Associated American Artists: Original Etchings and Lithographs from Our Permanent Collection
Sep 8-Oct 27, 2007
Luigi Lucioni | CLOUDS OVER MANCHESTER | etching on paper | 6-3/8 x 11-3/8 | n.d.
Luigi Lucioni | n.d.
Luigi Lucioni | EDGE OF THE BIRCHES | n.d.
Luigi Lucioni | LEANING SILO | n.d.
Ellison Hoover | CORSICAN MORNING | lithograph on paper | 9-3/8 x 12-7/8" | undated | Gift of Mr. Daniel Summers
Lawrence Beall Smith | SEASIDE NOMADS | lithograph on paper | 9-1/2 x 13-1/2” | undated | Gift of Mr. Daniel Summers
Joseph Hirsch
Douglas Warner Gorsline | BROOKLYN LOCAL | engraving on paper | 8-3/8 x 6-7/8” | 1945 | Gift of Mr. Daniel Summers
Raphael Soyer | GIRL AT WINDOW
1981.078 | Frank Nelson Wilcox | FISHERMEN OF PERCE, PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, CANADA | etching on paper | 7-7/8 x 9-7/8” | c1940 | Gift of Mrs. Victoria Cooper
1985.023 | Federico Castellon | EVE’S SORROW | lithograph on paper | 8 x 5-7/8” | 1942 | Gift of Mr. Robert Kipniss
Federico Castillon | lithograph on paper
1986.044 | Doris Lee | THANKSGIVING | lithograph on paper | 8-7/8 x 11-3/4” | undated | Gift of Mr. Daniel Summers
1986.062 | Adolf Dehn | BLACK MOUNTAIN | lithograph on paper | 8-7/8 x 13” | undated | Gift of Mr. Daniel Summers
1981.031 | Jackson Lee Nesbitt | BLOOMING MILL | etching on paper | 12 x 18” | undated | Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Goldberg
1986.014 | David Stone Martin | HIGHLAND LOGGING | lithograph on paper | 9-1/2 x 13-7/8” | undated | Gift of Mr. Daniel Summers
1981.076 | George Grosz | STORM CLOUDS, CAPE COD | lithograph on paper | 9-1/2 x 13-1/2” | undated | Gift of Mrs. Victoria Cooper
1983.007 | Rockwell Kent | READER | wood engraving on paper| 5-3/4 x 4” | 1933 | Gift of Mr. Bob Lee Mowery
1986.045 | Isabel Bishop | NOON HOUR | etching on paper | 6-7/8 x 4-7/8” (plate); 7-3/4 x 5-3/4” (paper) | 1935 | Gift of Mr. Daniel Summers
William Gropper | JOSHUA FOUGHT THE BATTEL OF JERICHO | n.d.
Thomas Hart Benton | HAYSTACK | n.d.
1986.060 | Thomas Hart Benton | WRECK OF THE OLD ‘97 | lithograph on paper | 10-3/8 x 14-7/8” | undated | Gift of Mr. Daniel Summers
1986.074 | Thomas Hart Benton | LOADING CORN | lithograph on paper | 9-1/2 x 12-3/4” | undated | Gift of Mr. Daniel Summers
1986.067 | Thomas Hart Benton | SUNDAY MORNING | lithograph on paper | 9-1/2 x 12-5/8” | undated | Gift of Mr. Daniel Summers
Thomas Hart Benton
John McCrady | SWING LOW SWEET CHARIOT | n.d.
John Steuart Curry | JOHN BROWN | 1939
John Steuart Curry
John Steuart Curry
John Steuart Curry | THE PLAINSMAN | 1945
John Steuart Curry | STALLION AND JACK FIGHTING | 1943
Charles B. Wilson | THE SWIMMING HOLE | n.d.
Joseph Margulies | STUDENTS OF THE TALMUD | n.d.
Sam Thal | JEROME'S HOUSE, BUZZARD BAY | Jerome’s House | c.1943
John Costigan | WORKERS OF THE SOIL | n.d.
Mabel Dwight | FARMYARD | c.1930-1939
Walter R. Locke | CHINABERRY TREE, FLORIDA | 1932
Thomas W. Nason | LITTLE FARM | 1955
Grant Wood | APPROACHING STORM | n.d.
