The first scholarly exhibition catalogue of the work of Eugene Speicher (1883-1962), one of the foremost American realists of his generation, who was closely associated with George Bellows, Robert Henri, Leon Kroll, and Rockwell Kent.Called “America’s greatest living painter” by Esquire magazine in 1936, Speicher (1883–1962) was one of the foremost realists of his generation, closely associated with George Bellows, Robert Henri, and Leon Kroll. The exhibition catalogue examines Speicher’s oeuvre, including his artistic development, subject matter, choice of models, influences, and the critical reception of his work. The catalogue contains three essays. The primary essay by curator Valerie Ann Leeds consists of a general assessment and critical review of Speicher’s career and his place in the art world of his day. Another essay authored by Tom Wolf explores Speicher and his relationship to Woodstock. A third essay, by Daniel Belasco, surveys Speicher’s drawings. The catalogue is the first to present a significant body of Speicher’s work in color.

Along His Own Lines: A Retrospective of New York Realist Eugene Speicher (Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art)

Arts & Photography

Leeds, Valerie Ann

Individual Artists

Distribution Partners

The first retrospective of the work of Ray Ellis, a celebrated American artist acclaimed for his paintings of Martha's Vineyard and the Lowcountry of Georgia and South Carolina. With an insightful text by a noted American art specialist and vibrant, color–infused images, this dazzlingly beautiful book reveals the full breadth of Ray Ellis' remarkable career. While Ellis is often described as an Impressionist because of his loose brushwork, bright color, and interest in light and atmosphere, his work is naturalistic and closer to realism. Equally talented in oils and watercolors, he interprets the many sights and locales he has seen. In addition to marine subjects and coastal landscapes for which he is best known, this volume also presents his finest still lifes and paintings of cityscapes and travels. The works span several decades from the early 1960s through his most recent paintings. Ray Ellis In Retrospect: A Painter's Journey also includes an illustrated, autobiographical essay by Ray Ellis and a chronology.

Ray Ellis in Retrospect: A Painter's Journey

Ellis, Ray G.

McCullough, Hollis Koons

History & Criticism

Abbeville Press

Ernest Lawson

Gerald Peters Gallery

Robert Henri (1865-1929) spent time in Santa Fe in 1916, 1917, 1922 and 1925 during which time he produced some thirty portraits, mainly of Hispanic and Indian subjects. His enthusiasm for New Mexico brought a number of artists to the area, including John Sloan and George Bellows. Henri crusaded actively against academic conservatism, enlisting younger artists (such as Sloan) and his students (Bellows, Edward Hopper, Morgan Russell, and Stuart Davis) in the cause of artistic freedom and unflinching realism, a belief that led his detractors to dub Henri's group the "Ashcan" school. In 1908 Henri and other members of the Ashcan "Eight" achieved notoriety with their exhibit at Macbeth Gallery in New York. When Henri met Dr. Edgar Hewitt of Santa Fe's School of American Archaeology in 1914, the museum director urged Henri to paint in New Mexico. Henri's strong personality and liberal ideas regarding museum policy, particularly unjuried exhibitions, left a lasting imprint on the newly opened Museum of New Mexico.

