Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection

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George Tooker, In the Summerhouse, 1958, egg tempera on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Realist painting in America captured life during the crucial mid-century years. The Depression, World War II, and the Cold War that followed prompted artists to reflect on the beauty, angst, and longing for interaction that characterized this epochal time. The exhibition features nearly forty paintings and sculpture by such noted artists as Will Barnet, Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Edward Hopper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, and George Tooker, and others whose highly personal, sometimes satirical images echoed the multivalence of post-war America. American Realism at Mid Century presents some of the most treasured artworks from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s permanent collection, all gifts from the Sara Roby Foundation.

Description

Sara Roby (1907-1986) believed that the most effective way to encourage the visual arts in the United States was to acquire the works of living artists and exhibit them to the public. The Sara Roby Foundation began collecting American art in the mid-1950s, and during the next thirty years assembled a premier group of paintings and sculpture by the country’s leading figurative artists. In 1959, an exhibition of the Foundation’s collection opened at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. It was the beginning of a twenty-five-year exhibition program that circulated artworks from the Foundation’s collection to museums throughout the country.

Sara Roby refused to be bound by current trends when she began collecting. She championed realism at a time when critics celebrated abstract expressionism and promoted “action painting” in works that bore little resemblance to the natural world. Roby also was unwilling to be constrained by her own collecting criteria. In addition to paintings by Edward Hopper, Paul Cadmus and their contemporaries, the Foundation purchased abstract work by artists such as Mark Tobey. Roby and her advisors recognized that modern life allowed for many kinds of realism.

Visiting Information

Open Daily, 11:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m
Free Admission

Tour Schedule

Portland Art Museum
Portland, OR
October 20, 2018 April 28, 2019
Nantucket Historical Association
Nantucket, MA
May 23, 2019 October 14, 2019

Credit

Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum with generous support from the Sara Roby Foundation. The C. F. Foundation in Atlanta supports the museum’s traveling exhibition program, Treasures to Go.

