Book Review of American Paintings and Works on Paper in the Barnes Foundation, by Richard J. Wattenmaker. ISBN 9780300158779. Reviewed by William M. Perthes

William M Perthes

Humanities Commons

Copyright © 2011 ARLIS/NA   American Paintings and Works on Paper in the Barnes Foundation, by Richard J. Wattenmaker. Barnes Foundation, dist. by Yale University Press, 2010. 404 p. alk. ill. ISBN 9780300158779 (cl.), $75.00.  Although world famous for its collection of Post-Impressionist paintings, the Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pennsylvania, has an admirable, and heretofore underappreciated, collection of American art. Among paintings by August Renoir, Paul Cézanne, and Henri Matisse in the Foundation’s galleries are hung works by American painters such as William Glackens, Maurice B. Prendergast, Charles Demuth, Horace Pippin, and the neglected Jules Pascin. This beautifully illustrated and well researched catalog seeks to correct this oversight.  Perhaps no scholar is better qualified to approach this project than Richard J. Wattenmaker. Wattenmaker, former Director of the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institute, is an art historian specializing in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Modern art and has both studied and taught at the Barnes Foundation. Throughout the catalog Wattenmaker utilizes the aesthetic and analytical approach devised by Albert Barnes, a method rooted in the pragmatic philosophy of the Foundation’s first Director of Education, John Dewey, when discussing works from the collection. This catalogue therefore introduces readers to both the Barnes Foundation’s important collection of American art while at the same time informing a wider audience of Barnes’s aesthetic approach which was the core of his educational mission.   Wattenmaker’s opening chapter, supported by extensive footnotes, is a concise account of Albert Barnes’ evolution from successful pharmaceutical entrepreneur to art collector, educator, and theorist. At the center of this history is the intimate friendship and intellectual collaboration between Barnes and Dewey. In Dewey’s theory of democracy, education, and in particular experience, Barnes discovered both a kindred spirit and a useful philosophical and methodological approach. Barnes adapted these ideas to questions of aesthetics and art analysis in a way that Dewey had not yet fully conceived.   Subsequent chapters are devoted to Alfred H. Maurer, Charles Prendergast, Ernest Lawson, and Marsden Hartley, concluding with additional American works from the collection. Wattenmaker’s scholarship is impeccable, and his writing never becomes academic. Works discussed are annotated and illustrated by 400 full color illustrations.  If one had any complaints, and they are minor given the thoroughness of Wattenmaker’s scholarship, it would be for more detailed images of paintings discussed, allowing the reader a closer look at the work’s materiality. Additionally, a bibliography would have been welcomed.  This catalogue will be an indispensable resource for students of American art as well as those interested in issues of American art collecting, models of progressive education, methodology, and pragmatic aesthetics.  William M. Perthes, Assistant Director of Education, The Violette de Mazia Foundation, Wayne, PA, wperthes@demazia.org   

American Paintings and Works on Paper in the Barnes Foundation

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American Paintings and Works on Paper in the Barnes Foundation

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