Painting Styles

American Scene Painting

During the 1920’s to 1940’s there was a surge in a naturalist, descriptive style of easel painting.  The works created during this time came to be referred to as American Scene Paintings, an umbrella term for both rural and urban depictions of human element in the U.S.  After World War I, many U.S. artists rejected the modern trends that had blossomed from their European roots.  These artists chose to adopt a rigid style that showed urban and rural scenes in prideful realism.

Many of these works depict a nationalism, patriotism and romanticism of everyday American life.  Some works stressed the local and small-town themes often called “American regionalism,” while those depicting urban scenes were referred to as “social realism.”  Typical rural American life took on new meaning with the likes of Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry and Grant Wood.  Urban realism was captured by artists such as Edward Hopper, Diego Rivera, Jacob Lawrence and Reginald Marsh.  Each genre played a big role in New Deal art.  Art Deco, which also flourished during this time, was more about high society than the common man doing common things.

One quote by Edward Hopper in reference to the art created during this push into stark realism says volumes.  He denounced leaning towards European styles, very specifically French influences, claiming that American artists “are not French and never can be and any attempt to do so is to deny our inheritance and to try to impose upon ourselves a character that can be nothing but a veneer upon the surface.”

As a revolt against the modern European style, American Scene Painting was viewed as works that attempted to define a uniquely American style of art.  It was not a formal art movement, but was an attempt by American artists to move away from the abstract style during the time between the two World Wars.  While most of the well recognized participants in this period had studied in Paris, they wanted to create an art form that was truly American, start to finish.  It was their belief that a return to the more natural agrarian roots prior to modernism would provide a real solution to the hardships of the time and ease the horrors of the Great Depression.

Shunning the city and its rapidly developing technological advances created a focus on rural “earthy” imagery that was regionalism.  One famous image that falls into this category is Grant Wood’s “American Gothic,” where a farming couple stands stoically, pitchfork in hand.  Regionalist art was widely appreciated for its reassuring images of the American heartland.   Probably the most famous and well recognized art was created by Norman Rockwell, who for decades took simple, everyday events and turned them into remarkable art.  He did explore social situations also, with images of civil rights and poverty but is best known for his simple and sensitive images.

Social realism was more political in scope and was critical of society, especially its rendering of severe social problems.  Images that depict the political messages of Social Realism include the great murals of the 30’s, which nearly all have imagery of social commentary. They occurred immediately after the beginning of American Scene Painting and were greatly influenced by these naturalist styles.  The political shifts that followed the Great Depression motivated artists to depict and reveal their personal views in their paintings.  During this time, few artists escaped being included in the American Scene Painting grouping.

Although modernism did finally become a major movement in America, the works of realistic depiction of everyday life are still enormously popular.  They seem to tie to the roots of many of their admirers.  American Scene Paintings are enjoyed by millions every year and are now considered of fundamental historical importance.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 19 No. 1 — November 2008