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https://openvalley.org/files/original/53b74994b3e6f1e6e9499c4cb43b1e31.JPG
9059aa015c7683a7aecf802fd8a23ddb
https://openvalley.org/files/original/b173f7ac83739302b9e1b5a1b6220eee.JPG
630f68a61f251000b3d04dec18bc17ce
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
New Deal Gallery
Description
An account of the resource
This collection of more than 200 paintings owes its existence to two primary causes: allocations from the Federal Art Project to a New York state tuberculosis sanatorium located at Mt. Morris--the landscapes and still lifes were thought to be restful--and to the committed volunteers who helped preserve the paintings after the hospital closed. For several decades the canvases were stored in non-climate-controlled basements; it appears that doctors and staff removed at least three dozen works as "keepsakes." <br /><br />Despite the seeming tranquility of the paintings, they were created by artists primarily from New York City whose background was more political and aesthetically adventurous than this rural location would indicate. <a href="https://openvalley.org/exhibits/show/green-new-deal/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Follow this hyperlink to a short introduction to the New Deal Gallery collection</a>. We're grateful to the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts for access to their collection, which has been re-photographed and appears here at two resolutions: a cropped, web-friendly file size of around 1 MB; and a high-resolution file including the painting's frame.<br /><br />Items in this collection were created according to a consistent format: a short description of each painting in formal terms, followed by a biography of each artist. Where possible we have supplied hyperlinks relevant to their lives and to other examples of their art. In order to better view them using the Omeka program, click on the "View All" option at the bottom of this page to access various sorting options.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1935-1940
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Cooper, Ken (project director)
Ritz, Abigail (photography and project assistant)
Additional research: Justin Anderson, Jessica Apthorpe, Jay Bang, Kristopher Bangsil, Julia Caldwell, Sydney Cannioto, Sabrina Chan, Paige Closser, Victoria Domon, Elana Evenden, Yadelin Fernandez, Michael Griffin, Madison Jackson, Niamh McCrohan, Ben Michalak, Ricky Noel, Elizabeth Ramsay, Skye Rose, Samantha Schmeer, John Serbalik, Marianna Sheedy, Emily Spina, Alison Stern, Ravenna VanOstrand, and Nicholas Vanamee.
Special thanks to: Deborah Bump, Mark Calicchia, Elizabeth Harris, Melissa Moody, Rebecca Lomuto, and Mai Sato.
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Original Format
The type of object, such as photograph, map, drawing, painting, etc., and any additional data
Oil painting
Physical Dimensions
The actual physical size of the original image
15.5 x 19.5 in.
Condition: pin holes, pencil or crayon marks, stained canvas
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Constitution and the Guerrere
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
jpeg, 964 KB
jpeg, 9.6 MB
Description
An account of the resource
This painting depicts a naval battle of consequence, during the War of 1812, between <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution_vs_HMS_Guerriere">the USS <em>Constitution</em> and HMS <em>Guerriere</em></a> some 400 miles southeast of Nova Scotia. The latter ship was only part of a Royal Navy with large numerical advantage, attempting to enforce a blockade upon American merchant ships. In Rodgovin’s composition, we see the defeated English ship set afire and sinking in the foreground—its crew having surrendered and now prisoners aboard the <em>Constitution</em> with the American flag flying proudly. Massed clouds provide a dramatic backdrop. In this the painting is accurate, for its emotional impact proved crucial to public support for the war.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br />About the Artist</span>: Born in London, Rodvogin’s family immigrated to Hartford, CT in 1900. His parents ran a neighborhood grocery store while he drew pictures upstairs and studied with local artist T. J. Thurber. In 1923 Rodvogin received a scholarship to the Art Students League and moved to New York, returning home during the summers. “Then I’d be set for another winter of starvation in New York,” he later recalled (De Bona 111). Not a strong marketer of his own work, Rodvogin made ends meet by selling the occasional photograph or painting, notably a <a href="http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19320104,00.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Time</em></a> magazine cover in 1932 of the French Prime Minister Pierre Laval. Like “The Constitution and the Guerrere,” Rodvogin’s other WPA works seem to focus upon historic maritime subject matter: the <em>Mayflower</em>, Battle of Lake Ontario, and so on. During World War II Rodvogin served in the US Navy as an aerial photographer. He returned to New York and then amidst dire straits in the 1950s was invited by the art critic and collector William Ronnick to live as artist-in-residence at a former mansion overlooking Long Island Sound in New London, CT called the Lighthouse Inn. He continued to paint and lived to be nearly a hundred years old. 1 work at the <a href="https://www.lymanallyn.org/the-gaze-returned-portrait-studio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lyman Allyn Art Museum</a>. 5 more images at <a href="https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/federal-art-project-photographic-division-collection-5467/series-1/box-19-folder-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FAP</a>.
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Source Consulted</span>: Joe De Bona, “He’s Losing His Fight Against Success,” <em>Hartford Courant</em> 27 Feb. 1966: 110-111.</p>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Rodvogin, Harris (“Harry”), 1897-1998
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Federal Art Project
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1937-04-27
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Ritz, Abigail (photography)
Cooper, Ken (biography)
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
New Deal Gallery, Genesee Valley Council on the Arts
Object #FA18253
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Still image
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
160
Federal Art Project
Harris Rodgovin
Marine Art
New Deal Gallery
painting