2 cols.

Robert Gwathmey (1903–1988), “Hoeing,” 1943, oil on canvas, 40 by 60 inches. Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Patrons Art Fund. —Richard A. Stoner photo. Art ©Estate of Robert Gwathmey/licensed by VAGA, New York City.

2 cols.

Edward Hopper (1882–1967), “Pennsylvania Coal Town,” 1947, oil on canvas, 28 by 40 inches. Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; museum purchase 1948.

1 1/2  col.

Marsden Hartley (1877–1943), “Young Hunter Hearing Call to Arms,” circa 1939, oil on canvas, 41 by 30 inches. Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Patrons Art Fund. —Richard A. Stoner photo

American Folk Art Museum Plans

Annual Benefit For October 15

Paris Exhibition To Present Collection

Of Bronzes Of Prince Of Liechtenstein

[set both at 1-1/2  col]

3.

Giovanni Francesco Susini, “David tenant la tête de Goliath (David holding Goliath’s head),” Florence, circa 1625–1630, bronze with brown varnish on a gilt red lacquered patina, height 117/8  inches.

5.

Pier Jacopo Alari-Bonacolsi (called “l’Antico”), adolescent’s bust, Mantoue, circa 1520, polished and gilt bronze with applied silver, height 22½ inches.

MUST RUN 7-18

WESTMORELAND MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART PRESENTS ‘PAINTING IN THE UNITED STATES’ w/3 cuts;

ak/lsb set 7/9; #745437

GREENSBURG, PENN. — In the years before World War II, the Carnegie Institute (now the Carnegie Museum of Art) held an annual “Carnegie International” exhibition that included work from artists worldwide. During the war, the exhibition was changed to “Painting in the United States,” and ran for seven years showcasing the best of American art of the period.

Now, timed to coincide with the 55th Carnegie International at Carnegie Museum of Art, “Painting in the United States” will run again at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art. The exhibition is an overview of the seven exhibitions at the Carnegie Institute from 1943 to 1949, and will be on view through October 19.

“Painting in the United States” includes 48 paintings, 42 of which are the same works selected for the wartime exhibitions, including paintings by George Ault, Thomas Hart Benton, Leon Kroll, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, Edward Hopper, Jack Levine and Max Weber.

While many of the participating artists were already established in the 1940s, emerging artists such as Robert Gwathmey, Philip Guston and Dorothea Tanning were also shown, and are included in the current exhibition as well. Artist/faculty members of Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) including Samuel Rosenberg and Roy Hilton, who were invited to all seven of the exhibitions, provide a Pittsburgh connection and a regional focus.

Creating a sampling of the exhibitions presented the opportunity to reexamine the work of this significant period in the history of American painting at a time when critics were calling out for a truly American style in art. The decade of the 1940s was a volatile period when American Scene painting dominated, but modes of abstraction were ascending.

Regionalists turned inward seeking an understanding of the turmoil occurring in and outside this nation, expressing through their art nostalgia for aspects of their life that were rapidly changing. Social realists created art that reflected their political and social concerns in an attempt to instigate social change as can be seen in paintings by Levin and Gwathmey. Realism and Modernism, the dominant movements of the times, are represented by Benton, Hopper, Dove, Philip Evergood, George L.K. Morris, Suzy Frelinghuysen and others.

During this same time period, Abstract Expressionism was gaining ground. Artists such as Guston were experimenting with a style that was more relevant to their own experience. Abstract Expressionist artists found their path through Surrealism, which allowed artists a means to escape their immediate surroundings (World War II, the ongoing Depression), and explore a new arena in art. The experience of artmaking became the dominant thread. While Guston was just formulating his style during these years, he would become one of the country’s leading Abstract Expressionists, together with Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.

While Realism and Modernism co-existed, both were marginalized toward the end of the decade in favor of Abstract Expressionism.

The Westmoreland is at 221 North Main Street. Museum hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm, and Thursday until 9 pm. For information, 724-837-1500 or www.wmuseumaa.org.