Light pastels of white, red, green, and silver create a delicate and private image of an East Asian figurine behind a short pot of flowers, possibly lilies. The background is very bare and gray-scale, emphasizing the bright colors of the flowers. The white-to-red color transition of the flowers from left to right implies a period of change, more specifically from purity to maturity. About the Artist: Born in Syracuse, NY Bowler attended the Syracuse University College of Fine Arts and there received a postgraduate award for study in Paris. He was best known for painting official portraits of prominent political, military, and theatrical figures such as dancers Ruth St. Denis and Michel Fokine; humorist Will Rogers, actor Vincent Price, and explorer/author Richard Halliburton. Bowler also traveled to Washington, D.C. to paint portraits of Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Vice President John Nance Garner, among others. But Bowler also was passionate about landscapes and still lifes. A 1940 newspaper article implies that his two works at NDG were part of “a series of flower paintings done for all the tuberculosis hospitals in New York” (Allentown, PA Morning Call 31 Mar. 1940: 16). During World War II, Bowler served as Director of Design for a camouflage section of the 909th Air Force Engineers, organizing a 1943 show of their work at Macy’s Department store. It was after a 32-mile training hike that he painted a well-known image entitled “After the Hike”—a picture of his worn pair of army shoes—that was exhibited in the Library of Congress. Bowler also served as director of an arts program for the American Red Cross and as a USO portrait artist during the war (Syracuse Herald-Journal 23 July 1965: 14). After 1945 Bowler continued to live and work in Bucks County, PA. A critic attending the Phillips’ Mill Art Exhibition wrote that he had “all the majesty and power of great people who see great movements and think great things. A realist, his ‘Little Red Barn’ is characterized by a sensitive brush, a direct approach, rich colors and mellow overtones and an uninhibited technique — all contributing to the aching loveliness of this farm scene” (Muhlenberg Weekly 14 Oct. 1948: 2). In addition to producing many paintings, Bowler was an art teacher for much of his professional life. 1 work at Smithsonian American Art Museum. 3 works at Michener Art Museum. 2 more images at FAP.
Bowler uses fine strokes to create a vibrant display of red and pink tulips spiraling outwards amidst a mass of strong, green leaves in a unique, white cornucopia vase. The arrangement is placed directly in the daylight on a white window bench along with a a silver plate of two apples and a pear dangerously close to the edge of the bench.The bright colors of the natural items seem almost out of place in the starkly white surroundings. About the Artist: Born in Syracuse, NY Bowler attended the Syracuse University College of Fine Arts and there received a postgraduate award for study in Paris. He was best known for painting official portraits of prominent political, military, and theatrical figures such as dancers Ruth St. Denis and Michel Fokine; humorist Will Rogers, actor Vincent Price, and explorer/author Richard Halliburton. Bowler also traveled to Washington, D.C. to paint portraits of Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Vice President John Nance Garner, among others. But Bowler also was passionate about landscapes and still lifes. A 1940 newspaper article implies that his two works at NDG were part of “a series of flower paintings done for all the tuberculosis hospitals in New York” (Allentown, PA Morning Call 31 Mar. 1940: 16). During World War II, Bowler served as Director of Design for a camouflage section of the 909th Air Force Engineers, organizing a 1943 show of their work at Macy’s Department store. It was after a 32-mile training hike that he painted a well-known image entitled “After the Hike”—a picture of his worn pair of army shoes—that was exhibited in the Library of Congress. Bowler also served as director of an arts program for the American Red Cross and as a USO portrait artist during the war (Syracuse Herald-Journal 23 July 1965: 14). After 1945 Bowler continued to live and work in Bucks County, PA. A critic attending the Phillips’ Mill Art Exhibition wrote that he had “all the majesty and power of great people who see great movements and think great things. A realist, his ‘Little Red Barn’ is characterized by a sensitive brush, a direct approach, rich colors and mellow overtones and an uninhibited technique — all contributing to the aching loveliness of this farm scene” (Muhlenberg Weekly 14 Oct. 1948: 2). In addition to producing many paintings, Bowler was an art teacher for much of his professional life. 1 work at Smithsonian American Art Museum. 3 works at Michener Art Museum. 2 more images at FAP.
