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| Entrance to Museum of Modern Art |
At the time of our 2015 visit, the museum was also having a special exhibit of a superlative series by Jacob Lawrence, an African-American painter.
In our study of art history so far, we have not seen any paintings by artists of African descent or any other people of color.
Jacob Lawrence, 1917-2000—The Migration Series
Jacob Lawrence was a great artist whose work is under-appreciated. As an African-American, his story was considered marginal to the mainstream history of American art, as determined by a narrow-minded coterie of white critics and academicians.
His great innovation was the series: panel paintings that tell a story, usually an episode in African American history. A series is like an illustrated children's book, in that there is one image to illustrate each point in the story, but it is hung on the walls of a gallery, and the designs are extremely sophisticated and modern.
Lawrence did an eye-opening series telling the Legend of John Brown, and a very sad series of war stories.
When he was only 23, Lawrence did a series called "One-Way Ticket" that covered the huge migration of African-Americans from the rural south to the urban north that started around 1915. This is a series of 60 egg tempera panels on composition board. It was completed and exhibited in 1941.
It gained attention immediately, with both MOMA and The Phillips Collection vying for ownership. In the end, one museum got the 30 even-numbered panels, and one got the 30 odd-numbered panels, a great abuse since Lawrence considered all 60 panels to be part of one work of art, and worked on them all at once.
In 2015, MoMA mounted an exhibit that brought all the panels together so they could be seen in order and the story could be properly understood.
The series starts with an extensive analysis of the reasons black people left their homes in the south. These are just a few of the reasons.
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| The Negroes were given free passage on the railroads which was paid by Northern Industry. It was an agreement that the people brought North on these railroads were to pay back their passage after they had received jobs. |
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| Many left because of great floods that ruined the crops, and they were unable to make a living where they were. |
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| Another cause was lynching. If there was a lynching, people who were reluctant to leave at first, left immediately afterward. |
Next he showed what kinds of work black people did up North.
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| The Negroes that had been brought North worked in large numbers in the steel industry. |
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| They also worked in large numbers on the railroad. |
He then portrayed some of advantages of life in the North.
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| In the North the Negro had better educational facilities. |
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| In the North the Negro had freedom to vote. |
But the situation was not ideal.
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| They also found discrimination in the North although it was much different from that which they had known in the South. |
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| In many cities in the North where Negroes had been overcrowded they attempted to spread out. This resulted in many race riots and bombings of Negro homes. |
Jacob Lawrence was a great African-American painter who invented the story-telling series, and applied the aesthetics of modern art to African-American history.
Special Exhibit: African-American Art
To complement the Jacob Lawrence show, there was a small collection by other African-American artists of the 20th century.
• William H. Johnson, 1901-1970
Johnson adopted a primitive stye in order to depict the lives of African-Americans.
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| William H. Johnson, 1901-1970 Farm Couple at Work, 1942-44 |
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| William H. Johnson, 1901-1970 Burned Out, c. 1943 Photo by Dan L. Smith |
• Romare Bearden, 1911-1988
Romare Bearden is especially associated with a unique approach to collage, but some of his work was more realistic.
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| Romare Bearden, 1911-1988 After Church, 1941 |
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| Romare Bearden, 1911-1988 The Visitation, 1941 |
• Charles White, 1918-1979
Charles White was a Social Realist whose work is distinguished powerful draughtsmanship.
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| Charles White, 1918-1979 There were No Crops This Year, 1940 |
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| Charles White, 1918-1979 Native Son, 1942 |
• Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1960-1988
Basquiat adopted the pictorial mode of street art to express emotions or attitudes of black Americans adjusting to modern life.
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| Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1960-1988 Glenn, 1985 |
MoMA's Regular Collection
The 'modern' attitude toward art started in the 1800s when artists began to paint familiar sights of everyday life, instead of illustrating stories from mythology or religion, or glorifying royalty.
• Paul Cézanne, 1839-1906
There was a profusion of innovative painters in the 19th century, but the one with the most influence on the 20th century was Paul Cézanne, and he is often considered the 'father' of Modern Art.
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| Paul Cézanne, 1839-1906 L’Estaque, 1879-1983 |
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| Paul Cézanne, 1839-1906 The Bather, 1885 |
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| Paul Cézanne, 1839-1906 Still Life with Apples, 1895-98 |
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| Paul Cézanne, 1839-1906 Pines and Rocks (Fontainebleau?), c. 1897 |
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| Paul Cézanne, 1839-1906 Château Noir, 1903-04 |
• Claude Monet, 1840-1926
Monet was one of the originators of Impressionism.
Though his subject matter was wide and varied in the course of a long career, in the last decades he confined himself to views of his extraordinary garden.
MoMA had one of Monet's most famous works, but it is too wide to photograph. Here's a more modest example.
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| Claude Monet, 1840-1926 Agapanthus, 1914-1926 |
• Paul Gauguin, 1848-1903
Gauguin was an important Post-Impressionist who painted both European and Polynesian themes.
