Yesterday, we went to the Phillips for the last day of the Vivian Browne exhibition. Browne was a New York based African-American artist who lived through most of the 20th century. I really admired her work. The top painting is part of her series on New York men. The middle painting is one of her many portraits of women. The third is one of her abstracts made not during, but after, a study trip to West Africa. I had never heard of her and, in case you had not either, now you have.

These four oil paintings comprise an entire exhibit at the National Gallery. Two by Titian, one by Cezanne, and one by Iona Rozeal Brown. They are supposed to show you that artists working in different places at different times can come up with similar ideas. I say: appreciate the paintings and don’t try to read too much into their connection.