AMERICAN PAINTING TODAY Ig5o a NATIONAL COMPETITIVE
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AMERICAN PAINTING TflDAY AMERICAN PAINTING TODAY ig5o A NATIONAL COMPETITIVE EXHIBITION THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART NEW YORK COPYRIGHT BY THE METROPOLITAN MUSE! M 01 A.RT I95O FOREWORD The rrustees ol the Metropolitan Museum of Art take pleasure in presenting the national competitive exhibition, American Painting Today 1950, described in this catalogue. The paintings in oil. tempera and encaustic have been selected from all parts ol the 1 Fnited States according to the terms of the prospectus mailed to the artists in May 1950. Five Regional Juries, meeting respectively at Santa Barbara lor the Western States and Pacific Territories. Dallas lor the Southwestern States, Chicago lor the Middle-Western States. Richmond lor the Southern States and New York lor the Eastern States and General Atlantic Area, made preliminar) selections which in turn were submitted in October to the National Jury. These juries are listed on subsequent pages together with the members of the fury of Awards. A total ol 6,248 entries were submitted by as many contesting artists. It is interesting to note that, generally speaking, a little better than ten per cent of the entries survived their local juries. The following talk by region represents the total number sent on to New York lor the National [ury's consideration: / *aintings Pain\tings Region S ubmitted Acct •pted Dallas ."><>-' 62 s s.1111,1 Bart >.11.1 ''-:; < l s 1\ K llllM )l 1(1 (,."»'.i V (Ihicago 1 .(»1 s 1 id New York 3,666 l-> 1 ot;i l 6,2 |N 7(H The National Jury finally accepted 307 paintings. This includes one invited painting lrom each of twenty-seven jury members. The response to the Museum's program by American artists as a whole has encouraged the Trustees in their determination to continue in the same direction and to give equal opportunity to artists working in other media. It is therefore proposed to hold a comparable exhibition of American Sculpture in December 195] to be followed by a third national competitive exhibition ol Drawings. Water Colors and Prints in December L952. The terms of these competitions together with the amounts offered in prizes will be announced in January. Thus, in a three-year cycle, the whole course ol contemporar) effort in this country will have been examined and new talent brought to the attention ol the public. At that time the Museum will be in a better position to judge whether or not the artists themselves wish to see these exhibitions become a tegular and revolving activity. In the meantime Mr. Hale will continue to provide by smaller group exhibitions and retrospective surveys an active interest in American art. Coincident with the exhibition program, the Museum will continue in its acquisition ol appropriate works b\ contemporar) American artists lor its permanent collections. During the past two years Mr. Hale, with the support ol the Director and the Trustees' Committee on American Art, has been able to use certain accumulated balances from the Hearn Funds lor the improvement and refinement ol the paintings collections. This process will continue until those balances are exhausted: thereafter current work will be acquired from current income. Plants. drawings and water colors will likewise be bought from funds bequeathed to the Museum lor the purchase ol items in these specified media. Realizing that the absence of any Eund speciall) earmarked lot the purchase of contemporary sculpture has resulted in an unintentional penalizing ol American sc ulptors, the Trustees have authorized the Purchasing Committee to allocate out ol unrestricted purchase funds a sum up to $100,000 to be used over a five-year period in the discretion ol the Committee on Contemporary American Art. This fund will be employed lor the improvement ol the Museum's collection of American sculpture in the same way in which the I learn Funds balances have recently been used lor painting. I he Museum wishes to express its appreciation to the thousands of artists whose participation in this exhibition is proof of their confidence in the efforts of the Trustees to evolve an effective program of contemporary art. and it wishes to thank especially the ait societies, museums and individuals who have so generously co-operated. I K WCIs HENRY TAYLOR December s, 10 so 1)1 reel or ACKNOWLEDGMENT 1 should like to express my appreciation to all those — and there are many thousands — who have contributed in such srenerous measure towards the success of American o Painting Today 1950. 1 should like to oiler my congratulations to all the artists represented in the exhibition. Their talent alone supports it. 1 should like to thank the main artists of established reputation who understood the spirit in which the exhibition was conceived and were willing to submit to the hazards of an open competition. And 1 should especially like to thank those who submitted to our juries and were rejected. 