The Creole Empress Josephine kept a flock of swans at the Chateau de Malmaison, her favorite residence outside of Paris, and used their image on many of her personal possessions. This elegant swan cup with saucer was made by the Darte Freres Manufactory, famous for “Old Paris” porcelain from 1801 to 1833. Musee National du Chateau de Malmaison, France.
COTUIT, MASS. – The most beloved part of the Cahoon Museum of American Art’s permanent collection is the folk paintings of Ralph and Martha Cahoon. Now, the museum is presenting an exhibition that puts the Cahoons’ work in context with that of other important American primitive artists of the Twentieth Century.
“Modern Primitives: Simple Art in a Complex Age” will run April 29 through June 21 and feature works by some 45 artists. An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 pm, Friday, May 2.
“Modern Primitives” represents a rare opportunity to see a significant overview of American folk art of the past century, including pieces by many artists who were working well before the Cahoons turned from furniture decoration to easel painting in the early 1950s. Many of them took up painting late in life, such as J.O.J. Frost, a restaurateur who, after his retirement and wife’s death, took up the challenge of recording the history of his native Marblehead in paint. “The Storm of 1868” is one of his many depictions of ships tossed at sea.
One extraordinary addition to the show is a meticulous colored pencil drawing by Joseph Pickett, a Pennsylvania carpenter who died in 1918. Although only a half-dozen of his works have survived, his painting “Manchester Valley” (in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art) has been reproduced so frequently that he is one of the country’s most famous folk artists. Like “Manchester Valley,” the drawing, titled “The Old and the New,” pictures a train chugging through a landscape.
Of course, no survey of Twentieth Century primitive art would be complete without a painting by Grandma Moses, who is represented by an appealing show scene. Anna Mary Robertson Moses began painting memories of her life in rural upstate New York in her 70s and was easily America’s most famous folk artist when she died at age 101 in 1961.
There is also a painting by Earl Cunningham, who made a living variously as a tinker, seaman, automobile repairman, chicken farmer and antiques dealer, first in Maine, then in Florida. Recalling two of Ralph Cahoon’s favorite motifs, “Sunrise at Lighthouse” pictures a lighthouse and a sailing ship under one of Cunningham’s typically fruit-colored skies — in this case a hot pink.
A number of artists who could be considered contemporaries of the Cahoons worked outside the mainstream. Clementine Hunter, sometimes called “the black Grandma Moses,” was a kitchen and laundry worker who began painting in a wooden shack. She recorded her childhood among plantation workers in such simple, but vibrant scenes as the show’s “Saturday Night at the Honky Tonk.”
After a career as a garment cutter and candy manufacturer, Polish immigrant Harry Lieberman began painting pictures reflecting his Jewish heritage and knowledge of the Old Testament, Cabala and Talmud. “Rachel’s Lament,” with its large gathering of figures, is typical of his work.
Religious conviction also figures strongly in the paintings of Sister Gertrude Morgan, a New Orleans street preacher who dressed all in white. As is typical, her “Mother Eliza Hudson” combines words and images in an expressively childlike manner.
Another very significant “outsider” artist was Justin McCarthy, a reclusive Pennsylvanian whose images have all the raw energy of some of the century’s best figurative abstractionists. His “Peggy Fleming” shows the skater at three different spin positions.
Also well-represented in the “Modern Primitives” show are many of the best primitive artists working today, including Warren Kimble and Linda Nelson Stocks, and Will Moses, the great-grandson of Grandma Moses. Cape and island artists include Janet Munro, Rosebee, Elizabeth Mumford, Jayne Shelley-Pierce and Barbara Moment.
The following “Tuesday Talks” have been scheduled in conjunction with the exhibition:
Folk art collector and dealer Lyle Sarnevitz will speak on “Collecting and Understanding Folk Art” at 11 am, May 6.
New York City folk art dealer Frank J. Miele will give a tour of the “Modern Primitives” exhibition at 11 am, May 27.
Folk artist Denise Allen will give a slide presentation on her wall hangings and paintings portraying African American life in the Nineteenth Century at 11 am, June 17.
The Cahoon Museum is at 4676 Falmouth Road (Route 28). Hours are 10 am to 4 pm, Tuesdays through Saturdays. For information, 508-428-7581.
