Always keeping one eye open for our next new favorite work on display👀 ...

“I hope my people will look into my works and see a reflection of themselves. I have been trying to uphold a mirror and say, ‘Look how beautiful you are.” — Richmond Barthé

We are celebrating Black History Month at the Norton with spotlights on works from the permanent collection. Follow us as we celebrate and honor the artists and their works throughout February!
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Richmond Barthé (1901-1989) was an American sculptor who was a vital participant in the Harlem Renaissance movment, as well as being one of the earliest modern artists to depict African Americans in his work.

Born in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, Barthé moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, at an early age. He enjoyed drawing and painting, and his formal schooling did not go beyond grade school. His talent was soon noticed by his parish`s priest when Barthé contributed two paintings to a fundraising event for his church. The priest was so impressed with his art that he encouraged Barthé to apply to the Art Institute of Chicago in Illinois and raised enough money to pay for his travel and tuition.

He began as a painter but, at the suggestion of one of his teachers, tried his hand at sculpture, for which he had a particular gift. After his first exhibition he won a Julius Rosenwald Fund fellowship, which enabled him to study in New York where his work became very popular. Barthé continued to create sculpture well into the 1960s, some of which were commissioned as public art. He sculpted an American eagle for the Social Security Building in Washington, D.C. and a bas-relief for the Harlem River Housing Project. In 1949, the Haitian government commissioned him to create monuments to the revolutionary leaders Toussaint Louverture and Jean Jacques Dessalines in Port-au-Prince.
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Check out "Awakening of Africa" (1959) by Richmond Barthé on display now in the American Masters Galleries!

#BlackHistoryMonth

Also Shown:
📸 Richmond Barthé photographed with sculpture "Stevedore," 1937.
📸 Richmond Barthe at work on his sculpture of Toussaint Louverture, 1950. ...

💜Laissez les bons temps rouler!💚

Let`s celebrate Fat Tuesday with a look at John McCrady`s lithograph "Carnival in New Orleans" (1947) from the permanent collection!
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Let`s celebrate Fat Tuesday with "Carnival in New Orleans" by artist John McCrady from the permanent collection.
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John McCrady (1911-1968) has often been referred to as one of the most important New Orleans artists of the 1930s and 1940s. He was born in Canton, Mississippi, where his father served as the minister. Due to this profession, the family lived in various rural areas throughout Mississippi and Louisiana during McCrady’s childhood. In turn, McCrady often explored the relationship between religion and man through his art.

In 1928, his father became head of the philosophy department at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. The following year, McCrady became a student. Additionally, while visiting his brother during the summers, he took classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1931 and 1932. McCrady soon decided to devote himself to becoming an artist, moved to New Orleans, and enrolled in the New Orleans Art School. After only one year, McCrady won a scholarship to the Art Students League in New York. Although he immersed himself in the study of painting, McCrady soon realized he desired to return to the South to live and work. He was very proud of his Southern heritage and depicted scenes of Southern life throughout his career.

After his return to New Orleans in 1934, McCrady was employed by the Federal Art Project, painting public murals. His big break came the following year when he participated in an exhibition at Philadelphia’s Boyer Galleries titled “Thirty-five Painters of the Deep South.” Afterwards, he was featured in articles in Newsweek, Time, and Life magazines. In turn, McCrady soon became the most prominent Regionalist representing the South. In 1942, he established the John McCrady Art School in the French Quarter in New Orleans. Throughout the fifties and sixties, McCrady focused on teaching at his school and writing about his artistic philosophies and techniques.
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Also Shown:
John McCrady in his studio, date unknown. ...

Happy Presidents Day from the Norton🇺🇸

To commemorate, let`s take a closer look at "George Washington," attributed to artist Jane Stuart!
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The face of our first president, George Washington, has become familiar due to the immortalizing portrait of him painted by Gilbert Stuart in the mid-18th century. What isn’t familiar is the name Jane Stuart (1812-1888), Gilbert’s daughter, who was a painter herself. Although she created her own compositions and even held her own studio, Jane is best known for the meticulous copies made of her father’s work in an attempt to help keep his legacy alive.

From childhood, Jane found herself as her father`s studio assistant, grinding pigments and filling in secondary details of Gilbert’s work. Although her father refused to formally teach her, Jane learned his techniques and style by observing while he instructed other students. Stuart died in 1828, leaving his family nearly destitute after wasting their money on drink and gambling.

After her father passed away in 1828, Jane moved to study painting at the New York Academy of Fine Arts. Sixteen-year-old Jane soon established her own studio and took over the support of her family, remaining single her entire life. Despite his faults, she was her father`s staunchest admirer and did much to preserve his reputation, in addition to producing multiple copies of his most famous works.
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Also Shown:
Photograph taken of Jane Stuart dressed as one of the stepsisters from Cinderella at one of her annual Halloween parties, date unknown.

"It’s easy to forget that Jane was an average person, despite her talents and place in history. She dressed up for costume parties, where she ate, drank, and made merry like everyone else. Jane and her sisters, although not very wealthy, did what they could to celebrate this time of year in their youth. Jane is reported to have served apple cider and ginger cookies to whoever came to visit on the last night of October."
- The Redwood Library and Athenaeum in Rhode Island ...

That`s a wrap on Hearts for Art! Now it’s time to count up the love. Check out which works stole the most hearts this year! ❤️🎨 ...