Contemporary American painting and sculpture

(Chris Devlin) #1
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HewasborninJerseyCity,NewJersey,in1923.StudyledtotheB.S.inArt
EducationattheNewJerseyStateTeachersCollegeatNewarkin 1943 andthe
M.A.inArtEducationatColumbiaTeachersCollegein1944.Travelincludesa
triptoCubain 1942 followedbyavisittoHawaiiin1947;France,Italy,Egypt,the
Sudan,Kenya, Ethiopia,andItalianSomalilandin 1949;Mexicoin 1950,and
Bermudathenextyear.From 1944 to 1947 StevenstaughtartextensionatColumbia
andfrom 1947 to 1951 wasaninstructorintheNewark(NewJersey)Schoolof
FineandIndustrialArt.Therehavebeenone-manexhibitionsataNewYorkdealer's
everyyearsince1944;atthePhiladelphiaArt.Alliancein1946;Honolulu(Hawaii)
AcademyofArtsin1947;andtheBaltimore(Maryland)MuseumofArtin1948.
AmongcollectionswhereJohnStevens'workisrepresentedarethe \Vhitney
Mu.seumofAmericanArtinNewYork;Seattle(Washington)ArtMuseum;Smith
CollegeMuseumofArtatNorthampton,Massachusetts;MuseumofFineArtsin
Boston;Newark (NewJersey)MuseumAssociation;Honolulu AcademyofArts;
Montclair(NewJersey)ArtMuseum;Detroit(Michigan)InstituteofArts;Wash-
ingtonUniversity,St.Louis,Mis.souri;AmericanUniversityinWashington,D.C.;
PrintClub,Philadelphia,Pennsylvania;Princeton(NewJersey)PrintClub;andthe
Baltimore(Maryland)MuseumofArt.Amongprivatecollectorswhoownexamples
ofhisworkareIlkaChase,SamLewLsohn,Hildegarde,FrankCrowninshield,Gypsy
RoseLee,andLeeAult.HelivesinJerseyCity,NewJersey.


TAMAYO,Rufino,TheHeavens, 51 x76. Illustration—Plate 94


"Milesofpaintedcanvases,thattrytotellustheultimatewordofthephilo-
sophicalorsocialorpoliticalorder.
"Canvasesthatphotographnatureorthatdemonstrateforusthementalagility
oftheirexecutors.Buttheytellusnothingatall,absolutelynothingatall,notin
onecase,oftheplasticorder.
"Occasionally,fragmentsinwhichpreoccupationisnoted[for]theequilibrium
ofplasticelements,andthatconstitutestruepainting.
"Andatlast,onrareoccasions,thatstructureanimatedwithpoetr)'.
"Itisthenwebreatheagainwithawholelungandourfaithspringstolife


becauseitisevidentthatpainting,inspiteofeverything,continuesexisting."—


RufinoTamayo,astranslatedinTheTiger'sEye,Number 1 (October,1947),p.62.
TamayowasborninOaxaca,Mexico,in 1899. HisforebearswereZapotec
Indians.HestudiedattheAcademyofFineArtsinMexicoCityandwasin-
fluencedbyCubismforatime.Asaneducatorintheartshetaughtinprimary
schools,becameheadoftheplasticartssectionintheMexicanMinistryofEduca-
tion,andfinally(1928)aprofessorattheAcademyofFineArts.BoththeNational
ConservatoryofMusicandtheNationalMuseuminMexicoCityhavefrescoesby
Tamayo.Hisworkhasbeenseeninthiscountrysince^1926 andisrepresentedinthe
collectionsoftheMuseumofModern.\rtinNewYork.


THON,William,SpringinMaine, 18 x36. Illustration—Plate^90


"Titlesaremisleading,andoftenonlyreluctantlyaddedforthosewhothinka
painting,orotherworkofart,shouldhaveaname.
"SpringinMaine,likeallmywork,wascomposedandexecutedinmystudio.
Ithasnotimeorplace.Ihavelongbeeninterestedinplanesandshapesmoving
inacomposition,andnotbeingcontenttoleaveitinastateofabstractdesign.

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