The story of American art continues today with dynamic sculptures and contemporary paintings, but all of this is built on a rich history full of traditional skill and modern innovation. In part two of our American Artists series we will explore more names that have shaped the visual arts of the United States.
Above: detail from Portrait of Dora Wheeler by William Merritt Chase, 1882-83
Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900)
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Frederic Edwin Church was one of the leading painters of the Hudson River School. His sweeping landscapes focus on the grandeur of the natural world, often inspired by his travels. Church’s masterpiece The Heart of the Andes was first exhibited in 1859 and drew mass attention to his work.
Today, Frederic Edwin Church’s paintings can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as well as the Olana State Historic Site in Hudson, New York, where he had his home and studio.
Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997)
Roy Lichtenstein is the most well-known artist in the Pop Art movement. Born in New York City, his iconic works drew inspiration from comic strips and mid-century advertisements. His use of Ben-Day dots created an instantly recognizable style.
Lichtenstein’s famous works can be found around the world, his masterpieces Whaam! and Drowning Girl, can be found at the Tate Modern in London and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Stuart Davis (1892-1964)
Stuart Davis was a modernist painter whose bold, abstract compositions often drew inspiration from the jazz scene and urban life. His vibrant colors and dynamic forms reflected the energy of modern America and took inspiration from cubism, Matisse and Picasso. During the Great Depression, he painted murals for the Federal Art Project and later composed a mural for the Radio City Music Hall.
Above: detail from View of Cotopaxi by Frederic Edwin Church, 1857
Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827)
Charles Willson Peale was part of the Revolution, serving in the Pennsylvania Militia and the Continental Army. This led him to paint many portraits of leading figures including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. Peale painted close to 60 portraits of Washington over the course of his life, including his masterpiece Washington at Princeton. Peale founded one of the first museums in the United States and his legacy lived on through his children – who he named after artists including Rembrandt, Raphaelle and Titian.
Thomas Cole (1801-1848)
Thomas Cole was born in England but was considered the founder of the Hudson River School. His work is notable for romantic landscapes with sweeping light, capturing natural beauty. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds several of Cole’s paintings and his home in Catskill, New York, is preserved as the Thomas Cole National Historic Site.
Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828)
Gilbert Stuart was one of America’s foremost artists at the dawn of the revolution and federal period. Born in Rhode Island, he is most remembered for his portraits of early presidents, particularly George Washington. His Athenaeum Portrait of Washington remains one of the most reproduced images in the world as it features on the one dollar bill.
Stuart’s paintings are now housed at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C, as well as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Above: detail from Portrait of George Washington by Thomas Sully after Gilbert Stuart, 1820
Keith Haring (1958-1990)
Keith Haring rose to fame in New York during the 1980s, becoming a symbol of street art. His bold lines and cartoon-like figures often carried strong social and political messages, including AIDS awareness, activism and equality. Today, his works can be seen in the Whitney Museum of American Art, as well as numerous public murals around the world. The Keith Haring Foundation continues to support his legacy.
William Merritt Chase (1849-1916)
An American Impressionist, William Merritt Chase was born in Indiana. After a short time in the Navy, he was encouraged to pursue art school in New York and later he worked to collect European art for American collectors. Whilst overseas, he studied in Munich – giving his work much more of a German influence.
Chase did not pick one genre, he composed portraits, landscapes and genre scenes in equal measure. He was just as dedicated to teaching art as he was practising it, later founding the Chase School in New York, which later became Parsons School of Design.
Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008)
Born in Texas, Robert Rauschenberg was a pioneer of American modernism. Best known for his Combines which blurred the line between painting and sculpture, Rauschenberg incorporated everyday objects into his art. His experimental approach greatly influenced the contemporary art market we know today. You can see his work in major modern art museums, including the MoMa in New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Above: detail from Sleepy Nicolle by Mary Cassatt, 1900
Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)
Although her work is closely associated with French impressionists, Mary Cassat was born in Pennsylvania. She spent her life travelling between the United States and Europe, studying the work of the Old Masters before meeting Edgar Degas who acted as a mentor and invited her into the impressionist circle. Her tender portrayals of mothers and children remain some of the most admired and recognisable works of the period.
