Artist Date: The Addison Gallery of American Art ... 11.7.2015

Alfred Maurer, portrait by Alfred Steiglitz

We visited the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA this weekend with the intention of seeing the Alfred Maurer show and, as it turned out, we got so much more out of the afternoon than expected.

I will not pretend that when I was asked to see the Maurer show that I knew who Maurer was or what his contributions were, I had to Google Maurer before agreeing to see the show. As it turns out, Maurer was a Fauvist and I haven't had an opportunity to see many Fauvist works up close, so this was a rare event for me.

I think what I loved best about Maurer's body of work is the evolution of style. Maurer had the great luck of being born at exactly the right time - he started his career painting more traditionally - with influences from Whistler, then, during his 17-year stay in Paris, was exposed to Fauvism and Cubism.

"Alfred Maurer: At the Vanguard of Modernism" will be up only until the 31st of July.

Woman in a Kimono

Still Life with Doily

Flowers in a Vase

Also at the Addison Gallery is the exhibit "Light/Dark, Black/White", which will also only be up until July 31st.

The exhibit offered a rare opportunity to see some amazing works by several small works by Josef Albers, four of Robert Mapplethorpe "Thomas" pictures, a small Louise Nevelson scultpure, one of Naum Gabo's constructions, a Joseph Cornell shadow box and Georgia O'Keefe's "Black Line":

Georgia O'Keefe "Black Line"

Josef Albers

Naum Gabo

The Addison's third exhibit is "On the Scene: 20th Century Street Photography" in which I finally had a chance to see work from Berenice Abbott, whom I have just discovered recently while reading a biography of Man Ray. Berenice was one of Man Ray's assistants who eventually opened her own studio and produced some very striking images of New York City in the 1930's.


Berenice Abbott "El 2nd and 3rd Avenue Lines"

The exhibit also showcased work from Paul Strand - another first for me, I have read a lot about Strand in connection with Alfred Steiglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe and have seen reproductions of his work, but not any actual photographs:

Paul Strand "Fifth Ave"

Steiglitz, Walker Evans and Diane Arbus are also featured in the exhibition.

The fourth, and final, exhibition at the Addison Gallery that we took advantage of was "Searching for the Real" which featured works from Edward Hopper, Hans Hoffman, Winslow Homer, James McNeill Whistler and John Singer Sargent.

"Searching for the Real" also has an early Man Ray painting on view from his Ridgewood, NY days. This was especially exciting to me to be able to see because I recently started "Man Ray: American Artist" by Neil Baldwin. The Addison also has a Man Ray photograph on view in, if I remember correctly, the "Light/Dark, Black/White" exhibit.

The Man Ray biography is only one of four that I am in the process of reading - I have a habit of picking up and putting down books as my interests change (which can be daily :)). I am also about halfway through "The Life and Work of Joseph Cornell" by Deborah Solomon,  3/4 of the way through "Emily Carr: A Life" by Paula Blanchard and, at the moment, thoroughly involved with " Fallingwater Rising: Frank Lloyd Wright, E.J. Kaufmann, and America's Most Extraordinary House" by Franklin Toker. One of the things I have learned through my studies is that all art and artists are interconnected.

All of the exhibitions on view will only be up until July 31st and each offers, small unexpected surprises and rare treats to view.

Jenn White
White Rooster Studios