Wyeth, Edmonds, Johnson, Guillavue,Whalley, Millet, Courbet, and Homer

Realistic Art

Museums are collections of artifacts. Although museums can represent interests from fine arts to whaling, people who visit museums fail to realize that every exhibit, every display case, represents human decisions: some individuals or group of individuals has to decide to include a specific piece of art or an artifact in the museum’s collection.

--from AP Central/College Board 2007B Synthesis Question

{Remember you have to convince me to support your display. You may want to look at the next few slides for some insights before you begin.}

Introduction…

You are the procurer for a museum of which I am the director. I would like to have a display or exhibit of realistic/naturalistic/regional art. I want to display a minimum of 2 different artists and 4 works in this exhibit. You are on a mission to find the required items.

Situation:

Write a proposal that defends your choice of artists and works based on the elements of art and the themes that they share. Be specific and thorough in your defense of your choices.

Task:

The still-life paintings, the portraits, the scenes which Whalley details are not mere imitations of unimproved nature. The artist infuses a new strength, quiet dignity, and beauty into a familiar setting. His focus on his subject elevates its importance, significance and depth. Colors, forms, textures and meanings all have strength as they are bonded into a single image where their graceful blend establishes appreciation from even the most casual of observers.[4]—S. William Pelletier

A word from the artist…

FatalismDeterminismNaturalismslice of lifegrittynature indifferent to manman is a pawnfateurban vs. ruralsociety vs. individual

Elements of Realism

The setting can be so integral to the story that it sometimes becomes a character in itself.

Characters in these stories adhere to traditional gender, ethnic, and socioeconomic roles.

Thematically, many regional and local color stories share an aversion to change and a weakness for sentimentality.

Elements of Regionalism

Francis William Edmonds-The New Bonnet

Fiddling His Way-- Eastman Johnson

The Young Convalescent—Eastman Johnson

Ruth—Eastman Johnson

Snowy Morning—Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth—Abandoned Light

Andrew Wyeth—Blackberry Picker

Andrew Wyeth—French Twist

A Ride for Liberty—The Fugitive Slaves—Eastman Johnson (1862)

Winslow Homer—The Hound and the Hunter

Winslow Homer—The Gulf Stream

Francois Millet—Les Glaneuses—The Gleaners

Francois Millet—L’Angelus

Francois Millet—Garden of Praise

John Whalley--Affinity

John Whalley--Repository

John Whalley—A Child’s History

Late Sun --John Whalley

Eastman Johnson—The Lord is My Shepherd

Eastman Johnson—Negro Life at the South

Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse—L.M.D. Guillavue

Gustave Courbet—Bonjour, Monsieur!

Andrew Wyeth—Christina’s World

Dinah—Eastman Johnson (1866-1869)

Summer Night—Winslow Homer

Boy with Anchor—Winslow Homer

Breezing Up—Winslow Homer

Prisoners from the Front—Winslow Homer

The Fog Warning—Winslow Homer

Corn Husking—Eastman Johnson

Earnest Pupil—Eastman Johnson

Husking Bee Island of Nantucket—Eastman Johnson

The Boyhood of Abraham Lincoln—Eastman Johnson

The Cranberry Harvest—Eastman Johnson