|
Indepth Arts News:
"Scenes of American Life: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum"
2002-01-12 until 2002-03-24
Dayton Art Institute
Dayton, OH,
USA
Scenes of American Life includes more than 60 important paintings and sculptures celebrating
daily life in America during the first half of the 20th century. As artists moved away from the elegance and
formality of the Gilded Age, they began presenting everyday people at work and play. The energetic and
often witty artworks symbolize what was the true strength of the nation. Rockwell Kent's Snow Fields
(1909), the earliest work in the exhibition, portrays women, children and dogs playing on a sunny winter
day and captures the new spirit of the time.
Rockwell Kent's Snow Fields
(1909), the earliest work in the exhibition, portrays women, children and dogs playing on a sunny winter
day and captures the new spirit of the time. Likewise, paintings by William Glackens, Agnes Tait and Paul
Cadmus give visual commentary - which is at times cynical - on family activities, social happenings and
other daily occurrences.
During the early part of the this century, work and industry also inspired American artists, who were
largely fascinated with heavy industry and factory production, especially during the Depression years of
high unemployment. Works like Reginald Marsh's homage to the machine in Locomotives, Jersey City and
the mural Automotive Industry by Marvin Beerbohm invite speculation about the work of common
laborers, a subject not yet explored in any great depth. Similarly, the economic state of the country, as it
affected and was affected by industry and incidents like the 1929 market crash, is the subject of O. Louis
Guglielmi's Relief Blues - showing a welfare worker filling out relief paperwork - as well as William
Gropper's Construction of the Dam and Moses Soyer's Artists on the WPA, looking at the influence of
New Deal projects in society.
Of course, early 20th century artists, particularly those of African-American heritage, also examined life for
non-white and immigrant Americans. In William H. Johnson's CafÈ and Early Morning Work, as well as
The Library by Jacob Lawrence, the artists worked within a Modernist framework to celebrate
African-American culture, history and a common experience. But, while many artists took inspiration from
America's daily social, political and economic developments, others stepped back to appreciate the rural
beauty of their country's landscape. Works by Grant Wood, Alexandre Hogue, Andrew Wyeth and
Thomas Hart Benton take heartfelt looks at the land and what it can symbolize. Finally, works by Edward
Hopper, Harvey Dinnerstein and George Tooker contemplate other diverse aspects of American Life
during an interesting and dynamic period in the country's history.
Drawn from the permanent collection of and organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in
Washington D.C., this exhibition is one of eight nationally touring Treasures To Go exhibitions being
offered to qualifying U.S. art museums while National Museum of American Art is undergoing renovation
through spring 2002.
Related Links:
| | 
|
