Introduction

The poems in this special section were commissioned by the editors in celebration of the extraordinary collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art. Poets were invited to choose their own subjects from the BMA’s holdings and to write an ekphrastic poem (that is, a poem describing a work of art), in whichever vein they chose. The result is as various in style and approach as the paintings themselves. Visitors to the BMA will note that not all of the paintings addressed here may be currently found at the museum. This is because several of the paintings were seen in the traveling exhibition “Matisse/Diebenkorn,” which was on view at the BMA from October 23, 2016, to January 29, 2017. We are also pleased to present, in conjunction with these poems about paintings, Sharon Dolin’s essay “The Ekphrastic Moment.”

—The Editors