Grant Wood
Grant Wood
Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton | PRODIGAL SON | lithograph on paper | 10-1/8 x 13-1/4 | n.d.
Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton
Julian Levi | LOW TIDE | n.d.
Aaron Bohrod | SUN OVER MONTPARNASSE | n.d.
Peggy Bacon | PRICELESS FIND | n.d.
Miguel Covarubias | RUMBA | n.d.
Jackson Lee Nesbitt | WATERING PLACE | 1939
Peter Hurd | SERMON FROM "REVELATIONS" | n.d.
Gordon Grant | SNUG HARBOR | c.1947
Gordon Grant | EAST MAIN STREET | 1946
Alexander Brook | IN THE STUDIO | 1942
Joseph Hirsch | UNTITLED | n.d.
Reynold Weidenaar | REPOSE | n.d.
John S. De Martelly | FOR THE LOVE OF BARBARA ALLEN | n.d.
Grant Gordon | CLAMMERS | n.d.
Gordon Grant | ANY LOBSTERS TODAY? | 1946
John McCrady | THE ROBERT E. LEE AND THE NATCHEZ | n.d.
John S. De Martelly | BLUE VALLEY FOXHUNT | 1937
John S. De Martelly | LOOKING AT THE SUNSHINE | n.d.
John S. De Martelly
Churchill Ettinger | BLACK DUCK BLIND | n.d.
Churchill Ettinger | NOVEMBER MORNING | n.d.
Churchill Ettiner | QUAIL | n.d.
Churchill Ettinger | THE OLD STORY | n.d.
Churchill Ettinger | TIGHT LINE | n.d.
William Gropper | A POLITICIAN DEBATING | lithograph on paper | 13-3/4 x 17-1/2 | c.1940
In March of 1933, all of the banks in America were closed. Our country was gripped by an economic depression, and the rest of the world wondered if we would rise again. The emotional climate of the American people was also at a low. It was one of the most trying times in our history.
One man, however, had a vision and deep-rooted faith in the cultural instincts of the people of this country.
Reeves Lewenthal chose this time in history to form an organization he named the Associated American Artists, and he planned a new system to distribute affordable, original art to every American. As an art dealer and art marketer, Lewenthal knew the artists, their talents and their frustrations. He also knew the market for original art was small, as most of the country was rural, and people do not live near an art gallery.
Lewenthal set out fo find financial assistance from individuals and organizations in order to make this visionary program possible. He received only resounding, emphatic "No's!" "People are clamoring for bread and you want to give them art!" It would be almost two years until Lewenthal was able to successfully sell his idea and obtain the backing he needed to launch this project to make original, fine art, at affordable prices, available to the general public.
Artists were weary of working within the confined audience of wealthy collectors, and they gladly committed themselves to the idea of a wider distribution, although this also meant enormous price concessions. They began to make art for the masses. These artists based their art on social imagery, on everyday America. They left behind abstract theories in favor of the familiar scenery of our country.
Lewenthal ingeniously used the post office as his means of distribution. Catalogs were printed and distributed throughout America. Citizens were able to browse through these catalogs at their leisure, in their homes. Budding collectors sprang up across the country. Americans eagerly filled long pent-up cultural voids and the program as an overwhelming success. Yes, it was true: people did need bread to nourish their bodies, but it was proven that they hungered for beauty and spiritual nourishment as well. Art fed their souls.
During its first twenty years, Associated American Artists had grown to international importance. The evidence of hte cultural impact was everywhere, in the nation's homes, on their greeting cards and on their wearing apparel, as Associated American Artists soon began designing fabrics.
One of these collectors, Mr. Winston Wayne, became a member and began collecting Associated American Artists prints, resulting in this collection. In 2005, Mr. Wayne, with his daughters Ms. Susan Wayne and Mrs. Leslie Wayne Loftus, generously donated this collection the the Springfield Museum of Art, and we present it to you here, now part of our permanent collection.
Submitting an Exhibition Proposal
The Springfield Museum of Art is pleased to accept applications for exhibiting work. Please complete the following information in full and Submit it. You will be contacted within 6 weeks of receivng your application.
For more information, contact Erin Shapiro at 937-325-4673.