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| Paul Gauguin, 1848-1903 Washerwomen, 1888 |
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| Paul Gauguin, 1848-1903 Still Life with Three Puppies, 1888 Photo by Dan L. Smith. 2015 |
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| Paul Gauguin, 1848-1903 The Seed of the Areoi, 1892 |
Vincent van Gogh, 1853-1890
Van Gogh was the most beloved artist to emerge after Impressionism.
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| Vincent van Gogh, 1853-1890 The Olive Trees, 1889 Photo by Dan L. Smith. 2015 |
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| Vincent van Gogh, 1853-1890 Portrait of Joseph Roulin, 1889 Photo by Dan L. Smith. 2015 |
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| Vincent van Gogh, 1853-1890 The Starry Night, 1889 Photo by Dan L. Smith. 2015 |
Georges-Pierre Seurat, 1859-1891
Seurat was the originator of Pointillism.
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| Georges-Pierre Seurat, 1859-1891 Grandcamp, Evening, 1885 |
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| Georges-Pierre Seurat, 1859-1891 The Channel at Gravelines, Evening, 1890 |
Wassily Kandinsky, 1866-1944
Kandinsky is considered the originator of Abstractionism.
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| Wassily Kandinsky, 1866-1944 White - Soft and Hard, 1932 |
Henri Matisse, 1869-1954
Matisse was one of the originators of Fauvism, and throughout his stylistic development, color dominated form and space. He tended to flatten his scenes into designs.
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| Henri Matisse, 1869-1954 Dance (I), 1909 Photo by Dan L. Smith |
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| Henri Matisse, 1869-1954 The Red Studio, 1911 |
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| Henri Matisse, 1869-1954 The Blue Window, 1913 Photo by Dan L. Smith, 2015 |
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| Henri Matisse, 1869-1954 The Piano Lesson, 1916 Photo by Dan L. Smith, 2015 |
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| Henri Matisse, 1869-1954 Composition, 1915 Photo by Dan L. Smith, 2015 |
Piet Mondrian, 1872-1944
Mondrian was a Dutch artist who theorized that the highest aesthetic values could be expressed through rigid geometry and a palette of primary colors.
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| Piet Mondrian, 1872-1944 Composition with Red, Blue, Black, Yellow, and Gray, 1921 Photo by Dan L. Smith, 2015 |
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| Piet Mondrian, 1872-1944 Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow, 1937-42 Photo by Dan L. Smith, 2015 |
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| Piet Mondrian, 1872-1944 Broadway Boogie Woogie, 1942-43 JLS, 2015 |
Katherine S. Dreier, 1877-1952
Katherine Dreier was an American artist who turned her energies to art education and promoting other artists. She showed great talent as an early abstractionist.
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| Katherine S. Dreier, 1877-1952 Abstract Portrait of Marcel Duchamp, 1918 |
Paul Klee was a Swiss Abstractionist who made sly references to objective reality.
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| Paul Klee, 1879-1940 Around the Fish, 1926 |
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| Paul Klee, 1879-1940 Cat and Bird, 1928 |
Kazimir Malevich, 1879-1935
Malevich was a Russian artist who pushed Geometric Abstraction in the direction of Minimalism.
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| Kazimir Malevich, 1879-1935 Suprematist Composition: White on White, 1918 |
Andre Derain, 1880-1954
Derain was a talented artist who was able to follow all the style trends. He started as a Fauvist.
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| Andre Derain, 1880-1954 Bathers, 1907 Photo by Dan L. Smith |
Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973
Picasso was a a Spanish painter who usually depicted figures that expressed certain emotions or attitudes.
He was the originator of Cubism, but he was the master of many styles.
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| Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973 Woman Plaiting Her Hair, 1906 |
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| Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973 Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907 |
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| Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973 Woman with Pears, 1909 Photo by Dan L. Smith, 2015 |
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| Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973 Girl with a Mandolin (Fanny Tellier), 1910 |
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| Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973 Three Musicians, 1921 |
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| Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973 Girl before a Mirror, 1932 |
Fernand Léger, 1881-1955
Léger was a Cubist whose style emphasized circular and tubular forms.
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| Fernand Léger, 1881-1955 Woman with a Book, 1923 |
Alexandra Exter, 1882-1949
Alexandra Exter was a Russian painter and designer who was strongly influenced by Cubism.
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| Alexandra Exter, 1882-1949 Theatrical Composition, c. 1925 |
Robert Delaunay, 1885-1941
Robert Delaunay was one of the originators of Orphism, a colorful offshoot of Cubism.
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| Robert Delaunay, 1885-1941 Sun Moon, Simultaneous 2, 1913 |
Marc Chagall, 1887-1985
Chagall was a Russian Jewish artist in the Expressionist movement who spent the major part of his career in France.
His memories of home village were one of his most important themes.
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| Marc Chagall, 1887-1985 I and the Village, 1911 |
Juan Gris, 1887-1927
Juan Gris was a Spanish Cubist.
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| Juan Gris, 1887-1927 Still Life with Flowers, 1912 |
Georgio de Chirico, 1888-1978
De Chirico was an Italian artist whose works express metaphysical concepts.