Today, Mary Cassatt’s work is exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago and the National Gallery, as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Grant Wood (1891-1942)
From Iowa, Grant Wood depicted rural Midwestern life with sincerity and satire. He is best known for his 1930 masterpiece American Gothic, in which he used his sister and dentist as models. Grant spent much of his life in Cedar Rapids, where he was an art teacher as well as a practicing artist. During the Great Depression, he was part of the Stone City Art Colony, supporting artists through the poverty-stricken period.
Grant Wood was a central figure in the Regionalist art movement, this focused on rural American themes with a sense of realism, in reaction to the abstract movements that were taking place in the European art market. Regionalism encouraged artists to remain in areas of the midwest, rather than travelling to major cities for their career.
Asher Brown Durand (1796-1886)
Born in New Jersey, Asher Durand was a central figure in the Hudson River School, celebrated for his detailed romantic landscapes. Although he initially trained as an engraver, Durand devoted himself to oil painting. His most well-known work Kindred Spirits depicts fellow artist Thomas Cole and poet William Cullen Bryant. You will come across Durand’s paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery and the New York Historical Society.
Above: detail from The Beeches by Asher Brown Durand, 1845
Mark Rothko (1903-1970)
A leading Abstract Expressionist, Rothko is known for his large compositions featuring block fields of color. Born in Latvia and raised in the United States, he developed a modernist style that encouraged emotion through simplicity. Today, his works are held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Modern in London, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.
Edward Weston (1886-1958)
One of the most important photographers of the 20th century, Edward Weston captured natural forms, landscapes and nudes with a clear, modernist style. His first camera was given to him as a gift on his 16th birthday, a Kodak Bull’s-Eye No. 2, igniting his interest in the subject. After moving to Tropico, California in 1906, he opened his own photography studio, where his reputation grew.
Edward Weston’s photographs are some of the most expensive ever sold at auction with two selling for over one million dollars. Today, Weston’s work can be seen in the Museum of Modern Art, the Getty Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago.
John Singleton Copley (1738-1815)
Born in Boston, Singleton Copley was one of the leading portrait painters of the colonial era. His highly detailed works captured prominent figures of the era. As well as oil paint, he worked in pastels – a very European style for an 18th century New Englander. He wrote a request for the materials to leading pastellist Jean-Étienne Liotard, stating “America, which has been the seat of war and desolation, I hope will one day become the school of fine arts.”
Above: detail from portrait of Mrs. Daniel Hubbard by John Singleton Copley, 1764
Andy Warhol (1928-1987)
Andy Warhol remains one of the most famous American artists of all time. Originally from Pittsburgh, Warhol became an iconic, leading figure of the Pop Art movement, creating world famous works such as the Campbell’s Soup Cans series. He also produced numerous portraits of celebrities and well known figures, including Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Audrey Hepburn and even Queen Elizabeth II. His studio was called “The Factory” and became a hub in New York City for artisans and alternatives.
Today, most of Warhol’s public facing work is housed at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, alongside collections in MoMA and the Tate Modern in London.
Thomas Eakins (1844-1916)
Born in Philadelphia, Thomas Eakins was a realist painter with a focus on portraits and medical scenes. His haunting masterpiece The Gross Clinic (1875) is a prime example of his focus on anatomical schooling and human emotion. Eakins’ works are now prominently displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988)
Basquiat was a New York-born artist who rose from the street art scene. His graffiti style paintings were an infusion of symbols, text and figures, often with a political motivation. His work can be seen to comment on race, identity and class structures. Many of Basquiat’s works are now in the Whitney Museum of American Art, as well as the Broad in Los Angeles.
Above: detail from Love of Winter by George Wesley Bellows, 1914
End of Part Two
There are hundreds of famous artists from the United States. Come back soon to read more about the greatest American painters, sculptors and illustrators in our next edition of this series.
Who should we feature in Part Three?
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