Artists Magazine - USA (2020-04)

ArtistsNetwork.com 43

openedit tothepublicin1947,charginginquisitivevisi-
torsanentrancefee.Followinghisdeathin1962,the
gardenbecamechaoticallyovergrown.Itwasn’tuntil2010,
whenthenonprofitFondationPierreBergé–YvesSaint
Laurent(originallysetuptomanagethehautecouture
archivesoftherenownedfashiondesigner)tookoverthe
revivalandmanagementoftheland,thatJardinMajorelle
reopenedtomorethan70,000visitorsperyear.
In1926,GermanExpressionistEmilNolde(1867–
1956),withhiswife,Ada,boughtSeebüll,a gardenin
northernGermany,nearDenmark.Originallya member
oftheBrückemovement,theartistpaintedgardensand
flowersthroughouthiscareer.Thecoupleworkedtire-
lesslytoenrichthedepletedsoilofthisnorthernclime
andplantedbedsofcolorfuldahlias,irisesandsunflowers
thatNoldefeaturedinhisworksoncanvas.Although
hewasa memberoftheDanishwingoftheNaziparty
inthe1920s,thepoliticalgroupconsideredNoldeto
bea “degenerateartist,”confiscatedhispaintingsfrom
museums,andputdirerestrictionsonhisabilityto
createandexhibit.In1944,
bombsdestroyedmorethan
3,000graphicworkshoused
inNolde’sBerlinapartment.

Eventually he was exonerated by the denazification com-

mittee, and he continued to work and paint in his garden

in Seebüll until his death.

PLANTING THE NEW WORLD

American artists, too, found inspiration in a cultivated

natural world. Home-schooled New York expressionist, poet

and gardener Robert Dash (1931–2013) lived and worked in

the village of Sagaponack, N.Y., most of his life. In ill health

since childhood, he sought the healing benefits of the Long

Island salty air and sandy beaches, and in 1967 he chose

that area as the site for Madoo, a horticulturally diverse,

organic garden that wended its way amid historic structures.

Dash never formally studied painting, but in spite of his

lack of education, he became an art critic and wrote for

several publications, including Art News. In talking about

gardening, Dash once said, “It’s a way of thinking out loud,

actually, about painting—proportion, mixture of things,

changing .... Gardening is an obsession. You can’t stop,

and once you start, you’re doomed.” The whimsical images

of his much loved garden, caught in flashes and dabs of

paint, have been widely exhibited. Madoo, an old Scottish

word, means “my dove.” The gardens are now run by

The lily pond is shown full of
life in Majorelle’s garden,
following restoration in 2010.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS