AMERICAN REALISM from the WPA Era



AMERICAN REALISM from the WPA Era Januay 22 - February 27, 2010 Opening Reception Friday, January 22nd 7-9 pm Time travel back to the 1930's and 40's and see America's vision of itself after the Great Depression in an exhibition and sale of realist prints opening at ADAM CAVE FINE ART on January 22nd with a reception from 6-9 p.m. The 25 lithographs, woodcuts and etchings in this show come from a single, private collection built over the past 30 years and include works by Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, Rockwell Kent, and Clare Leighton. Rowdy urban life, grand scale industry, and heroic American farmers working their fields are all themes explored by these artists who rejected abstract modernism and embraced the lives and pursuits of regular people. Many of these prints were created as part of the Federal Art Project (FAP), a Works Projects Administration (WPA) program begun in 1935 to employ artists, musicians, writers and actors. The strength and character of the American worker are the subject of many of the artists. One piece, In the Spring" by Grant Wood (best known for his iconic painting "American Gothic") shows a stoic farmer standing proudly on a hill overlooking his rolling farmland. In another dramatic, black and white print, "Builders of Babylon" by Samuel Margolies, strong, working men float far above the New York City skyline, completely at ease on the swinging steel beam they are standing on. From jazz bands to the county fair, town meetings and busy shipyards, couples in Central Park or boys skinny dipping on a hot summer afternoons, this never before seen collection highlights both the struggles and the optimism of a nation between wars and overcoming a depression. The artwork will be on exhibit until February 16th. ADAM CAVE FINE ART is located downtown on the second floor of an historic building at 115-1/2 East Hargett Street.