Cool blues and greens dominate much of Sharp’s landscape, creating a sharp contrast against the red of the barn and sails. A body of water surrounding the wharf clearly is too small for any boats and seems to be drying up. The rolling hills and mountains in the background make the area feel vast and somewhat empty. There are no people within the painting, although there are a few structures that could be houses—one of which has a gravestone—and what appears to be a church spire. Strangest of all is a fenced-in pasture with dinosaurs. About the Artist: Born in Galesburg, IL, Sharp grew up in Eldon, IA and showed a talent for art at an early age, matriculating at the University of Iowa in 1928. While a student he met curator Edward Rowan and painter Grant Wood, both of whom would become important figures in the regional art movement, co-founding the Stone City Art Colony. At age nineteen, taking Wood on a driving tour of Eldon, Sharp showed him the house that would figure in the iconic painting American Gothic. Sharp studied at the Stone City colony for a short period before relocating to New York, where he attended the Art Students League and the National Academy of Design. It was during this period in the early 1930s that Sharp met his lifelong partner, the painter Paul Crosthwaite. The two relocated to an established art scene in Buck’s County, PA. Besides his work in the WPA easel division, Sharp was chosen to create three murals for post offices in Iowa: “Autumn” (1940), in Bloomfield; “Summer” (1941), in Rockwell City; “Winter” (1942), in Haywarden. While all show the regionalist influence of Wood, Sharp also had a distinctive sense of humor. His painting “We All Hang Together” mashes up domestic folk art and a Benjamin Franklin epigram; his landscape painting at the NDG features what appears to be a herd of cows but actually is dinosaurs. Still, his taste for surreality did not stand in the way of commercial success. Sharp was called “a skillful factualist who loves the textures of barns, flowers, leaves, shells, and old roots” (Benson). He was commissioned to render portraits of New York theater actors; his paintings were chosen for a traveling Hallmark Art Award exhibition (1951) and appeared on the cover of Colliers magazine (“P.O. Mural”). Sharp and Crosthwaite moved to Florida full-time by the mid-1950s, continuing their work while instructing younger artists. 3 works at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. 3 post office murals for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. 1 work at Chrysler Museum of Art. 1 work at Smithsonian American Art Museum. 2 works at the Michener Art Museum. 5 images at Stone City Art Colony. 6 more images at FAP. Works Consulted: Gertrude Benson, “Dynamic Oils and Sculpture at Academy,” Philadelphia Inquirer 25 Jan. 1953: 17; “P.O. Mural is Hung Tuesday,” Haywarden Independent 28 May 1942: 1; Kristy Raine, et al., “John Sharp,” Stone City Art Colony and School, web.
Loosely translating as a "state of disuse," Fastovsky's title certainly applies to this rural scene. We see what appears to be a boarded-up chicken coop and other farm outbuildings inside a walled enclosure--although the abandonment seems recent given visible footpaths and a lack of overgrowth. Relatively high-key colors sidestep the dark tragedy of family farmers no longer present. In trial law, "desuetude" refers to statutes so long unenforced that they have become obsolete; perhaps in this case the intent is to link a particular farm to longer-term, systemic neglect that has resulted in many other farm abandonments. About the Painter: Born in Chernobyl, Russia, Fastovsky studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Kiev before immigrating to the US in 1913 and becoming a citizen in 1921. He showed his work at Municipal Art Galleries, New York, in 1938. Fastovsky legally changed his name to Isaac Foster in 1946 and by 1955 was living in Tuscon, AZ, showing his paintings at local sites and restoring old canvases. Looking back upon his work for various federal art projects, he estimated that he had created 40-50 paintings during this period: “Someday I’m going to visit various state and federal buildings throughout the country and see if I can locate the pictures. I don’t have any idea where they’re hanging now” (Arizona Daily Star 16 Oct. 1955: 24). 9 more images at FAP.
Three boys are deeply absorbed in the work of childhood, in this case perhaps the aquatic life beneath a stream's shimmering surface. Fastovsky's composition encloses the boys, unaware, beneath the arch of a viaduct yet with rolling parkland and trees in the distance. The effect is arcadian; a lack of facial features and even clothing renders the scene a fragile space of timelessness amidst an industrial world. We're beholding not a particular summer afternoon but a mythical one. About the Artist: Born in Chernobyl, Russia, Fastovsky studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Kiev before immigrating to the US in 1913 and becoming a citizen in 1921. He showed his work at Municipal Art Galleries, New York, in 1938. Fastovsky legally changed his name to Isaac Foster in 1946 and by 1955 was living in Tuscon, AZ, showing his paintings at local sites and restoring old canvases. Looking back upon his work for various federal art projects, he estimated that he had created 40-50 paintings during this period: “Someday I’m going to visit various state and federal buildings throughout the country and see if I can locate the pictures. I don’t have any idea where they’re hanging now” (Arizona Daily Star 16 Oct. 1955: 24). 9 more images at FAP.
