"They Taught Themselves American Self-Taught Painters Between the World Wars" Exhibition
Galerie St. Etienne
This event has ended.
In 1942, Sidney Janis published his book 'They Taught Themselves: American Primitive Painters' of the 20th Century. Later hailed as classic, this was the first study of its kind. Janis's book established the framework and foundation for the field of contemporary self-taught art as we know it today. In an introduction that feels remarkably fresh, the author grappled with issues that still confound scholars: nomenclature, quality and definitions. Relying as much as possible on his subjects' own words, he presented capsule biographies of 30 artists. Of these, five (Morris Hirshfield, John Kane, Grandma Moses, Joseph Pickett and Horace Pippin) are considered among the most important self-taught artists of the twentieth century, and an additional seven (Emile Branchard, Henry Church, William Doriani, Lawrence Lebduska, Israel Litwak, Patsy Santo and Patrick J. Sullivan), while not as well remembered, made significant contributions to the field in the first decades of that century. Although Alfred Barr, in his introduction to 'They Taught Themselves,' gently chided Janis for being overly inclusive, the author's selections have, on the whole, held up remarkably well.
[Image: John Kane "Panther Hollow" (c. 1930) Oil on canvas 20 x 29 in.]
Media
Schedule
from January 07, 2009 to March 14, 2009