The paintings of Robert Henri bewitched me into the world of art history as a young student. From his opulent portraits of wealthy industrialists to gritty depictions of New Yorkers like the sensuous Salome (below) his work beguiles viewers with truthful portrayals of turn-of-the-century America.
Copyright: Salome, 1909, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida
Robert Henri was educated at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and eventually became a teacher and trailblazer of American Realism painting. Henri became known as the father of the Ashcan School of painters, a group of artists who included John Sloan, William Glackens, George Luks, and Everett Shinn. Known as The Eight, they rejected the confines of the National Academy of Design began painting images of real life in New York and Pennsylvania.
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Copyright: Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Whitney Museum of American Art:
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In 1888 Henri travelled to Europe where he was exposed to the subject, colors, and minimalism of the modernists. After have establishing himself as an esteemed portraitist, Henri travelled to California in 1914 with his wife, the artist Marjorie Henri.
The recent exhibition at the Laguna Art Museum focuses on this period of work and is one of the most interesting exhibition I have seen in a long time. Robert Henri's California Realism, Race, and Region 1914-1925 explores Henri's painting done in La Jolla, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Henri was tantalized by the region. This is most glaringly seen in his inspired palette of bright yellows, vibrant greens, and sparkling blues -- instead of his trademark oil paint done in browns and black used in his East Coast works.
What is most interesting about Henri's West Coast work is his pursuit of real-life characters for his portraits. Instead of painting wealthy patrons he was intrigued by everyday people -- like the local Mexicans, Native Americans, African Americans, and Chinese of Southern California.
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| Copyright: Sylvester Private Collection |
Other artists in the Los Angeles area were also seeking Social Realist subject matter. Artists like Francis De Erdely, Richard Haines, and Mabel Alvarez were interested in depicting intriguing people of the area -- including dancers, workers, immigrants, and minorities. Artists like these as well as Henri wanted to capture the character and personality of this people -- which he does masterfully with paintings like Sylvester Smiling and Po Tse (Water Eagle).
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| Copyright: Tom Po Qui Denver Art Museum |
A most interesting part of the exhibition were the missing paintings by Henri. Mounted on the wall of the Laguna Art Museum were black and white photographs of paintings stated as "location unknown." As an art appraiser and historian it is interesting to think about where these paintings might be . Perhaps they are burned, lost, or hidden in the clutter of someone's basement. These might be unsigned works so a collector would not know whether it was a Henri painting. The lost painting have titles including Sylvester, Mexican Man, Mexican Woman, Ramon, Yen Tsidi, Ground Sparrow, and Machu.*
Robert Henri's California Realism, Race, and Region 1914-1925 is a must see. The Laguna Art Museum (which also has a wonderful permanent collection to note) has the Henri exhibition up until May 21, 2015. As stated in the worthwhile exhibition catalog by Grand Central Press, "Henri’s eagerness was rooted in his quest for new settings and fresh subjects. “I am now quite convinced that San Diego is one of the most interesting and beautiful places in the world and we shall head that way and will not be convinced otherwise until we have seen the place and have been turned away.”"
NOTE: Readers, if you have seen these paintings or think you have a painting by Robert Henri, please contact us.
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