The Eight: an Art Movement

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The Eight: an Art Movement The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research Volume 5 Article 10 2002 The Eight: An Art Movement Jennifer Enright St. John Fisher College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/ur Part of the American Art and Architecture Commons How has open access to Fisher Digital Publications benefited ou?y Recommended Citation Enright, Jennifer. "The Eight: An Art Movement." The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research 5 (2002): 113-119. Web. [date of access]. <https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/ur/vol5/iss1/10>. This document is posted at https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/ur/vol5/iss1/10 and is brought to you for free and open access by Fisher Digital Publications at St. John Fisher College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Eight: An Art Movement Abstract In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph. The movement of the early 1900s known as the Eight was an important cultural movement for the world of art, exhibitions, and individual artists alike. Although the Eight weren't as massively revolutionary as they would have liked to be, they were a very effective tool to spark change in the art scene at the time. They were nonconformist painters who helped to pave the way for the rise of private art exhibitions and the power of the artist as an individual. This article is available in The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research: https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/ur/ vol5/iss1/10 1 Enright: The Eight: An Art Movement The Eight: An Art Movement by Jennifer Enright Figure I The movement of the early 1900s known bit more freedom. The Society closely as the Eight was an important cultural move­ resembled the Salons of France during this ment for the world of art, exhibitions, and time (Reich 7). The process of painting individual artists alike. Although the Eight selections by the jury was unfavorable for weren't as massively revolutionary as they Henri and his contemporaries. Henri wanted would have liked to be, they were a very a better way of showcasing his and others' effective tool to spark change in the art work. The Society of American Artists scene at the time. They were non­ wasn't overly successful on its own, so in conformist painters who helped to pave the 1906 Henri played a role in merging these way for the rise of private art exhibitions two separate artist groups back into one and the power of the artist as an individual. (Reich 7). This was the perfect opportunity The eight artists that made up this for the formation of the Eight because there eccentric group--Robert Henri, Everett was now a large target group that could be Shinn, George Luks, Maurice Prendergast, addressed, as opposed to two separate John Sloan, Arthur Davies, William groups to win over (Milroy 45). Glackens and Ernest Lawson--didn't start Timing was favorable for Henri's out with the intention to change the world of somewhat rebellious actions, but if it weren't art. They were quite fortunate that timing was on their side, which gave their cause momentum. The art world was on Figure 2 tumultuous ground, and this group of eight men, masterminded by Robert Henri, was there to give the added push that was needed. The art world that predated Henri and the Eight was in turmoil. Artists were for his predecessors, then the establishment unhappy with the main art organization, the of the Eight as a powerful movement would National Academy of Design in New York. have been much more difficult. In 1898, In 1877, a significant number of artists left Charles De Kay founded the National Art the National Academy of Design. They Club in New York City in the hopes of broke away and founded the Society of bringing the arts community, which American Artists, which gave the artists a consisted of artists, painters, sculptors, 113 Published by Fisher Digital Publications, 2002 1 The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research, Vol. 5 [2002], Art. 10 architects and museum/art school administrators and patrons together. The National Art Club established an art forum in which to discuss and display tine art (Milroy 34). This was one of the first "individual" clubs that was separate from the Figure 3 National Academy of Design. In 1904, De Kay's Art Club hosted a loan exhibition after having been unanimously voted in. which featured some works by I lenri, Luks, Due to the ranking process of the Academy, Prendergast, Glackens and Sloan. This was Henri pulled two of his three paintings from a major step for the groundwork of the Eight the exhibition (Milroy 22). This show was because this exhibition gave these artists the proverbial straw that broke the camel's press and critics were impressed with the back. Henri officially broke from the selected paintings (Milroy 38). Specifically National Academy of Design in 1908 (Reich making a name for himself through this 7). The only option that was available to exhibition was Robert Henri. He was Henri and his friends was a private gallery gaining recognition as an influential leader. showing; behold the birth of the Eight Sadakihi Hartmann, a critic, referred to (Reich 8). Henri didn't leave the ranks of the Henri as "the patriarch of the Cafe crowd" Academy jury quietly. He created quite a and as the leader of "a new movement" (38). controversy in the newspapers trying to stir Even though Henri hadn't established the up support for the newly formed Eight. movement known as the Eight, he was Everett Shinn was a friend of Henri and the making waves for when the time came a few other group of six men at this time, which years later for the movement to take shape. consisted of Sloan, Lawson, Davies, Luks, The tension within the arts community Glackens and Henri, but he wasn't a strong revolving around the National Academy of advocate of establishing what would become Design was growing and, by 1907, Henri the Eight until the controversy broke out and some of his friends suffered from the with the Academy in 1907. He gladly maltreatment that the Academy showed to joined their ranks then and helped them some of its showcasing artists. The jury achieve the forceful movement that was to procedure that the Academy used was as come (Reich 8). subjective as it was frustrating. In this show in question, Henri had three paintings that were going to be included in the exhibition. In the first round of jury voting, two of the Figure 4 paintings received the unanimous vote of a "I " ranking, guaranteeing their inclusion in the show. The third painting received a ranking of "2." Henri would have been satisfied with these rankings until the second round of voting when one of his pieces was On April 4th, 1907, the group of six downgraded to a ranking of "2" met and pooled $50 from each in order to help them financially secure a place to hold their now independent exhibition. 114 https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/ur/vol5/iss1/10 2 Enright: The Eight: An Art Movement On April 13th, they had $300 and fo und "William Macbeth helped to make the an old store building that they could use, public accept the idea of the Eight show as a which was called "The West Twenty­ reasonable alternative exhibition, rather than third Street Gallery" due to its locati on a call fo r revolt " (80). The exhibition got (Reich 9). Shi nn had an interest in the mixed reviews, but the public favored the movement before, but it wasn't until they show greatl y. had fo und this Gallery that he resurfaced In the two weeks that the show ran, 300 enough to make a difference to them and visitors would pass through within an hour. to officially join them as the seventh The show ended up m aking $4000 in sales. member of the Eight movement. The set up of the exhib ition was di fferent Rent for one year from that of anything the Academ y had ever at the West Twcnty­ done. The men hung their own work, and third Street Gallery they decided what they wanted to display. was $ 1500, an Also, there were eight spaces of equal astronomical pnce dimension so the work was showcased that the men could completely democratically (Reich 9). This not afford . Luck type of exhibition fit Henri' s vision because turned around fo r he wanted a showcase in which there was no them, however, when jury and no prize distinction (Reich I 0). Arthur Davies got in contact with William Figure 6 Macbeth , the owner of the Gallery, and asked if they could rent a space fo r two Figure 5 weeks in either the fallor winter. Davies also contacted hi s friend, Maurice Prendergast, and opened the For the most part, the exhibition at show up to his work as well, making Macbeth's gallery was well received. There Prendergast the eighth and final member of was mixed praise and cri ticism fo r the raw the movement's octuplet. Macbeth look at life that these painters took on (Reich consented under the conditions of a $500 I 0). Four of the painters, Henri, Davies, guarantee and 25% of the sales. The deal Luks and Prendergast, received praise for was agreed upon and the show was set for their innovativeness, while the other four, opening on the 3rd of February, 1908 (Reich Sloan, Shinn, Lawson and Glackens, were 9).
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