portrait of the artist as a dignified creature

while surfing around i came upon a section of the smithsonian online, called the peter a juley & son collection dedicated to portraits of artists. though i found the bulk of it to be artists i’d never heard of there are certainly some jewels throughout. seeing portraits of some of these folks, especially those from the abstract expressionist period, makes me sad somehow. these artists seem so damned dignified, the time so damned romantic. sure it’s an illusion, but it’s a nice one. i’ve collected a bunch below for your romanticizing pleasure



arshile gorky working on Aviation in Laguardia Airport for the Federal Art Project.




helen frankenthaler.




robert motherwell in his studio on east 94th street, new york.




hans hofmann in his studio working on a painting.




franz kline.




barnett newman and unidentified woman standing in front of Cathedra in his front street studio, new york.




alexander calder with sculpture .




richard diebenkorn holding a lithograph.




motherwell again, painting in his studio.




ad reinhardt standing holding art work with an audience looking on.




diego rivera at work on allegory of california, san francisco stock exchange luncheon club.




mark rothko in his studio.




marcel duchamp seated holding an artwork made of glass.


and lastly perhaps the most well known shot of the time (with the exception of pollock painting on glass)- “in the selection of painters for the exhibit “american painting today 1950.” the letter appeared in the n.y. times and the herald tribune. a photo of the group taken Nov. 24, 1950 appeared in Life’s Jan. 15, 1951 issue, captioned “irascible group of advanced artists led fight against show.”



The Irascibles. Pictured from left rear: Willem De Kooning, Adolph Gottlieb, Ad Reinhardt, Hedda Sterne; next row: Richard Pousette-Dart, William Baziotes, Jimmy Ernst, Jackson Pollock, James Brooks, Clyfford Still, Robert Motherwell, Bradley Walker Tomlin; foreground: Theodoros Stamos, Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko. Missing from photo: Weldon Kees, Fritz Bultman and Hans Hofmann.


so damned civilized! hope you enjoyed.

posted by jmorrison on 06/12 | sights & sounds - art | | send entry