Virtual art tour (inspired by The Art Issue of The New York Review of Books): Horace Pippin

The Park Bench, 1946, by Horace Pippin (American, 1888–1946), 2016-3-4. Photo and caption: Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Mr. Prejudice, 1943, by Horace Pippin (American, 1888–1946), 1984-108-1. Photo and caption: Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Horace Pippin (detail), February 4, 1940, by Carl Van Vechten (American, 1880–1964), 1965-86-750. Photo and caption: Philadelphia Museum of Art.

A Chester County Art Critic (Portrait of Christian Brinton), 1940, by Horace Pippin (American, 1888–1946), 1941-79-139. Photo and caption: Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The New York Review of Books: The Art Issue, 14 May 2020.
Corona lockdown art museum visits.

For the first time in the 125-year old history of the cinema, movie theatres are closed worldwide. The same with museums and galleries. In an innovative way, The New York Review of Books has dedicated an issue for art exhibitions that can be visited online. It's not the same thing but better than nothing! I started two weeks ago with my first one, Gerhard Richter: Painting After All (Met Breuer, New York). The visual quality of the museums' digital tours is high. They are worth visiting on a good television screen.

Following the NYRB Art Issue page by page, my next exhibition is Horace Pippin, introduced by an essay by Sanford Schwartz: "With Flying Colors".

Virtual visit:
Philadelphia Museum of Art: "Horace Pippin: From War to Peace".
Curator: Jessica T. Smith, The Susan Gray Detweiler Curator of American Art, and Manager, Center for American Art
Through December 2020.

Philadelphia Museum of Art: "Injured during World War I, Horace Pippin turned to painting to help mend his body and spirit. In the process, he created works of great power and poignancy and distinguished himself as one of the most original artists of his generation. This gathering of six paintings highlights Pippin’s pursuit of a range of themes, from racial violence and the alienation of war to the serene beauty of his home in Chester County, Pennsylvania."

"About the Artist: During World War I, Horace Pippin (1888–1946) served in the 369th Infantry Regiment, a division of African American soldiers. Stationed on the front line, Pippin’s battalion was one of four African American regiments to see combat. Pippin, who was shot in the right arm, was one of many millions wounded in action. Several years after returning to his home in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Pippin turned to painting to help his physical and mental recovery. This new pursuit strengthened his injured arm and enabled him to process haunting memories of the war. Working on his own, Pippin developed a distinctive technique and style. To paint, he used his left arm to brace his right arm while he clasped a brush in his right hand. By the time his work began to receive public attention, he had become a strong and original artist who was able to distill his experiences into images of great power and poignancy." Philadelphia Museum of Art

AA: Philadelphia Museum of Art is portraying a set of paintings by Horace Pippin. There are only six paintings in the exhibition, but sometimes a concise selection can make a strong statement. On display is an original vision with a sense of colour and composition and a self-taught artist's tendency to naivism and folk art, but also something beyond amateurism, something transcendental and even pointing towards abstraction, although the artist would have denied having any such drive. A special charge comes from the African-American experience. The African-American was welcome to fight in WWI but reminding about the war sacrifice was not welcome. (Pippin was a war invalid with a serious hand injury which made painting difficult). The painting "The Park Bench" conveys solitude among people and communion with nature. "Mr. Prejudice" is a vision of just that, with loaded symbols from the Statue of Liberty and Ku Klux Klan, linked via the Victory sign. "A Chester County Art Critic" is dedicated to Christian Brinton who promoted Pippin and helped him with prominent exhibition opportunities. These six are good appetizers. I look forward to more, for instance paintings singled out by Sanford Schwartz in his NYRB essay.