Frustrated by the art world's elitism and the snobbish exclusivity of the academy's juries, eight American painters united in 1908 to upend the established norms and stage their own exhibition of modernist art. Led by the charismatic Robert Henri, they came to be known as 'The Eight', and their two-week show at New York's Macbeth Galleries drew a multitude of visitors, who crowded into the galleries to critique the much-publicized work of these 'revolutionary' artists. Their paintings of urban scenes marked a significant departure from the prevailing style - which emphasized physical and natural beauty - and met with critical success. The established chronicle maintains that the Eight were rendered dysfunctional and artistically irrelevant after European modernism arrived in the United States in 1913. "The Eight and American Modernisms" revises this account and reevaluates these respected artists' careers, including their late works. Accompanying a traveling exhibition, this lushly illustrated volume challenges the accepted wisdom about the evolution of the modernist style.
- ISBN10 0932171567
- ISBN13 9780932171566
- Publish Date 1 March 2009
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 12 June 2015
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Terra Foundation for the Arts,U.S.
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 144
- Language English