Online Gallery

Will Barnet, Sleeping Child, 1961, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.1
Sleeping Child
Date1961
oil on canvas
Not on view
Isabel Bishop, Artist's Table, 1931, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.6
Artist’s Table
Date1931
oil on canvas
Not on view
Isabel Bishop, Mending, 1945, oil on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.7
Mending
Date1945
oil on fiberboard
Not on view
Charles Burchfield, Night of the Equinox, 1917-1955, watercolor, brush and ink, gouache, and charcoal on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.86
Night of the Equinox
Date1917-1955
watercolor, brush and ink, gouache, and charcoal on paper mounted on paperboard
Not on view
Paul Cadmus, Green Still Life, 1954, casein, crayon, and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1985.30.9
Green Still Life
Date1954
casein, crayon, and pencil on paper
Not on view
Paul Cadmus, Night in Bologna, 1958, egg tempera on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.87
Night in Bologna
Date1958
egg tempera on fiberboard
On view
Arthur Dove, Car across the Street, 1940, pen and ink and watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.24
Car across the Street
Date1940
pen and ink and watercolor on paper
Not on view
Arthur Dove, Oil Tanker II, 1932, watercolor and conte crayon on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.25
Oil Tanker II
Date1932
watercolor and conte crayon on paper
Not on view
Arthur Dove, Untitled (Landscape), ca. 1938, ink and watercolor on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1993.22.1
Untitled (Landscape)
Dateca. 1938
ink and watercolor on paper mounted on paperboard
Not on view
Arthur Dove, Untitled (Centerport), 1941, watercolor, gouache, ink and pencil on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1993.22.2
Untitled (Centerport)
Date1941
watercolor, gouache, ink and pencil on paper mounted on paperboard
Not on view
Philip Evergood, Dowager in a Wheelchair, 1952, oil on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.90
Dowager in a Wheelchair
Date1952
oil on fiberboard
Not on view
Morris Graves, Hibernation, 1954, watercolor on paper mounted on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.37
Hibernation
Date1954
watercolor on paper mounted on paper
Not on view
Edward Hopper, White River at Sharon, 1937, watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.41
White River at Sharon
Date1937
watercolor and pencil on paper
Not on view
Edward Hopper, Cape Cod Morning, 1950, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.92
Cape Cod Morning
Date1950
oil on canvas
On view
Wolf Kahn, High Summer, 1972, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.42
High Summer
Date1972
oil on canvas
Not on view
Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Strong Woman and Child, 1925, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.50
Strong Woman and Child
Date1925
oil on canvas
On view
Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Fakirs, 1951, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.93
Fakirs
Date1951
oil on canvas
Not on view
Bruce Kurland, Bone, Cup and Crab Apple, 1972, oil on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.94
Bone, Cup and Crab Apple
Date1972
oil on fiberboard
Not on view
Gaston Lachaise, Head of a Woman, 1935, bronze on marble base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.51, © 1935, Lachaise Foundation
Head of a Woman
Date1935
bronze on marble base
Not on view
Jacob Lawrence, Escape, 1967, brush and ink, pen and ink, crayon, and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.53
Escape
Date1967
brush and ink, pen and ink, crayon, and pencil on paper
Not on view
Jacob Lawrence, Dreams No. 2, 1965, tempera on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.95
Dreams No. 2
Date1965
tempera on fiberboard
Not on view
Jack Levine, Inauguration, 1956-1958, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.54
Inauguration
Date1956-1958
oil on canvas
Not on view
Reginald Marsh, George Tilyou's Steeplechase, 1932, oil and egg tempera on linen mounted on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.60
George Tilyou’s Steeplechase
Date1932
oil and egg tempera on linen mounted on fiberboard
Not on view
Richard Mayhew, Nature Solitude II, before 1973, pen and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1985.30.39
Nature Solitude II
Datebefore 1973
pen and ink on paper
Not on view
Kenneth Hayes Miller, Bargain Hunters, 1940, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.65, © 1940, Kenneth Hayes Miller
Bargain Hunters
Date1940
oil on canvas
Not on view
Guy Pene du Bois, Shovel Hats, 1923, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.27
Shovel Hats
Date1923
oil on plywood
Not on view
Bernard Perlin, The Farewell, 1952, casein on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.70
The Farewell
Date1952
casein on fiberboard
Not on view
Theodore Roszak, The Great Moth, 1955, pen and ink, ink wash, and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.73
The Great Moth
Date1955
pen and ink, ink wash, and pencil on paper
Not on view
Theodore Roszak, Thistle in the Dream (To Louis Sullivan), 1955-1956, cut and welded steel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.74
Thistle in the Dream (To Louis Sullivan)
Date1955-1956
cut and welded steel
Not on view
Honoré Sharrer, Tribute to the American Working People, 1951, oil on composition board, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.97
Tribute to the American Working People
Date1951
oil on composition board
Not on view
Raphael Soyer, Annunciation, 1980, oil on linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.98
Annunciation
Date1980
oil on linen
Not on view
Mark Tobey, Canticle, 1954, casein on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.79
Canticle
Date1954
casein on paper
Not on view
George Tooker, In the Summerhouse, 1958, egg tempera on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.100
In the Summerhouse
Date1958
egg tempera on fiberboard
Not on view
Robert Vickrey, Fear, 1954, egg tempera on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.82
Fear
Date1954
egg tempera on paperboard
Not on view

Artists

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Will Barnet
born Beverly, MA 1911-died New York City 2012

Painter and printmaker, teacher at the Art Students League. Barnet's images of women and domestic scenes, distinctive in their emphasis on flat painting surfaces, are meditative in tone.

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Isabel Bishop
born Cincinnati, OH 1902-died New York City 1988

Painter and printmaker. Her preferred subjects were nudes, interiors, and urban landscapes—often Union Square in New York City—inhabited by shoppers and working people.

