Contemporary American Painting and Sculpture
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jLLINGiS LIBRARY AT URBAI-JA-CHAf'iSPAlGN ARCHITECTURE RIOHER LWHARY AW;HITKTU«t UNIVERSITY OF ILUNOS MlnlnHim Fee lor NOnce: Return or renew all Ubrary Meterieltl The each Lost Book Is $50.00. The person charging this material is responsible for withdrawn its return to the library from which it was on or before the Latest Date stamped below. reasons for discipli- Theft, mutilation, and underlining ol books are University. nary action and may result in dismissal from the To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN OCT f f f\UGZ jy^ 33? University of Illinois 7f'-^S^C^i^^t^ SECOND ALLEGORY -ri:'HC&IK/Cx,^*,' CONTEMPORARY University of Illinois, Urbana Sunday, March 1, through Sunday, April 12, 1953 Galleries, Architecture Building College of Fine and Applied Arts THE LiSrARY OF THE RltAtfi 1,\mA.J AhChllLCTURE MAR ^ 1953 uiiiVERSiTY OF ;m;;;c!3 Copyright 1 953 by the University of Illinois Manufactured in the United States of America RICHER LIBRARY ARCHITECTURE umvERSin OF iuinois CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN PAINTING AND SCULPTURE GEORGE D. STODDARD President of the University REXFORD NEWCOMB Dean, College of Fine and Applied Arts Chairman, Festival of Contemporary Arts N. Britsky E. C. Rac OPERATING COMMITTEE C. A. Dietemann A. S. Weller W. F. Doolittle L. M. Woodroofe J. D. Hogan C. V. Donovan, Chairman L. F. Bailey J. \V. Kennedy E. H. Betts J. H. G. Lynch A. A. Boatright M. B. Martin STAFF COMMITTEE MEMBERS C. E. Bradbury R. Perlman G. R. Bradshaw J. W. Raushenberger C. \V. Briggs F. J. Roos L. R. Chesney H. A. Schultz J.W.Crist J. R. Shiplev R. Diebeiikorn M. A. Sprague G. N. Foster L. W. Zamiska D.E. Frith N. V. Ziroli R. A. Ginstrom H. F,. Jordan, Secretary R. E. Hult JOHN HELLER GALLERY, INC. EDWIN HEWITT GALLERY MR. JOSEPH H. HIRSHHORN HUGO GALLERY ALEXANDRE lOLAS GALLERY SIDNEY JANIS GALLERY PAUL KANTOR GAIXERY KLEEMANN GALLERIES M. KNOEDLER AND CO., INC. MRS. SAMUEL M. KOOTZ ACKNOWLEDGMENT SAMUEL M. KOOTZ GALLERY KRAUSHAAR GALLERIES LUCIEN LABAUDT ART GALLERY The College of Fine and Applied Arts LANDAU GALLERY is grateful to those who have made loans MORTIMER LEVITT GALLERY of paintings and sculpture to this institu- MR. AND MRS. ALBERT LEWIN tion and acknowledges the cooperation of LOS ANGELES ART ASSOCIATION the follo^ving collectors, niuseimis, and MR. MICHAEL LOWE MRS. galleries: MR. AND EARLE LUDGIN PIERRE MATISSE GALLERY ACA GALLERY BETTY MCLEAN GALLERY THE ARTISTS GALLERY MIDTOWN GALLERIES ASSOCIATED AMERICAN ARTISTS, INC. BORIS MIRSKI ART GALLERY BABCOCK GALLERIES, INC. NEW ART CIRCLE GRACE BORGENICHT GALLERY THE NEW GALLERY MARGARET BROWN GALI.ER^ PALMER HOUSE GALLERIES MRS. W. WHITFIEI.I) CARHART. JR. BEITY PARSONS GALLERY CONTEMPORARY ARTS, INC. PASSEDOIT GALLERY THE CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART PERIDOT GALLERY DALLAS MUSEUM OF FINE ARIS FRANK PERLS GALLERY THE DOWNTOWN GALLERY PERLS GALLERIES, INC. DURLACHER BROTHERS PITTSBURGH ARTS AND CRAFTS CENTER WARD EGGLESTON GALLERY FRANK K. M. REHN, INC. LA FONDA ART GALLERY A. P. ROSENBERG AND CO., INC. ALLAN FRUMKIN GALLERY HARRY SALPETER GALLERY, INC. LA GALERLA. ESCONDIDA BERTHA SCHAEFER GALLERY MR. AND MRS. ROBERT GARDNER SCULPTURE CT.NTER GRAND CENTRAL MODERNS CURT VALENTIN GALLERY, INC. MR. AND MRS. JEROME W. GRATENSIEIN VAN DIEMEN-LILIENFELD GALLERIES GUMP'S GALLERY CATHERINE VIVIANO GALLERY HACKER GALLERY WEVHE GALLERY DALZELL HATFIELD GALLERIES WILLARD GALLERY C. V. DONOVAN D. HOGAN JURY OF SELECTION J. A. S. WELLER 948 1949 LEONARD BECK CLAUDE BENTLEV EUGENE BERMAN LOUIS BOSA RAYMOND BREININ FRED CONWAY JOSEPH DE MARTINI JOHN HELIKER CARL HOLTV.' WILLIAM J. GORDON PHILIP GUSTON RICO LEBRUN KARL KNATHS ARTHUR OSVER JULIAN E. LEVI FELIX RUVOLO AWARDS LESTER O. SCH\VARTZ YVES TANGUY HAZEL JANICKI BRADLEY WALKER TOMLIN 1950 1951 1952 MAX BECKMANN WILLIAM BAZIOTES SAMUEL ADLER DEAN ELLIS BYRON BROWNE TOM BENRIMO FREDERICK S. FRANCK ADOLPH GOTTLIEB CAROL BLANCHARD ROBERT GWATHMEY CLEVE GRAY CARLYLE BROWN HANS HOFMANN MORRIS KANTOR WILLIAM CONGDON CHARLES RAIN LEO MANSO WALTER MURCH ABRAHAM RATTNER MATTA RUFINO TAMAYO HEDDA STERNE GREGORIO PRESTOPINO ANTHONY TONEY KURT SELIGMANN JEAN XCERON Many of the works of art in this exhibition are for sale. Visitors are cordially invited to secure in- SALES formation from the attendant at the desk in the West Gallery. The University of Illinois charges no commission on any sale. Introduction Each year as a part ot its general educational program, the University of Illinois conducts a Festival of Contemporary Arts during which time, by means of exhibits, lectures, concerts, demonstrations, and symposia, surveys are made of current developments in Art, Architecture, Land- scape Architecture, City Planning, Music, the Theatre, the Motion Pic- ture, Literature, Design for