Art in the 1920s

Main Art Styles in the 1920s Photography Landscape Painting Sculptures Abstract

Photography (1920s- 1930s) Became more popular with the expansion in journalism, advertising & publicity as well as the movements in graphic art A ‘distinguishing’ feature in this period’s photography was that many new techniques, styles & approaches were introduced Photography came to its full potential in this era when photographers started taking dramatic photographs of the World War 1 battlegrounds & destruction

John Vanderpant Dutch-born Canadian photographer During the 1920s John’s photographs became part of the pictorial movement - a movement where photography became less of a technological process and became considered art John’s favourite thing to photograph were the grain elevators in Vancouver, Canada

Functional Design 1934 John Vanderpant

Group of Seven The Group of Seven was a group of artists formed in 1920, made up of J.E.H. MacDonald, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, Franklin Carmichael, F.H. Varley and Frank Johnston -The artists were united by their frustration towards Canadian art at the time that mimicked art being made in Europe -They wanted to reflect Canada’s identity by painting the Canadian wilderness -Their paintings sought to reflect how they felt about nature rather than showing exactly how it looked

Lawren Harris Lake and Mountains- 1927

Emily Carr Victoria-born artist and writer Only woman contemporary of the Group of Seven Studied art in San Francisco and France Known for her paintings of nearby native villages Her painting career focussed on two major themes: the material culture of the dying native villages she visited, and the distinctive landscape of Canada’s West Coast

Sculptures World War One greatly impacted the sculptures created in the 1920s. An example of this is the commonly used theme ‘heroism’, which started in the 1920s Sculptors at this time were also involved in furniture making such as chair backs, store signs e.t.c Some Statues created at this time are still famous today such as ‘Seated Abraham Lincoln’

Fredrick Macmonnies Studied from his mother at an early age whom was related to a famous painter named Benjamin West Moved to Paris from the U.S to study when he was 21 until the outbreak of the first World War at which time he moved back to New York Won many art awards and is considered to be one of the greatest sculptors of his time

Civic Virtue 1922 Fredrick Macmonnies

Kathleen Munn One of the first Canadian artists to embrace abstraction Her greatest achievement was reimagining traditional subject matter in powerful new ways Inspired by ancient Greek sculpture, Michelangelo, Matisse and Picasso

Kathleen Munn- The Dance

Bertram Brooker First artist in Canada to exhibit abstract art An example of liberation and innovation in Canadian art His work had a wide range of themes but the central theme was always spirituality

Bertram Brooker- A Beautiful Hypothesis

Tamsyn’s Sources: Kaitlyn’s Sources: