Renegade Regionalists: The Modern Independence of Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, and John Steuart Curry
by James M. Dennis
List Price:
Our Price: $25.34
You Save: $1.61 (6%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $11.25 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: James M. DennisEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-03-15
ISBN: 0299155846
Number of pages: 296
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Book Reviews of Renegade Regionalists: The Modern Independence of Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, and John Steuart Curry
Book Review: A need to rethink the 'Regionalism' of the Regionalists
Summary: 5 Stars
This book makes you rethink any ideas you might have about Regionalism. Whether you agree with James Dennis or not is up to you, but he certainly does bring up some very interesting ideas. The basic ideas of the Regionalism school are initially laid out for the reader, and from this beginning it is already possible to see the weak foundation of the very definition of "Regionalism," as it was defined NOT by the artists, but by their critics and the public. The sterotyping generalities inherent in this 'school' set the stage for Dennis' questioning of the similarities of the work of Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, and John Steurat Curry, the triumvirate of Regionalism. The author proceeds to explicate the inherent differences between the 3 artists' work, as well as the eventually obvious flawed general definition of "Regionalism." Dennis breaks down his discussions into realism vs. abstraction, realistic subject matter vs. fantasies, the ideas of nationalism and fascism in the artists' work, their varying depictions of women, and finally compares the three Regionalists to three contemporary modernists, Charles Demuth, Charles Sheeler, and Marsden Hartley. Dennis concludes with the assertion that the so-called "Regionalists" are in many ways more "modern" than their modernists contemporaries. The book has plenty of pictures, sadly only in black and white, and thus the book is a surprisingly quick read. Each chapter is thorough however, and must be studied to be fully understood. The reader should have some art historical background, and some knowledge of the history of the first half of the 20th century. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Regionalism, and the history of American art. Makes you think.
More Renegade Regionalists: The Modern Independence of Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, and John Steuart Curry reviews:
1
1
Summary of Renegade Regionalists: The Modern Independence of Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, and John Steuart Curry
Famous for iconic images of the rural Midwest?such as American Gothic, Politics in Missouri, and Baptism in Kansas?Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, and John Steuart Curry have long been lumped together under the rubric the "Regionalists." James M. Dennis offers a fresh and sophisticated look at the modernist tendencies of this trio of American painters, arguing that the individual styles of Wood, Benton, and Curry were both mislabeled and misunderstood. Revisiting the artistic and political culture of America between the World Wars, he shows that critics and ideologues?from Time Magazine to the Partisan Review?pigeonholed, praised, or pilloried the Regionalists to serve their own critical intentions.
Artists, A-Z Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Artists, A-Z Books
Rembrandt: His Life, His Paintingsby Gary Schwartz
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1991-11-05; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $48.50
Life with Lowryby Tilly Marshall
Hutchinson; Published: 1981-02-16; Hardcover; Book
Andrew Wyeth: A Secret Lifeby Richard Meryman
Harper; Published: 1996-10-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.99
Price in other shops:
Georg Baselitz: Paintings 1964-67 [exhibition: May 1-31, 1985]by Georg Baselitz
Anthony d'Offay Gallery; Paperback; Book
Florence and Its Beauty: A Practical Guidebook to the Town and Its Monuments with 350 Illustrations and a Plan of the Principal Places of Interestby Sandra Orienti
G. Ramella - Florence, Italy; Published: 1956; Unknown Binding; Book
Lord of the Rings Sketchbookby Alan Lee
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2008-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Picassoby Patrick O'Brian
Harvill; Published: 1994; Paperback; Book
The Art of Adventureby Galen Rowell
Collins Pub San Francisco; Published: 1989-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.02
Price in other shops:
Calder JewelryOther Distribution; Published: 2007-12-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $360.00
POPism: The Warhol Sixtiesby Andy Warhol, Pat Hackett
Mariner Books; Published: 2006-09-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.58
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Thomas Hart Benton and the Indiana Murals (Distributed for the Indiana University Art Museum)by Kathy A. Foster, Nanette Esseck Brewer, Margaret Contompasis
Indiana University Press; Published: 2001-08-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.97
Price in other shops:
Grant Wood's Studio: Birthplace of American GothicPrestel Publishing; Published: 2005-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $78.98
Artists on the Left: American Artists and the Communist Movement, 1926-1956by Andrew Hemingway
Yale University Press; Published: 2002-11-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $39.95
Price in other shops:
Shallow Creek: Thomas Hart Benton and American Waterwaysby Leo G. Mazow
Penn State University Press; Published: 2007-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.94
Price in other shops:
Twentieth-Century American Art (Oxford History of Art)by Erika Doss
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2002-07-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.57
Price in other shops:
An Artist in America 4th Revised Editionby Thomas Hart Benton
University of Missouri; Published: 1983-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $34.92
Price in other shops:
Tom and Jack: The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollockby Henry Adams
Bloomsbury Press; Published: 2009-11-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $20.99
Price in other shops:
Art & Politics in the 1930s: Americanism, Marxism & Modernismby Susan N. Platt
Midmarch Arts Pr; Published: 1999-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $27.00
Ken Burns' America: Thomas Hart BentonParamount; Release date: 2004-09-28; DVD
Best price: $9.61
Price in other shops:
Thomas Hart Benton: An American Originalby Henry Adams
Knopf; Published: 1989-08-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $127.50