Communications, Radio, and the Dance. This year the Festival opens on February 27 and closes on April 12. An important event of the Festival is the annual exhibition of con- temporary art of which this volume is the official record. With the opening of this Sixth Exhibition of Contemporary Amer- ican Painting and Sculpture, the University again undertakes an ap- praisal of current art movements in the United States. For nearly a year, our Jury of Selection has traveled extensively seeking out works of art which, for variety of subject matter, technical excellence, or an interest- ing emotional approach, are entitled to a place in such a showing. Many studios, galleries, and dealers have been visited and hundreds of works have been critically examined. What you see in this show, we confidently [ 2 ] believe, represents a faithful cross section of current American art. It is impossible, of course, to cover every variant of oin- national expression but the significant trends are here illustrated. During the past five years, the Illinois show has achieved a national reputation and has been visited by thousands of people from this and neighboring states. We have been pleased at the response of the young people visiting oin* exhibits, particularly that of students in universities, colleges, and high schools. These young people seem to respond readily to what contemporary painters and sculptors are trying to do. Perhaps they are not hampered by the art concepts of yesterday. They have less to forget in evaluating contemporary expressions. In viewing a contemporary art exhibit, perhaps we should emulate these youth, garnering every resource of beauty that we may. It is wrong to close one's eyes to beauty in whatever guise it may appear, and it is foolish to be ashamed of the tenderness which it awakens. These are not necessarily childish things; art for any age requires no apology. All of us, youths and adults, need to achieve a taste for that which most en- riches and to be carried by a contemplation of order and beauty to a vivid faith in the ideal. Such goals, among others, constitute the mission of this exhibition. Each year purchases are made from this show for the University's permanent art collection. Many of these works of art have been exhibited about the state and, during the past year, forty paintings from the col- lection were circulated to galleries in cities as far away as Fort Worth, San Francisco, and Seattle. Selections for the 1953 purchase awards will be an- noimced following the close of the exhibition. The illustrated catalogues of past exhibits have been widely sought, both in this country and abroad. In several universities they have served as important reference texts in courses in modern art. This year's cata- logue fully matches the achievements of past issues. Copies may be secured from the University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois. REXFORD NEWCOMB, Dean College of Fine and Applied Arts Talking About Art Every one ^vho has occasion to ^vrite or talk about contemporary art is likely to be beset by doubts and self-questionings. The historian has a perfectly definite function; so does the philosopher who applies himself to the study of art. But a great deal of writing and talking about con- temporary art is done by people ^vho are not historians (at least in this field) and who are certainly not philosophers. Usually they are called critics. Often the artist may doubt the value and significance of their activity, and would like to have people look at, rather than talk, urite, or read about, works of art. But the unfortunate fact remains that many people still do not know how to look at contemporary works of art. This is not because of any [4] lack of opportunity, because exhibitions are more and more numerous, and excellent reproductions are easily available. It is one of the great ironies of our period that it is at one and the same time more engulfed in visual experiences than ever before (picture magazines, comic books, movies, television) and less able to make qualitative judgments in the field of the fine arts than in many earlier periods. I am sure that critics would agree that looking at works of art is the best way of coming to an understanding of them, but should we simply let the work of art speak for itself, or should we speak too? My own feeling is that talking about works of art (I do not consider that this activity is necessarily criticism or philosophy) is ^vorth while, and that it should have as its aim the increasing and sharpening of our visual powers. Talking about art should never be a monologue, but rather should be a conversation, with plenty of give and take, not always between two people, but also between the person who is doing the talking and the work of art itself. It should be based upon respect and affection, and it should result in greater understanding of the work of art and of ourselves.