This Old Palette: September 2012

Adam Emory Albright

Adam Emory Albright (1862-1957)

Adam Emory Albright (1862-1957) will probably always be best known as the father of Ivan, the pioneer in the Chicago school of nightmare.

Is it any surprise that the father's saccharine world is completely the opposite?

He graduated from the Chicago Academy of Design (which would later be forced into bankruptcy and purchased by the first trustees of the Art Institute), and then studied in Munich and Paris.

He was a popular painter of these nostalgic scenes of rural children (he had been one himself, growing up in Centre County, Pennsylvania) and was given solo exhibits at the Art Institute in 1900, 1902, 1911, and 1920.

Like other P&C members of his generation, he also traveled to scenic spots around the country, and even the world.

Pictures of his studio can be found here and here

And a picture of him can be found here

P&C Alumni News

I was somewhat surprised to see a Scott Burdick drawing on the cover of someone's drawing pad up in the third floor studio last week.

It wasn't that long ago that Scott was making drawings up there himself.

And Nancy Guzik's "Spring Teacups" won the $2500 "First Place - Still-Life" award at the online Artrenewal.org annual salon.

Palette and Chisel at Art Expo

Catherine Maize

Several of us received a last-minute, desperate email from Mary Qian asking whether the new Art Expo at Navy Pier was worth visiting.

My answer would have been "Yes" -- since I found plenty to enjoy and contemplate.

Though, I'm not sold on the sales pitch that a small fair is better than a larger one.

If I find 50 enjoyable things in a fair that has 100 dealers, I will likely find 100 enjoyable things in a fair that has 200 dealers. A smaller fair only benefits those dealers who made the cut.

But happily, the Thibaudet gallery from San Francisco returned this year, and once again they brought several pieces by Catherine Maize. (that's her still-life of carrots and onions that's on the wall above the P&C refrigerator)

Exhibition: Four Young Artists

The arrival of a great new model is one of the perpetual joys of drawing at the Palette and Chisel.

But even more exciting is the arrival of hot new talent.

And incredibly enough, here are four young, very talented, recent members who got together to have a show

Adam Nowak

"Misha the Sculptor"

Most of our membership, like my distinguished
old friend
depicted above,
is rather long in the tooth.

So sometimes I do worry whether the club will carry on after we have passed on to the fourth floor studio.

But as this exhibit demonstrates, there is no need to worry !

There will always be young people with the interest, talent, and fresh eyes to depict the visual world around them.

I've known this model, Meg, for 30 years.

Self portrait

Everything, even the simplest things
seems to have been discovered anew.

Which is how it should be.

Dumpster in Forest Park

(located about five blocks from where I live, I'll have to walk over and check it out some day)

Anthony Cramer

Anthony is the only one of the four who is not currently a student at the American Academy -- which happily continues to feed us with new members and teachers.

In fact, like Timothy Rees, he's never attended an art school at all.

Wow.

He's just picked things up -- painting with other artists and maybe taking a class here and there.

Self Portrait

An entrepreneurial fellow,
he currently owns a bunch of ATM's

My favorite painting in the show.

Has Gainsborough come back to life?

Or actually,

this is more like Jeremy Lipking
the current super-star of this kind of painting.

What a wonderful little scene

Hanna Amer

This is a scene Hanna painted when visiting family in Jordan this Summer.

The international scope of the Palette and Chisel has always thrilled me, and this is possibly the only insider's view of purdah that will ever appear in the P&C.

What a great, strong, sensitive head!

Lucas Bianchi
Self Portrait

This young Brazilian is so talented, it's scary.

Which might be why he likes to draw scary things

I'm pretty sure these pair models were drawn at one of the three Drawing Marathons I conduct every year.

This is the best depiction I think we will ever see of this fine model who also writes classical liturgical music.

And this is one of the best depictions of Steve French whom I first drew in 1976.

This life drawing
has been badly mangled
by reflections from its mounting.

but still it's a good drawing.

Scott Tallman Powers in the Quest-for-the-West

Following in the footsteps of the Walter Ufer, Victor Higgins, and E. Martin Hennings, Scott Tallman Powers has also left Chicago to live in the wild west.

So it only seems right that his paintings be displayed at the Eiteljorg Museum, which is where three of them will be hanging for the next four weeks in the highly selective "Quest for the West" national exhibition of Western Art.

Though I think his kind of realism has more in common with the earlier masters than with the other successful artists in this show.

His paintings seem to be more like "this is how I see what's there" rather than "here is a fantasy you are going to love"

P&C at the Eiteljorg

E. Martin Hennings
Indians in the Sage

Overall, the The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western art was far more impressive from the outside than within. (it's architecture is stunning)

The quality of its collection of Native American material is a disappointment - especially if you've been to the Field Museum.

And I had expected it to have much more Western art

But it certainly is a good showcase for three of the early masters from the golden age of the Palette and Chisel.