Art in North America Several different movements were sweeping through North America before and after WWI, leading up to WWII: 1. The Ashcan School (The Eight) (George Bellows) 2. American Regionalism (Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, Edward Hopper) 3. American Modernism (Georgia O’Keeffe) 4. Mexican Socialism (Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo)

George Bellows New York 1911

George Bellows Cliff Dwellers 1913

George Bellows Club Night 1907

George Bellows Both Members of This Club 1909

George Bellows Stag at Sharkeys 1917

American Regionalism The American Regionalist movement began in the late 1920's and continued through the Great Depression. Artists of this period relied heavily on government work programs. The most famous of these is the Works Projects Administration or WPA: Created a variety of large scale projects and employed Americans throughout the years of the Great Depression. Federal Art Project also ran from 1935 – FAP artists received the famous salary of $23.86 per week at a time when a Woolworth's clerk earned $11 per week Spoke of the importance of Art to the United States Artists focused on depicting rural subject matter, often described as the “Heart of America.” Painters from the time include Grant Wood, Edward Hopper, and Thomas Hart Benton.

Grant Wood American Gothic 1930 “I realized that all the really good ideas I ever had came to me when I was milking a cow. So I went back to Iowa.” Grant Wood

Grant Wood Daughters of the Revolution 1932

Grant Wood Haying 1939

Edward Hopper Early Sunday Morning 1930

Edward Hopper Night Windows 1928

Edward Hopper Hotel Room 1931

Edward Hopper Nighthawks 1942

Thomas Hart Benton Palisades 1924

Thomas Hart Benton The Ballad of the Jealous Lover of Lone Green Valley 1934

Thomas Hart Benton Persephone 1939

Thomas Hart Benton Hailstorm 1940

Dorthea Lange Migrant Mother 1936 "The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera."

Dorthea Lange Pledge of Allegiance 1942

American Modernism Gallery 291, opened in part by Alfred Stieglitz in 1905, served as the center point of Modern and avant-garde exhibitions. Exhibited many of the greatest European modernists: Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Braque, and many more… The Armory Show in 1913 split open the American conception of art, creating great controversy. 75,000 people attended the exhibition in NY, 200,000 in Chicago.

Georgia O’Keeffe Radiator Building Night, New York 1927

Georgia O’Keeffe Music- Pink and Blue, II 1919

Georgia O'Keefe The Black Iris 1926

Georgia O'Keeffe Jack-in-the- Pulpit No. IV 1930

Georgia O’ Keefe Yellow Calla 1926

Georgia O’Keeffe Cow's Skull with Calico Roses 1932

Georgia O’Keeffe Black Cross, New Mexico 1929

Mexican Socialism In 1920, the Mexican government decided that public works of art should play an important role in restoring a nation tattered by civil war. Abandoned the solemn and detached art of Europe and instead embraced bold New World imagery full of color and human activity in a “muralist movement”. In spite of her preference for personal rather than overtly political themes, Frida Kahlo’s work formed a central part of the Mexican Renaissance in its employment of native Mexican elements.

Diego Rivera Flower Day 1926

Diego Rivera Man, Controller of the Universe 1935

Diego Rivera The Night of the RIch 1928

Diego Riveria Arsenal- Frida Kahlo Distributing Arms 1928

Diego Rivera The Flower Carrier 1935

Frida Kahlo A Few Small Nips 1935

Frida Kahlo Mi nana y yo (My Nanny and I) 1937

Frida Kahlo The Two Fridas 1939

Frida Kahlo Self with Monkey 1940

Frida Kahlo Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair 1940

Frida Kahlo Roots 1943

Frida Kahlo Diego on my Mind 1943