconic representations of early American history and leadership.
- 1778 Born
Born this day: Franz Ludwig Catel
Franz Ludwig Catel, born on February 22, 1778, was a German artist known for his captivating landscapes and scenes, as seen in works like 'The Bay of Naples with Vesuvius and Castel dell'Ovo' and 'Virgil's Tomb, Naples'. His art often featured serene natural settings, showcasing his skill in capturing light and atmosphere.
Catel's work continues to be appreciated for its serene and detailed depictions of European landscapes.
Died on this day 1
- 1875 Died
Died this day: Jean Baptiste Camille Corot
Camille Corot was a French painter and printmaker who played a pivotal role in landscape painting, bridging Neo-Classical traditions with the emerging plein-air style of Impressionism. His works, such as The Repose and Bacchante by the Sea, showcase his ability to balance classical influences with innovative techniques.
Corot's legacy lies in his influence on the development of Impressionist landscape painting.
Exhibitions & salons 1
- 2022 Exhibition
Kunsthalle Praha Launches with Kinetismus
Kunsthalle Praha opened its inaugural exhibition Kinetismus: 100 Years of Electricity in Art on February 22, 2022, in a converted Zenger electrical substation in Prague. Conceived by Peter Weibel with co-curator Christelle Havranek, the exhibition used the building's former industrial function as its organizing premise. It traced artistic uses of electricity from early motorized movement and artificial light through kinetic, cybernetic, computational, and digital art, presenting more than ninety works and including figures such as Zdenek Pesanek, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Marcel Duchamp, Mary Ellen Bute, Julio Le Parc, William Kentridge, Refik Anadol, Olafur Eliasson, Shilpa Gupta, and teamLab. The launch framed the new institution as an international temporary-exhibition platform rather than a traditional permanent-collection museum.
The opening positioned Kunsthalle Praha as a major Central European venue for modern and contemporary art across technology, media, and exhibition research.
Marcel Duchamp , László Moholy-Nagy Kunsthalle Praha, Prague
Openings & foundings 2
- 1950 Opening
Lowe Art Museum Opens at the University of Miami
The Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami opened on February 22, 1950, in Coral Gables. Established through a gift from philanthropists Joe and Emily Lowe, it became the first art museum in South Florida and gave the young university a public-facing collections institution. Its early role was not merely local: the museum developed holdings across antiquities, European painting, Asian art, Indigenous arts of the Americas, modern art, glass, and ceramics. A dedicated Lowe Art Gallery building followed in 1952, and subsequent gifts, including Native American material and Kress Collection works, expanded its curatorial reach. The opening marked a foundational moment for museum culture in Miami-Dade before the later boom of South Florida art institutions.
It established the first art museum in South Florida and anchored the University of Miami's long-term collecting program.
- 2020 Opening
The Momentary Opens in Bentonville
The Momentary opened to the public on February 22, 2020, as a contemporary art satellite of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas. The institution repurposed a decommissioned 63,000-square-foot cheese factory into a multidisciplinary venue for visual art, performance, festivals, culinary programming, and residencies. Its debut program paired the second iteration of State of the Art with the Time Being performing arts festival and the INVERSE Performance Art Festival, signaling that the site would operate across media rather than as a conventional collecting museum. The opening extended Crystal Bridges' regional cultural strategy from American art collecting into contemporary production, adaptive reuse, and urban cultural programming.
It broadened Northwest Arkansas's contemporary-art infrastructure and gave Crystal Bridges a flexible platform for living artists and performance.
Auctions, prizes & heists 1
- 1997 Heist Landmark
Klimt's Portrait of a Lady Is Stolen
Gustav Klimt's Portrait of a Lady was reported stolen from the Galleria d'arte moderna Ricci Oddi in Piacenza on February 22, 1997, shortly before a planned special exhibition and during building renovations. The case was unusually tangled from the outset: the frame was found on the roof near a skylight that appeared too small for the canvas, and later theories suggested the theft may have concealed an earlier substitution with a forgery. The painting mattered beyond its market value because X-ray analysis had recently revealed it to be a repainted version of a lost Klimt portrait, making it an exceptional 'double' work. In December 2019, gardeners found a bagged painting hidden in an exterior wall cavity; experts confirmed it as the missing Klimt in January 2020.
The theft and recovery made Portrait of a Lady one of the most discussed late Klimt works and a landmark modern art-crime case.