Robert Henri's California Realism
With Dr. Derrick Cartwright, director of University Galleries and Professor of Practice, USD.
The great American realist, Robert Henri, is best known for his gritty views of New York City and his poignant images of urban dwellers, which can be viewed as reactions against luxurious representations of the Gilded Age. Indeed, Henri led a group of like-minded artists in a rebellion against academic ideals around 1900.
In 1914 Henri went to San Diego to help organize an exhibition of Modern American Painting at the Panama California Exposition. While here he painted striking portraits of working San Diegans. In 1925, Henri returned to California for the second and last time, painting members of Los Angeles's elite society.
This talk explores the difference between these two California sojourns and the reasons for Henri's continued interest in the people of California.
This is the ninth lecture of the 2014 Friday Morning Lecture & Tour Series. Happening the third Friday of each month, each lecture focuses on works on view and is followed by a docent-led tour. View upcoming lectures.