Romaine Brooks - An Intensely Contradictory Nature

Romaine Brooks - Self-Portrait - 1923 - Oil on canvas - Smithsonian American Art MuseumRomaine Brooks (born Beatrice Romaine Goddard 1874-1970) was an American painter who worked primarily in Paris and Capri. Specializing in portraiture, she used a subdued tonal palette keyed to the color gray. 

Brooks ignored contemporary artistic trends such as Cubism and Fauvism, drawing, instead, on her own original aesthetic. Her subjects ranged from anonymous models to titled aristocrats. She is best known for her images of women in androgynous or masculine dress, which directly challenged conventional ideas about how women should look and behave”. The self-portrait featured here exemplifies her approach to both life and art. It is her most widely reproduced work.

Brooks survived a devastating childhood. The memories of the cruelty and insanity she endured haunted her throughout her life. This particular work embodies her “intensely contradictory nature”.

Charles Burchfield - An American Original

Charles Burchfield - Ohio River Shanty - 1930 - Watercolor, gouache and pencil - 21 x 30 in. - The Phillips Collection - Washington, D.C. (click photo for larger image)American artist Charles Burchfield (1893-1967) was devoted to painting the small towns, industrial cities, and rolling hills of the Midwest. Initially inspired by nature, he later turned to creating realistic paintings of worn-down buildings and grimy streets in midwestern towns. Reflecting nostalgia for times past, these paintings portray a disillusioned America facing hard times. Like those of his contemporary, Edward Hopper (discussed elsewhere on What About Art?), Burchfield's images won praise for capturing the spirit of America.

In 1943 Burchfield returned to nature as his subject, creating imaginary landscapes that celebrate the seasons and the miracle of growth. He is considered among the most original watercolorists of the 20th century.

Joshua Johnson: A Fantastic Naïf

Joshua Johnson - Family Group - c. 1800- Oil on canvas - 34 13/16 x 53 9/16 in. - National Gallery of Art - Washington, D.C.American painter from the Baltimore area, of African and European ancestry. Joshua Johnson (1763-1824) is often viewed as the first person of color to make a living as a painter in the United States. He is known for his naïve paintings of prominent Maryland residents. Documents dated from July 25, 1782, state that Johnson was the "son of a white man and a black slave woman owned by a William Wheeler, Sr." His father, George Johnson (also spelled Johnston in some documents) purchased Joshua, age 19, from William Wheeler, a small Baltimore-based farmer, confirmed by a bill of sale dating from October 6, 1764. Johnson received his freedom in 1782. From 1796 until his death, he advertised his skills, identifying himself as a portrait painter and limner. He moved frequently, residing often where other artists, specifically chair-makers, lived, which suggests that he might have provided extra income for himself by painting chairs. His frequent moves also suggest that he tended to work for clients near whom he lived. No records mention any educational or creative training, so he is regarded as a NaÏve artist.

“Naïfs” refers to those artists in mainstream societies who lack or reject conventional expertise in the representation or depiction of real objects. Naïfs are not to be confused with hobbyists, or “Sunday painters,” who paint for fun. The naïf creates with the same passion as the trained artist, but without the latter’s formal knowledge of (or training in) art. Two of the more famous Naïfs are Henri Rousseau (1844-1910)  and Grandma Moses (1860-1961). However, that Joshua Johnston was able to make his living as an artist—at the time he did so—is quite remarkable.

Arthur Bowen Davis: Artist of an Era in Change

Arthur B. Davies - A Greater Morning - ca. 1900-1905 - Oil on canvas - Smithsonian American Art Museum (click photo for larger image)American artist Arthur Bowen Davies (1862-1928) trained at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League in New York City. Davies was active at a time when late nineteenth century Romanticism was giving way to more modernist approaches. He created his most characteristic works after 1900—graceful, idyllic scenes of elegant nude figures and mythological creatures—and is often associated with the Symbolists.

In 1908 Davies organized an exhibit of artists who came to be known as the Ashcan School. As president of the Society of Independent Artists, Davies was also a major figure in the organization of the game-changing Armory Show of 1913, which brought the works of European and American modernists to the attention of the U.S. public. 

Like many other turn-of-the-century artists, Davies’ work responded to the country's increasing urbanization by showing idealized images of people relating to nature. In the work featured here he presents “two figures softly lit by the light of an early dawn. They evoke Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, unaware of their own nudity and waking to a new beginning in an untouched world.”

An Electric Peach Orchard—Arthur Dove

Arthur Dove - Electric Peach Orchard - 1935 - Oil on canvas - 20 1/4 x 28 in. - The Phillips Collection - Washington, D.C. (click photo for larger image)American artist Arthur Dove (1880-1946) (discussed in several posts on What About Art?) was “attracted to the timelessness of nature, which he interpreted into a modern abstract vocabulary of color, shape, line, and scale.”

One of the earliest American modernists—and the first American non-objective artist—Dove’s art reflects his belief that color and form are instruments with which to express the essence beneath the physical exterior of things.