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| Georgio de Chirico, 1888-1978 The Song of Love, 1914 |
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| Giorgio de Chirico, 1888-1978 Gare Montparnasse (The Melancholy of Departure), 1914 |
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| Georgio de Chirico, 1888-1978 Great Metaphysical Interior, 1917 |
Lyubov Popova, 1889-1924
Popova was a Russian avant-garde artist who developed her own form of Geometric Abstraction that was strongly influenced by Synthetic Cubism.
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| Lyubov Popova, 1889-1924 Painterly Architectonic, 1917 |
Otto Dix was part of the New Objectivity school of German art.
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| Otto Dix, 1891-1969 Dr. Mayer-Hermann, 1926 Photo by Dan L. Smith |
Miró was a Spanish Surrealist who frequently invented his own forms.
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| Joan Miró, 1893-1983 The Hunter (Catalan Landscape), 1923-24 |
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| Joan Miró, 1893-1983 Still Life with Old Shoe, 1937 |
René Magritte, 1898-1967
Magritte was a Belgian Surrealist who specialized in optical illusions and intellectual puzzles.
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| René Magritte, 1898-1967 The Menaced Assassin, 1927 |
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| René Magritte, 1898-1967 The False Mirror, 1928 |
Alice Neel, 1900-1984
Alice Neel was the foremost American portrait artist of her time.
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| Alice Neel, 1900-1984 Kenneth Fearing, 1935 |
Dalí was a Spanish Surrealist.
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| Salvador Dalí, 1904-1989 The Persistence of Memory, 1931 |
Willem de Kooning, 1904-1997
De Kooning was an influential Abstract Expressionist.
Early in his career, he immigrated from Holland to New York City.
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| Willem de Kooning, 1904-1997 Woman I, 1950-1952 Photo by Dan L. Smith |
Frida Kahlo, 1907-1954
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican realist who is best known for depicting her own life and her own image.
Her use of symbolism caused her to be associated with Surrealism.
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| Frida Kahlo, 1907-1954 Fulang-chang and I, 1937 Photo by Dan L. Smith |
Dorothea Tanning was one of the few American Surrealists.
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| Dorothea Tanning, 1910-2012 On Time Off Time, 1948 |
Jackson Pollock, 1912-1956
Pollock was a highly influential Abstract Expressionist. His work is characterized by all-over patterns and energetic application of paint.
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| Jackson Pollock, 1912-1956 Shimmering Substance, 1946 |
Helen Frankenthaler, 1928-2011
Frankenthaler invented an approach to Abstract painting that used a staining method in which she poured thin washes of paint on raw canvas.
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| Helen Frankenthaler, 1928-2011 Jacob’s Ladder, 1957 |
Takeaways from MoMA
The leading African-American painters of the 20th Century:
- Jacob Lawrence
- William H. Johnson
- Romare Beardon
- Charles White
- Jean-Michel Basquiat
The Story of Modern Art, at MoMA
By liberating the brushstroke and analyzing colors, Impressionism broke apart traditional painting. As examples of this, the museum has works by Claude Monet, one of the originators of the movement.
The next generation of artists, the Post-Impressionists, applied the new freedom in painting in personal styles.
- Van Gogh was particularly noted for his expressive and patterned brushwork.
- Gauguin used striking new color combinations and innovated the flattened image.
- Cézanne's treatment of form and space later inspired variations of Cubism.
- Seurat was the originator of Pointillism, a systematic approach to Impressionism.
Picasso and Matisse were the twin stars of Modernism, and each pointed a different direction for art.
Cubism
- Picasso is known as a Cubist, and most of his later styles rely on expressive distortion of forms.
- Leger was a Cubist who used circular and tubular forms.
- Juan Gris was involved in the early development of Cubism.
- Andre Derain was an important Cubist.
- Robert Delaunay is associated with Orphism, a colorful offshoot of Cubism
Fauvism
- Matisse was one of the originators of Fauvism, and most of his later styles rely on expressive use of color.
Abstraction
- Abstraction was introduced into painting by Kandinsky.
- Mondrian innovated geometric Abstraction.
- Paul Klee painted abstractions with symbolic references to objective reality.
- Malevich created abstractions with minimal aesthetic elements.
- Lyubov Popova created abstractions that were strongly influenced by Cubism.
Expressionism
- Marc Chagall painted images that expressed his moods and memories.
Surrealism
- Dalí tried to convey the processes of the subconscious.
- Magritte played optical and intellectual tricks.
- De Chirico depicted Metaphysical themes.
- Juan Miró invented abstract forms with symbolic possibilities.
- Dorothea Tanning was an American Surrealist.
- Frida Kahlo used magical symbolism to depict her inner world.
New Objectivity
- Otto Dix thought painting should depict scenes from modern life.
Abstract Expressionism
- Pollock experimented with novel ways of applying paint to create expressive abstractions.
- De Kooning was one of the originators of Abstract Expressionism.
- Frankenthaler innovated the method of using colorful staining on raw canvas.
Portraiture
- Alice Neel was the foremost portrait artist in America.
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