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Charles Burchfield
born Ashtabula Harbor, OH 1893-died West Seneca, NY 1967

Modernist painter who celebrated nature in his watercolors. During his life, he often drew inspiration from his environs, which included small-town Salem, Ohio, and urban Buffalo, N.Y.

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Paul Cadmus
born New York City 1904-died Weston, CT 1999

Cadmus entered the school of the National Academy of Design at fifteen with the encouragement of his parents, both of whom were artists.

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Philip Evergood
born New York City 1901-died Bridgewater, CT 1973

Painter and muralist. His experiences in the Great Depression led him to turn from biblical subjects to social criticism.

Morris Graves
born Fox Valley, OR 1910-died Loleta, CA 2001

A protégé and close friend of Mark Tobey, Graves grew up in the Northwest and for many years made his home on an island in Puget Sound.

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Edward Hopper
born Nyack, NY 1882-died New York City 1967

Realist painter who studied with Robert Henri and Kenneth Hayes Miller at the New York School of Art.

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Yasuo Kuniyoshi
born Okayama, Japan 1889-died New York City 1953

Painter and photographer of art. His languid women in repose from the 1930s are significant, but he also painted still lifes and landscapes.

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Bruce Kurland
born New York City 1938-died Buffalo, NY 2013

A student at the National Academy and the Art Students League in the early 1960s, Bruce Kurland paints tiny still lifes of birds, flowers, fruit, game, and contemporary debris (Budweiser beer cans, Coca Cola bottles).

Gaston Lachaise
born Paris, France 1882-died New York City 1935

Born in Paris, came to the United States in 1906, lived in Boston, later in New York City.

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Jacob Lawrence
born Atlantic City, NJ 1917-died Seattle, WA 2000

Painter. A social realist, Lawrence documented the African American experience in several series devoted to Toussaint L'Ouverture, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, life in Harlem, and the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Jack Levine
born Boston, MA 1915-died New York City 2010

The youngest of eight children, Jack Levine was born in south Boston of Jewish immigrant parents.

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Richard Mayhew
born Amityville, NY 1934

Painter. His abstract landscapes are informed by his experiences as an African American/Native American and his interest in the performing arts.

Guy Pene du Bois
born Brooklyn, NY 1884-died Boston, MA 1958

During the first years of this century, Pène du Bois worked as a monitor in Robert Henri's class at the Art Students League, but he never adopted the Ash Can subject matter favored by the Henri-circle artists.

Bernard Perlin
born Richmond, VA 1918-died Ridgefield, CT 2014

Born in Virginia. After high school moved to New York City to study art. During World War II, he traveled the world as a newspaper sketch artist.

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Theodore Roszak
born Poznań, Prussia (now Poznań, Poland) 1907-died New York City 1981

After art school, Roszak received a fellowship to go to Europe in 1929.

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Raphael Soyer
born Borisoglebsk, Russia 1899-died New York City 1987

Painter and printmaker, a twin brother of artist Moses Soyer. His sympathetic and melancholic paintings expressed the aspirations and disappointments of ordinary people.

Mark Tobey
born Centerville, WI 1890-died Basel, Switzerland 1976

Throughout his life Tobey was deeply concerned with universal themes of man, nature, and God. In 1911, full of youthful ambition, he left Chicago for New York to become a fashion illustrator. His first exhibition, at M.

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George Tooker
born New York City 1920-died Hartland, VT 2011

Painter. He studied with Reginald Marsh and Kenneth Hayes Miller at the Art Students League and later with Paul Cadmus. To achieve his haunting scenes of urban isolation and mechanization, Tooker employs the Renaissance egg termpera technique.

Robert Vickrey
born New York City 1926-died Naples, FL 2011

Vickrey attended Wesleyan University and completed a B.A. degree at Yale in 1947. The following winter he took classes with Kenneth Hayes Miller and Reginald Marsh at the Art Students League, then returned to Yale for a B.F.A. degree.