ARTBEAT: Last week to admire work by 4 pioneers

Irene Hardwicke Olivieri’s May We Keep Your Garden Alive is part of the “Women Call for Peace: Global Vistas” exhibit at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Irene Hardwicke Olivieri’s May We Keep Your Garden Alive is part of the “Women Call for Peace: Global Vistas” exhibit at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

— Four pioneers are about to leave town.

A fascinating and lovely exhibition by a quartet of black artists - “Pioneers of the Paint: Masters of the 19th Century” - will close Friday at Hearne Fine Art.

The first time I saw work by one of the painters, Henry Owassa Tanner, was at the Philadelphia Museum of Art a number of years ago. His oil painting The Annunciation is an inspiring oil; the Hearne show has an exquisite pencil figure study for that 1898 work.

Tanner (1859-1937) was the first black American painter to gain international acclaim, after moving to France in 1891, and the Hearne show has a rich sampling of his landscapes, studies from other religious theme work and a wonderful pencil and watercolor study for his best-known painting, the masterwork The Banjo Lesson. It captures a moment of interaction between an older man and a boy who are focused on the music.

His work Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City, was added to the permanent collection of the White House by President Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The show also includes the striking still life paintings of Charles Ethan Porter and the lovely landscapes of Edward Mitchell Bannister and Robert Scott Duncanson.

Porter, born circa 1847, was especially well-known for floral still life works. A letter from writer Mark Twain helped Porter gain admission to art institutes in France. Among his works at Hearne is a haunting and vibrant untitled landscape, painted in 1885. But back home, Porter had to sell his paintings door to-door and died in obscurity and poverty in 1921. He is now regarded as a master of still life painting.

Canada-born Bannister (1828-1901), who moved to Boston in 1848, worked as a barber for a time before establishing his career in art. His idealized pastoral scenes recall realist painter Jean Francois Millet and other French painters. Bannister’s art has a delicate, almost otherworldly beauty. He won an award at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, although when the panel discovered he was black, they indicated they would reconsider. The white artists in the competition stood up for Bannister, who received his award.

Duncanson (1821-1872) began as a portrait painter and, as his fame grew, was mostly sustained by abolitionist patrons as he evolved into a highly praised landscape painter. He left the United States for Canada and Europe in 1863 during the Civil War, where his most famous works were painted. His work at Hearne radiates serenity, but a closer look reveals more. In the catalog he is quoted as saying, “If you look closely at my paintings, you can see my race amongst the trees, rivers and streams ....”

These four men were certainly held back by the racial bias of their time; all went to Europe for a period, where race wasn’t such an obstacle. They found different levels of success, but in the 20th century, their work was rediscovered and finally gained long-overdue respect and recognition in the art world.

This show is an apt reminder of our country’s shared artistic heritage and, for many of us, it is illuminating.

“Pioneers of the Paint: Masters of the 19th Century,” through Friday Hearne Fine Art, 1001 Wright Ave., Suite C., Little Rock. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. (501) 372-6822,

hearnefineart.com ALSO CLOSING SOON ...

“Plantation Faces,” an exhibit of about 25 black-and-white photographs by Ben Shahn, will be up through Monday at the Plantation Agriculture Museum in Scott.

Shahn was one of several photographers and writers hired by the Farm Security Administration or its predecessor, the Resettlement Administration, to document the Depression through photographs and oral histories. Shahn came to Pulaski County in 1935 and photographed sharecroppers and tenant farmers at the Alexander Plantation and other locations roughly along U.S. 70.

The museum is also seeking assistance from the public to identify people in the photographs.

“Plantation Faces,” through Monday, Plantation Agriculture Museum, junction of U.S. 165 and Arkansas 161, Scott. Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. (501) 961-1409.

PEACE

The touring exhibition “Women Call for Peace: Global Vistas” offers a diversity of artists and mediums reflecting on a common theme.

The show, in Gallery 1 in the Fine Arts Building at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, includes some refreshing and astounding work, particularly Aminah Robinson’s riveting oil and fabric Bedouin Woman. Robinson uses men’s ties to create the subject’s veil, a not-so-subtle commentary on the differing expectations of men and women in Muslim societies.

The beautifully composed works of Irene Hardwicke Olivieri are lush and wildly colorful, fantasmagorical fever dreams. A stunning surrealist, Olivieri’s work evokes Mexican folk art and more. Siona Benjamin’s Jewish and Hindu heritage makes for memorable art, particularly with Directions on How to Wear an Indian Jewish Sari, a digital print and etching with gold leaf.

This is a fascinating show about finding commonalities in diversity as a foundation for peace.

“Women Call for Peace: Global Vistas,” through March 10, Gallery I, Fine Arts Building, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, 2-5 p.m. Sunday. (501) 569-8977.

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Style, Pages 21 on 02/22/2011

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