William Glackens defied expectations of the formal art world. While many prominent academies supported the sophisticated painting style and subjects of the Gilded Age, he celebrated common people in the streets and in nature. Like his colleagues at the Ashcan school, he was a keen observer of life in the early twentieth century.
Although affiliated with the Ashcan School, William Glackens often chose a brighter vision and subject matter than his colleagues. With his use of bright color, expressive brushstrokes and his explorative spirit, he moved steadily toward modernism.
Following are 5 Colorful Details from the career of William Glackens.
#1-He Was An Extraordinary News Illustrator
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, William Glackens (1870-1938) attended Central High School along with painter John Sloan and Albert C. Barnes. Glackens and his older brother Louis were known in high school for their talent as comic artists.
He graduated in 1890, the year Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland returned from their race around the world. It was a time of pushing boundaries. It was also a time when reporters including Bly focused on expanding urban life and the conditions of immigrants living in tenements in the cities.
In 1891, he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Post graduation, he became a successful newspaper illustrator at numerous publications including the Philadelphia Record and the New York Sunday World and the Sunday Herald.
According to the Society of Illustrators, William Glackens excelled as an artist-reporter of daily life and newsworthy events. He took assignments for magazines as well as book illustrations. In 1898, he covered the Spanish-American War in Cuba for McClure’s magazine.
“One of his most dynamic drawings, a view of the charge up San Juan Hill, appeared alongside Stephen Bonsal’s description of the decisive battle in McClure’s, and other images accompanied an essay by Stephen Crane.” .” (Society of Illustrators)
Glackens’s career boomed along with the popularity of the illustrated press.
In The New Leaders of American Illustration III April, 1900 Regina Armstrong called Glackens a revolutionist in the world of illustration because of his ability to capture the energy and natural quality of life. (Regina Armstrong)
“Glackens drew constantly, filling dozens of sketchbooks with quickly drawn figures and architectural details. These sketchbooks served to inject vitality and accuracy into his finished graphic works. For sketching, Glackens used waxy carbon pencil, charcoal and chalk, which allowed him to capture mass and movement quickly.” (Society of Illustrators)
#2-Technology Killed His First Career As A News Illustrator
Technology flourished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Newspapers could publish photographs in black and white or color. Magazines followed suit. Just as AI is making many jobs obsolete today, technology changed the landscape of William Glackens’s news world, ultimately claiming most illustrator jobs.
“…artist-reporter jobs were disappearing as the half-tone process allowed newspapers to reproduce photographs mechanically, without the intervention of illustrators.” (Society of Illustrators)
#3-A Group Trip To Europe Expanded His Thinking
In 1895, William Glackens, a group of artist friends including Sloan and his teacher/mentor Robert Henri went to Europe to study. The works of Dutch masters exhilarated him. He spent a year in Paris, France where he embraced the techniques and spirit of Impressionism.
After his return to the United States in 1896, his work was changed. He adapted Impressionism to his own style with American sensibilities, subjects and locations. He became known as the American Renoir, for better or for worse, depending on the critic.
#4-The Ashcan School Rejected Norms
The Ashcan Artists focused on daily joys and struggles of working class people, usually in crowded urban environments. Using fast, rough strokes and mostly dark colors, they captured the essence of life in the streets in the early 1900s.
At a time when the rich were growing richer, the Ashcan Artists turned their focus away from the elite. Instead, their work portrayed poverty, expanding slums and the increasing presence of technology in daily life. They celebrated the lives of millions of European immigrants who entered New York in the late 1800s and early 1900s. (RacingNellieBly)
The Ashcan School rooted in the late 19th century, with its core members gathering in Philadelphia. They moved to New York City in 1900.
The group included Robert Henri, John Sloan, George Luks, Everett Shinn, and William Glackens, George Bellows and Edward Hopper.
The turning point for their movement was the seminal 1908 show titled “Eight American Painters” at the Macbeth Gallery in Manhattan. Later dubbed Ashcan for their rebellious subject matter, the show garnered national acclaim, both positive and derisive.
After the 1908 show, William Glackens transitioned from darker tones and subject matter to the brighter palettes of his later work.
#5-He Was The Driving Force Behind A Respected Art Collection
William Glackens planned and participated in several groundbreaking exhibits over the years.
Working with his childhood friend, Albert C. Barnes, he was a driving force in the development of the Barnes Collection. Including European and American painters, it has some of the most significant works of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Among the artists represented are Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse.
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