In this bower of parkland amidst the Bronx, we look up a gentle hill toward its crest beneath a muted sky. Thin layers of impressionist blending create a modulated glow in trees and grassland alike. Perhaps the painting's most striking effect is its shaggy modeling of three trees lined up the foreground, distinct from the landscape by way of artfully placed boulders. In their distinct shapes and clear separation from the meadow, the effect is one of a gathering of trees. About the Artist: We haven’t located much reliable information about this artist. Born in Vladikavkaz, Russia, Fidaroff emigrated to Vancouver in 1913 and then the US in 1915—where he became a citizen in 1939. He was an art student in Los Angeles, CA as of 1917. His painting “In the Country” was exhibited at a 1937 Federal Art Project show. 2 works at Bennington Museum. 2 more images at FAP.
It's fall, and a farmer is seen returning a wagonload of hay, presumably cut and dried in his fields. Fidaroff composes his scene so as to obscure what may be a gas-powered tractor (since we don't see a team of horses ahead of the farmer). A warm shagginess is repeated throughout the painting--tree leaves, grass, the load of hay--using impressionist brushstrokes. In the distance, the cool gray skyline of a mountain points toward winter. About the Artist: We haven’t located much reliable information about this artist. Born in Vladikavkaz, Russia, Fidaroff emigrated to Vancouver in 1913 and then the US in 1915—where he became a citizen in 1939. He was an art student in Los Angeles, CA as of 1917. His painting “In the Country” was exhibited at a 1937 Federal Art Project show. 2 works at Bennington Museum. 2 more images at FAP.
Deceptively simple in scenic terms, Fidaroff's painting relies upon a carefully restricted range of colors, shapes, and distinctive landscape features. A river, partially visible at lower left, makes us aware of a serpentine line continuing to upper right; its contrasting color highlights another line composed of individual trees. The visual (and ecological) tension in painting is between ranges of forested mountains and those gold-green fields cleared by farmers. No humans are visible in Fidaroff's painting, but their presence is encoded into its design. About the Artist: We haven’t located much reliable information about this artist. Born in Vladikavkaz, Russia, Fidaroff emigrated to Vancouver in 1913 and then the US in 1915—where he became a citizen in 1939. He was an art student in Los Angeles, CA as of 1917. His painting “In the Country” was exhibited at a 1937 Federal Art Project show. 2 works at Bennington Museum. 2 more images at FAP.
Spare composition of an open space, perhaps parkland, is most distinctive in its use of linear elements. The horizontals of skyline and a row of plantings across the middle of painting are intersected by verticals of trees and, in the distance, lines of color ascending the hills. At bottom center, where a viewer presumably is invited to enter the landscape, a serpentine footpath gives way to branching possibilities. About the Artist: We haven’t located much reliable information about this artist. Born in Vladikavkaz, Russia, Fidaroff emigrated to Vancouver in 1913 and then the US in 1915—where he became a citizen in 1939. He was an art student in Los Angeles, CA as of 1917. His painting “In the Country” was exhibited at a 1937 Federal Art Project show. 2 works at Bennington Museum. 2 more images at FAP.
Presumably at the edge of a small mountain lake, we look across its surface to the middle and far distance. Although using atmospheric perspective to some extent, the hills and sky also register as a single plane differentiated by line and color. The uncanny effects of space are most clearly observed in the lake's reflections, especially the two similar trees at center: just their tips are tall enough to be seen over a hill's curvature, causing their reflection in the lake to appear as two isolated blocks of color. About the Artist: We haven’t located much reliable information about this artist. Born in Vladikavkaz, Russia, Fidaroff emigrated to Vancouver in 1913 and then the US in 1915—where he became a citizen in 1939. He was an art student in Los Angeles, CA as of 1917. His painting “In the Country” was exhibited at a 1937 Federal Art Project show. 2 works at Bennington Museum. 2 more images at FAP.