Synopses & Reviews
American artist Robert Gwathmey (1903-1988) was a leading member of the Social Realist movement that flourished from the 1930s through the 1950s. Like his fellow Social Realists, Gwathmey sought to use his art to expose privilege and pretense, demand social justice, and call for major changes in the prevailing socioeconomic system.
Gwathmey was an eighth-generation Virginian of Welsh heritage, and throughout his life his main artistic themes were race relations and his native South. He is perhaps best remembered as the first white American painter to depict African Americans in an unromanticized, respectful manner. Using a unique style that combined a deliberate two-dimensional flatness with deep and vivid colors, Gwathmey illuminated the inherent dignity of the tenant farmers and sharecroppers who were his subjects.
As a lifelong activist against injustice, Gwathmey was kept under surveillance by the FBI for nearly thirty years. Using Gwathmey's FBI file, along with numerous interviews and archival records, Michael Kammen crafts a compelling portrait of an engaging American painter in the midst of dramatic social and political change.
Review
The man who emerges from Michael Kammen's gracious biography is deeply engaging and admirable.
John Beardsley, New York Times Book Review
Review
[A] fascinating book.
Print Quarterly
Review
Gracefully written and beautifully produced, this biography brings Gwathmey's art into sharp focus.
Journal of American History
Review
A colorful and informative account of Robert Gwathmey's life and work.
Reviews in American History
Review
This is a handsome and enlightening work.
Virginia Quarterly Review
Synopsis
Examines the life and work of American artist Robert Gwathmey (1903-1988), a prominent Social Realist and a lifelong activist against social injustice. Gwathmey is best remembered for his paintings of African-Americans.
Synopsis
[A] fascinating book.
Print Quarterly A colorful and informative account of Robert Gwathmey's life and work.
Reviews in American History Gracefully written and beautifully produced, this biography brings Gwathmey's art into sharp focus.
Journal of American History This is a handsome and enlightening work.
Virginia Quarterly Review The man who emerges from Michael Kammen's gracious biography is deeply engaging and admirable.
John Beardsley, New York Times Book Review
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter 1. From Out of the South
Chapter 2. Poll Tax Country
Chapter 3. Bread and Circuses
Chapter 4. Painting of a Smile
Chapter 5. City Scape
Chapter 6. The Observer
Chapter 7. Homo Sapiens, Late Twentieth Century
Chapter 8. End of the Season
Chronology
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index