Anchorage Public Library >> Picturing America >> Art
"Picturing America" - November 2008 at Anchorage Public Library...
The following images were featured at Z. J. Loussac and Muldoon Branch Libraries during the month of November, 2008. Click on the "resources" link for each image to locate books and websites about American history and other related topics that connect with these works of art.
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Charles Sheeler, American Landscape, 1930
Charles Sheeler created "Precisionist Art" as an emotionally detached approach to the modern world. Using large geometric forms, the style relies on one person to lend scale. One would expect a painting with the title "landscape" to be of land untouched by humans. Instead, Sheeler shows we can claim our own landscape with our industry. Sheeler depicted the River Rouge Ford plant using his skills as a photographer. He painted the plant with a smooth impersonal effect that has no visible brush strokes, thus giving a mechanical feel to the painting. American Landscape was created to highlight American ingenuity, not as an indictment of industry.
Much of this painting is geometric. Which parts are not?
The water, reflections, sky, smoke, and piles of ore are irregular.
Charles Sheeler (1883–1965), American Landscape, 1930. Oil on canvas, 24 x 31 in (61 x 78.8 cm). Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (166.1934). Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art / Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Edward Hopper, House by the Railroad, 1925
Even with bright sunlight, the House by the Railroad's sad expression symbolizes how progress left rural life behind. When painted, Edward Hopper's painting was considered "an ugly house in an ugly place." The train track cuts off the house's foundation, giving the perception of the track as a foundation for newer mobile life. With no nature or life to this picture, the track makes the whole setting appear as if life has passed by this lonely house.
Where is the sun? What parts of the house make it look sad or lonely?
The sun is on the left because the shadows are on the right. The dark windows, closed shades, dark shadows, empty porch, no vegetation, and the train track removing the view of welcoming stairs make the house look lonely.
Edward Hopper (1882-1967), House by the Railroad. 1925. Oil on canvas, 24 x 29 in. Given anonymously (3.1930). Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art / Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Richard Diebenkorn, Cityscape I, 1963
The lighting and perspective give a varied balance to Richard Diebenkorn's abstract painting Cityscape I. The houses on the left contrast to the bright and open land to the right. The road is broken by light between the houses. The road changes shape and perspective near the top of the picture, as if there is a hill one must climb. The high vantage point calls attention to the puzzle-like structure of the painting. Though lacking people, the picture shows man's effects on the natural world.
Where might have Diebenkorn been standing when he had the idea for this painting? How did the artist create a sense of depth in this painting?
He could have been on a tall building, hill, or in a low flying airplane. The buildings in the distance are higher and ighter, and the shadows are not as dark.
Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993), Cityscape I, 1963. Oil on canvas, 60 1/4 x 50 1/2 in. (153.04 x 128.27 cm.). San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Purchased with funds from Trustees and friends in memory of Hector Escobosa, Brayton Wilbur, and J. D. Zellerbach. © Estate of Richard Diebenkorn.
Childe Hassam, Allies Day, May 1917, 1917
Childe Hassam's impressionistic style gives the architecture of New York City's Millionaires' Row a special glow. This painting, done from a balcony at Fifth Avenue and Fifty-Second Street, looks north toward Central Park. The flags of the three WWI Allies--France, Great Britain, and America--are the focus in the foreground. Heading west, the buildings on the left are Saint Thomas Church, a 1916 Gothic revival building. Next are the renaissance-styled University Club and the Gotham Hotel (now Peninsula), and in the far distance, the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. Hassam's patriotic painting shows American prosperity and dedication to a cause.
Where is the Church tower? Can you find the trees of Central Park?
The church tower is on the left. The green trees are in the lower center.
Childe Hassam (American, 1859-1935) Allies Day, May 1917, 1917. Oil on canvas, 36 1/2 x 30 1/4 in. (92.7 x 76.8 cm.). Gift of Ethelyn McKinney in memory of her brother, Glenn Ford McKinney. Image courtesy of the Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
