186
Hartford,Connecticut;WalkerArtCenter,Minneapolis;PhiladelphiaMuseumof
Art;PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts;CarnegieInstitute;andtheNorton
f;allcryandS(hoolofArt,WestPalmBeach,Florida.HelivesinNewYorkC:itv.
DEKOONING,Willcm,Woman,64x46. Illustration—Plate 14
"SpirituallyIamwherevermyspiritallowsmetobe,andthatisnotnecessarily
inthefuture.Ihavenonostalgia,however....Artneverseemstomepeacefulor
pure.Ialwaysseemtobewrappedinthemelodramaofvulgarity.Idonotthink
ofinsideoroutside—orofartingeneral—asasituationofcomfort.Iknowthere
isaterrilicideatheresomewhere,butwheneverIwanttogetintoit,Igetafeeling
ofapathyandwanttoliedownandgotosleep.Somepainters,includingmyself,do
notcarewhatchairtheyaresittingon.Itdoesnotevenhavetobeacomfortable
one.Theyaretoonervoustofindoutwheretheyoughttosit.Theydonotwantto
'sitinstyle.'Rather,theyhavefoundthatpainting—anykindofpainting,anystyle
ofpainting—tobepaintingatall,infact—isawayoflivingtoday,astyleofliving,
sotospeak.Thatiswheretheformofitlies.Itisexactlyinitsuselessnessthatitis
free.Thoseartistsdonotwanttoconform.Theyonlywanttobeinspired....
"Thereareasmanynaturalistsamongtheabstractpaintersasthereareabstract
paintersintheso-calledsubject-matterschool."—WillemdeKooning,in"What
AbstractArtMeanstoMe,"BulletinoftheMuseumofModernAn(XcwYork),
Vol.XVIII,No. 3 (Spring,1951),p.7.
WillemdeKooningwasborninRotterdam,TheNetherlands,in 19(14,and
studiedatthe.AcademyofFineArtsinhisnativecity.In 1926 hecametotheUnited
Statesof.Americaand.settledinNewYorkCity,wherehisfirstone-manshowwas
heldin1948.Ithasbeenpointedoutthatheneverbelongedtoanyparticular"school"
ormovement,butthathisworkischaracterizedbyanincreasingabstraction.Ahigh
pointinhiscareeroccurredintheautumnof 1951 whenhisExcavation,backfrom
thetwenty-fifthbiennialatVenicein1950,wonthe"top"prize—theLoganMedal
andawardof$2,000—atthesixtiethannualexhibitionofAmericanartatthe.Art
Instituteof Chicago. Privatecollectorsinthiscountryarcalreadybeginningto
acfiuirchiswork.HelivesinNew^()rkCity.
DOZIER,Otis,Pelicans, 20 x30. Illustration—Plate 48
"IhesitatetowriteaboutmypaintingsbecauseIfeelthat 1 (anexpressmyself
betterinpaintthaninwords.
"Ibelieveinbecomingthoroughlyfamiliarwithmysubject,thenrecreatingthe
formstofitthepictureplane.
"ThePelicanswasaresultofmanysketchesniadeontheloastofTexas.Ilike
theshapeofapelicananditsstrongbuild.Inthispainting 1 lui\etriedtousecolor
tocreateamoodofthesea.'
DozierwasborninForney,'I'cxas,in1904.From 1939 to 1945 hestudiedwith
andassistedHoardinanRobinson.HewontheFirstPurchasePrizeintheDallas
(Texas)AlliedArtsexhibitionin 1932 andhaswonotherprizesinshowsinTexas.
Denver,Colorado(^etterPrize,1941),andinthe.ArtsandCraftsexhibitioninNew
Orleansin1948.MuralsbyDoziermaybeseeninpostoflicesinCiddings,Fred-
ericksburg,and.Arlington,Texa.s.One-manshowsofhisworkshavebeenheldsince
1914 andhehasbeenrepresentedinnationalandinternationalexhibitionssince1932.
Hehastaughtaltlu-Dallas(Texas).SchoolofCreativeArts,193li-1938;Colorado
