Docent’s Corner | The Eight
Robert Henri. Under the Trees, n.d. Pastel on paper. On loan from the Alexander family.
The Alexander Collection exhibition will open on April 3rd at BRAHM. Seven artists out of The Eight, including works by Robert Henri are represented in this show.
Artists search, struggle, study; increasing their talents, techniques, and ideas over time. And in the 1880’s-to the early 1900’s, between Philadelphia, New York, and Paris, eight such talented young men eventually connected with one another as friends with an appreciation of each other’s work. They also shared a sprite of rebellion against the established artistic climate. Collectively, they devoted themselves to an American view and their individual creative expressions which lead them to exhibit as the Eight in 1908 at the now-famous show at the Macbeth Gallery in NYC. Five years later, their dedication to the arts resulted in the culmination of their combined efforts to bring the art of the “Modern” from Europe to America, in the even more famous 1913 Amory Show.
Who were the Eight?
Bennard Perlman, author of “Painters of the Ashcan School, the Immortal Eight”, identifies Robert Henri as the leader, a teacher, and an inspiration to the “Eight”. His paintings of New York scenes and portraits exemplified the dark palette and broad brushwork of Manet and Courbet for many of his students.
The core group, under Henri: Sloan, Shinn, Glackens, and Luks studied at the Philadelphia Academy. They each had started their careers as quick-sketch artists for various papers, and eventually, this is what gave them the advantage of using the media to market their exhibit, obviously contributing to its success.
From the book, “Painters of a New Century: The Eight and American Art” by Elizabeth Milroy, a concise history of each artist of the Eight gives insight to their connections. What Sloan, Shinn, Luks and Glackens had in common is that they all, at one time or another, had joined the staff of the Philadelphia Press as illustrators, and had either taken the night classes at the Philadelphia Academy with Henri or had been inspired by him to develop their unique painting styles.
John Sloan, who started out as illustrator and etcher, was encouraged by Henri to paint in oils: portraits, the figure, and landscape. He became known for depictions of street life, especially of Chelsea and Greenwich Village.
Everett Shinn, also an illustrator, was known for his ability to work quickly capturing subjects for his many book and magazine stories. His fascination with the theatre lead to his work for a short time with Hollywood set design. His paintings for the exhibit were also inspired by the theatre and the stories inside and outside on the streets of the city.
George Luks, made his name as an illustrator to the popular comic strip “Hogan’s Alley”, a riotous bohemian and entertainer at heart, known for his richly painted scenes of urban landscapes and characters.
William Glackens developed a palette inspired by Renoir in his paintings of landscape, figure, still life, and lively beach scenes of Long Island. Because of his artistic position and friendship to Albert Barnes, Glackens was instrumental in assisting the great art collector with his famous Barnes Collection of Post-Impressionist work.
Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, and Arthur B. Davies were newcomers to the friends that had formed the core group and were invited to join the independents in the early 1900s. Although they too shared similar modern painting qualities, they were unique in their styles.
Ernest Lawson who met the Impressionist Sisley while in France, on his return to New York, painted his landscapes (often of the Hudson River area) more or less in an Impressionist manner.
Maurice Prendergast, from Newfoundland, and the oldest member of the group, was inspired by light and lively color of his subjects in his watercolors and oils from his travels abroad, which included Paris and Venice. He had already established his mosaic colorful style when he meet Henri.
Arthur Davies, who scouted work for the MacBeth Gallery in New York, traveled often to Europe and in artistic circles. Early on, he had established his work of lyrical, often symbolic landscapes with swaying nude figures. After his association with the Eight, Davies became more actively involved with promoting progressive art, and was instrumental in the work needed to bring the Armory Show to New York.
After the Eight:
Thirty-five years after the Eight’s Independent Exhibit, Shinn described the group as rebellious seekers of real life. Encouraged by Henri to see the beauty in what is familiar, these “turn of the century artists” wanted to express life individually influenced by the people and ordinary places around them.
After the 1913 Armory Show with the new influences, such as cubism and futuristic work, the Eight no longer exhibited collectively. Individually they continued their work, merging into the Ashcan school. With the Eight, American art was shifting away from a more academic approach to art at the end of the 19th century with individual expressions of urban realism, and into a new direction that had a profound influence on the artistic work of the early years of the 20th century. Until the 1913 Armory Show, these artists of the Eight, and later the Ashcan school were the Avant-garde artists in America.
This Docent’s Corner is brought to you by Cathy Futral
Arthur B. Davies. Melisande, n.d. Oil on canvas. On loan from the Alexander family.
William Glackens. Bouquet in Cut Glass Vase, c. 1922. Oil on canvas. On loan from the Alexander family.