Robert Henri in Santa Fe: His Work and Influence

This publication is produced in conjunction with the exhibition Robert Henriâ€™s California Realism, Race, and Region, 1914-1925 presented by the Laguna Art Museum. The exhibition and this 130-page hardcover book constitute the first examination of the years the legendary American artist spent in California. The authors of this lavishly illustrated book are Derrick Cartwright, who organized the exhibition, a distinguished scholar of American art, and the Henri authority Valerie Leeds. Their essays challenge prevailing accounts of Henriâ€™s career, looking carefully at his motivations for working in Southern California while comparing this specific output to his broader oeuvre. The authorsâ€™ close analysis of how Henriâ€™s painting changed as a result of his California travels reveals the lasting impact of this experience. This publication is enhanced by rare documentation, including selections from Henriâ€™s own illustrated correspondence, photographic snapshots of his time in the region, and other period texts. This publication represents a unique opportunity to assess an acknowledged master of modern American art in new terms and with important insights into his legacy for California art history. Robert Henri made his first plans to visit California a century ago. â€œWestward Ho!â€ he exclaimed in 1914 in a letter to his former student, Alice Klauber, who lived in San Diego. Henriâ€™s eagerness was rooted in his quest for new settings and fresh subjects. â€œI am now quite convinced that San Diego is one of the most interesting and beautiful places in the world and we shall head that way and will not be convinced otherwise until we have seen the place and have been turned away,â€ he wrote. Henri arrived in June and spent most of the latter part of 1914 living in an Irving Gill-designed cottage above La Jolla Cove. During these months the New York artist gave demonstrations to local artist groups, sent canvases to exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, helped Klauber conceive of a complex fine art program for the Panama California Exposition then being planned for 1915 in the cityâ€™s Balboa Park, wrote numerous letters to acquaintances in New York, and scripted theoretical texts about his aims for portraiture and exhibition practice. He also painted dozens of portraits of the local population, as well as at least one view of the Pacific Ocean swells outside his front door. After a busy summer and fall, he returned to New York in October of that year. Although Henri subsequently became a frequent visitor to Santa Fe, New Mexico, he chose not to return to Southern California until the summer of 1922, and then he stopped only briefly. He came just once more to the West Coast, in January of1925. On both of these latter occasions he remained in Los Angeles, painting portrait commissions for the families of local business leaders and some Hollywood celebrities. The artistâ€™s choice of sitters in LA sharply contrasts with his San Diego focus. A decade earlier his subjects amounted to a remarkable cross-section of the regionâ€™s ethnic diversity. In La Jolla, Chinese-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Native American, and African-Americans had all sat for brightly colored portraits. While there are numerous studies of the artistâ€™s peripatetic natureâ€”recent exhibitions have considered his travels in Spain, Ireland, and France, as well as New York, Santa Fe, and Maineâ€”Henriâ€™s interest in Southern California has never been fully evaluated. The small select exhibition and this accompanying publication Robert Henriâ€™s California, Realism, Race, and Region 1914-1925 corrects this historical oversight, bringing together for the first time a number of the works that Henri produced during his sojourns in San Diego and Los Angeles. As statements of his complex realist ideas, the paintings relate a fascinating story of his shifting concerns as an artist and the developing face of the region.

Robert Henri's California: Realism, Race and Region 1914-1925

Cartwright, Derrick R.

Grand Central Press

Life's Pleasures: The Ashcan Artists' Brush with Leisure, 1895-1925

The images that are often associated with the Ashcan school of artists are the more sombre depictions of working-class life in early twentieth-century New York. This subject matter is not, however, representative of the entire spectrum of Ashcan art. Featuring some of the Ashcan school's most vibrant and outstanding works, this book demonstrates unequivocally the zeal with which these artists and their circle embraced the world of play enjoyed by all levels of society. Spirited scenes of diverse leisure activities in cafés, bars and parks, at the theatre, on the beach, at sporting events and in the countryside provide a refreshing look at this important artistic movement.
Offers a fresh exploration of a major American artistic movement Features works by the Ashcan artists and their circle, including George Bellows (see opposite), William Glackens, Robert Henri, Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent, George Luks, Guy Pène du Bois, Maurice Prendergast, Everett Shinn and John Sloan, among others Complemented by lively essays on the world of leisure experienced and depicted by the Ashcan school.

DiGirolamo, Vincent

Doezema, Marianne

Tottis, James

Smeaton, Suzanne

Merrell Publishers

An American palette: Works from the collection of John and Dolores Beck

Museum of Fine Arts

George Sotter: Light and Shadow

Michener Art Museum

My People: The Portraits of Robert Henri

Henri, Robert

Fort Lauderdale Museum of the Arts

Columbus Museum of Art.

Univ of Washington Pr

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Leeds, Valerie Ann. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Leeds, Valerie Ann