1 am aware of the trouble and expense they incurred on our behalf, of hopes engendered and destroyed. Yet had they not submitted, the exhibition would have lacked its essential character. I should like to thank all the members of the Regional Juries, the National Jury and the Jury of Awards. 1 know from intimate association that they gave more than could be asked, that they were fully aware of their responsibilities to their fellow artists, that they served with integrity and devotion. I should like to express m\ appreciation to the Regional Directors and to the stalls of the museums they represent lor their kind collaboration: Jerry Bywaters ol the Dallas Museum of Art. Donald Bear of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Frederick A. Sweet of the Art Institute of Chicago and Leslie Cheek of the Virginia Museum of line Arts. I am sincerely grateful to Roland |. McKinney, Consultant to the Metropolitan Museum, who is so largely responsible lor the organization and presentation, in spirit and in detail, of American Painting 1 oda\ 1950. In preparing the exhibition 1 traveled to main towns and cities throughout the United States. I shall never be able to express my gratitude to all those who helped me. to all those who received me with warmth and hospitality. ROBER1 BEVERLY HALE Associate Curator of American Art REGIONAL JURIES OF SELECTION S INT A BARBARA Donald Bear CALIFORNIA Kenneth Callahan WASHINGTON Erie 1 oran CALIFORNIA Rico Lebrun CALIFORNIA Millard Sheets CALIFORNIA DAI 1 is ferry Bywaters rEXAs Everett Spruce TEXAS Howard Cook NEW MEXICO William Harold Smith OKLAHOMA CHICAGO Frederick A. Sweet ILLINOIS Dwight Kirsch NEBRASKA Francis Chapin LLLINOIS Zoltan Sepeshy MICHIGAN Carl Gaertner OHIO James Lechay LOWA RICHMOND Leslie Cheek VIRGINIA Charles Shannon ALABAMA Lamar Dodd GEORGIA [erry Farnswortli FLORIDA \ /• I! YORK Charles Burchfield NEW ^OKK Ogden Pleissner NEW VOKK Yasuo Kuniyoshi NEW YORK Va< la\ Vytlacil NEW YORK Leon Rroll NEW YORK Paul Sample NEW HAMPSHIRE Robert Beverly Hale. Associate Curator of American Art, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. served on all juries in an advisory capacity without vote. NATIONAL JURY OE SELECTION Millard Sheets CALIFORNIA Howard Cook NEW MEXICO 1 ,amar Dodd GEORGIA Francis (lhapin ILLINOIS Zoltan Sepeshy MICHIGAN Ogden Pleissner NEW YORK Maurice Sterne NEW YORK Esther Williams MASSACHUSETTS JURY OF AWARDS William M. Milliken OHIO Franklin C. Watkins PENNSYLVANIA Eugene Speicher NEW \ ORK TRUSTEES" COMMITTEE ON AMERICAN ART Roland L. Redmond. Ex Officio Elihu Root, jr.. Chairman Walter C. Baker Sam A. Lewisohn AWARDS The following awards, totaling $8500, have been presented by the Trustees oj the Metropolitan Museum oj Art for works selected by the Jury oj Aiuards: IRS 1 I'RI/I : $3500 Basket Bouquet, by Karl Rnaths SECOND PRIZE: $2500 Centurions Hose, by Rico Lebrun rHiRD PRIZE: $1500 Fish Kite, by Yasuo Kuniyoshi FOURTH PRIZE: SIOOO Nine Men, b) [oseph Hirsch IOXOR \i'.i 1 MENTION Lonesome Valley, bv Ethel Magafai o Bird, FisJi, Fruit, bv Sara Provai CATALOGUE OF THE EXHIRITION CATALOGUE OF THE EXHIBITION Award winners are indicated by •; honorable mention by * As all the paintmgs in the exhibition, unless otherwise noted, are for sale, the sales prices are included in the catalogue entries. 'J'he Museum will not negotiate or conduct sales but will refer prospective buyers to the artists or to their authorized agents. This information may be obtained at the Catalogue Desk in the exhibition galleries. Adams, Kenneth M. NEW MEXICO Harvest ^.000.00 Adler, Samuel ML NEW YORK Fortune Teller i .000.00 Albright, [van Le Lorraine ILLINOIS Wherefore Now A riseth the Illusion oj a Third Dimension Price on request pi.. 10 Ahlrin. Anders G. CALIFORNIA Moon and Sea SoO.no Alston. Charles Henrv NEW YORK Painting o PL. .]2 I .JOO.OO Armer, Ruth CALIFORNIA A bstraction Xo. 2A. 7 300.00 Atherton. John VERMONT Winter Hudson 8t a >.( a 1 IT.. 2", Banks. Virginia WASHINGTON Vision - Piles on Shore 6yO.Oi I Barnet, Will NEW YORK Awakening o 1,200.00 Barr, Roger Tern CALIFORNIA Spruce Apartments ytjO.OO Bassford, Wallace MASSACHUSETTS G nil A-Winging 1.000.00 Bavinger, Eugene A. OKLAHOM \ Mirror of Time 51 a 1.00 Heal. (.illord NEW YORK West Wind i ,500.00 Bearden, Romaic 11. NEW YORK Woman with a Bird 1,000.00 Heck. Charles Nelson MINNESOTA River Junction 200.00 Beckmann, Max NEW YORK Sell-Torhait /050 2,500.00 Beecher, William Ward NEW YORK Souvenir Trompe-VOeil 500.00 Bell. Cecil C. NEW YORK Sear I he Bridge 850.00 Benin Ben NEW YORK Atlantic Bench Jelly 1,800.00 Bernian. Eugene CALIFORNIA \ 'iva Mexico 2.=,00.00 Bernstein. Theresa F. NEW YORK A merican Landscape 850.00 Belts.