Book Description

Famous for iconic images of the rural Midwestsuch as AmericanGothic, Politics in Missouri, and Baptism in KansasGrant Wood, ThomasHart Benton, and John Steuart Curry have long been lumped togetherunder the rubric the Regionalists. James M. Dennis offers a fresh andsophisticated look at the modernist tendencies of this trio of Americanpainters, arguing that the individual styles of Wood, Benton, and Currywere both mislabeled and misunderstood. Revisiting the artistic andpolitical culture of America between the World Wars, he shows thatcritics and ideologuesfrom Time Magazine to the PartisanReviewpigeonholed, praised, or pilloried the Regionalists to servetheir own critical intentions.Amply illustrating his argumentwith a thematic assortment of paintings and prints, Dennis explores thesocial and cultural reasons whycritics, from 1930 on, consistentlydemanded that Wood, Benton, and Curry stop straying in their art towardmodernist abstraction, caricature, or fantasy, but stick instead torural subjects and realist styles. Conservative critics wantedinspiring, all-American imagery, not borrowings from Cubism. Radicalcritics called for social realism depicting the plight of the workers,even claiming that the Regionalists stylized farmers smacked offascism.Dennis demonstrates that despite these attempts at rigidcategorization, Wood, Benton, and Curry were self-defining artists whofreely disregarded promotional dictates of Regionalism. In particular,Dennis discusses the artists diverse portrayals of women, from ruralsunbonnet women to cosmopolitan and even erotic figures and, in some ofCurrys work, women exemplifying themes of social criticism andpolitical protest. In conclusion, Dennis discards the concept of Wood,Benton, and Curry as a homogenous unit, placing them within the schoolof American modernism more often represented by Charles Sheeler,Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley,Arthur Dove, and Georgia OKeefe. Healso shows that Sheeler, Demuth, and Hartley were themselves moreconsistent in painting native locales and regional themes than were theRegionalist Triumvirate. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

H.W. Janson is Dead
Finally. A well thought out and well executed book about a major movement in American art that is often dismissed as being one dimensional. Dennis' introspective look into the most revered "Regionalist" artists not only offers engaging scholarship, but a very good education in American social history as well. A must read for anyone who thinks they know what "Regionalism" is.

A need to rethink the 'Regionalism' of the Regionalists
This book makes you rethink any ideas you might have about Regionalism. Whether you agree with James Dennis or not is up to you, but he certainly does bring up some very interesting ideas. The basic ideas of the Regionalism school are initially laid out for the reader, and from this beginning it is already possible to see the weak foundation of the very definition of "Regionalism," as it was defined NOT by the artists, but by their critics and the public. The sterotyping generalities inherent in this 'school' set the stage for Dennis' questioning of the similarities of the work of Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, and John Steurat Curry, the triumvirate of Regionalism. The author proceeds to explicate the inherent differences between the 3 artists' work, as well as the eventually obvious flawed general definition of "Regionalism." Dennis breaks down his discussions into realism vs. abstraction, realistic subject matter vs. fantasies, the ideas of nationalism and fascism in the artists' work, their varying depictions of women, and finally compares the three Regionalists to three contemporary modernists, Charles Demuth, Charles Sheeler, and Marsden Hartley. Dennis concludes with the assertion that the so-called "Regionalists" are in many ways more "modern" than their modernists contemporaries. The book has plenty of pictures, sadly only in black and white, and thus the book is a surprisingly quick read. Each chapter is thorough however, and must be studied to be fully understood. The reader should have some art historical background, and some knowledge of the history of the first half of the 20th century. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Regionalism, and the history of American art. Makes you think. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

A Great Work From a Great Painter
Tom Benton could have been a great writer if he hadn't have made such an important name for himself as a Regionialist painter. This book describes, in a passionate honesty, Benton's beliefs on Art and life. Anyone who wants to learn more about the man behind the irrascible myth should read this book! ... Read more