Evening star., 1942-09-13
A\rt
Pop Hart Prints
In Memorial
Exhibition
BY Florence S. Berryn,


hibition of prints by George Over
bury Hart, generally known as Pop"
Hart Che signed his work thus), now
on view in the galleries of the
National Collection of Fine Arts, is
in the nature of memorial, as the
artist died nine years ago this
month.
The group of 80 prints gives a
comprehensive review of the media
in which he achieved his greatest
success. Furthermore, he was that
rare type, a self-made artist who
came to be regarded as a creative
genius. His formal art training
comprised couple of months at
the Art Institute of Chicago in the
late '90s. and three months at Julien
Academy. Paris, in 1907. Ihat
experience showed me that art
schools are no places for an artist, "
he said. Although this attltuoe
toward technical training would not
have generally happy results, 1t dld
work out successfully for Pop Hart.
His university was the globe. He
led the kind of life that most lay
men used to regard as typical OF
artists. Untrammeled and care
free. he tramped his. way around
the world, visiting every continent
and a great many islands. He did
not travel on luxury liners, but
slowed away, worked on cattle boats,
or settled down temporarily and
PAINTED signs for livelihood, until
he had saved enough money to take
him somewhere else. He took many
hard knocks, for he had to work
at uncongenial tasks to support
his art. as he was so before he sold
his first picture.
pop Hart was born in Cairo, Ill,
In 1868. His father owned asglue
factory and when the boy was IN
his teens set him to work watching
vats. However, as some humorlst
EXPRESSED it, there didn't seem TO
be enough of the product in the
factory to make young Hart stick;
he ran away to become a vagabond
artist. (Hart's autobiography was
published in monograph edited by
Holger Cahill, about IA years ago.
His life is an arresting saga OF un-
conventional travel to Chicago, New
York, London; 10 weeks down the
Mississippi to New Orleans; Italy,
Egypt (where he lived with the
Arabs because ''it was cheap and
they were swell fellows'D; then back
across the United States to the
South Sea Islands, where he almost
married native chiefs daughter,
but left before the event because
the prospect of caring for her
dowry, a grove of 1000 coconut trees,
promised little time for art. He
became acquainted with Hawaii,
Cuba. Denmark and Iceland, sub
sequently France.
One of his French landscapes was
accepted for Carnegie Interna-
tional and he returned to America,
where he settled down in Coytes-
vile, N. j., which remained his
headquarters from that time for
ward, although it was by no means
continuous. For half year he
would paint signs and sets in
movie" studios; when fall came
he would go to the West Indies, or
South America, or New Orleans.
He preferred the hot countries, and
Mexico became his Mecca.
At the beginning of his career, be-
sides making innumerable pencil
sketches, Pop Hart painted in oils,
later took up water color and finally
experimental with various print
media-etching. drypoint, lithog-
rapny, aquatint, monotype and
mezzotint. Examples of all of them
are included in the exhibition now
at the National Museum. His prints
are concerned primarily with plain
people. His chief interest was his
fellow man. He was a good neigh
Dor" long before it became Govern
ment policy to be one, an inter-
nationalist because of inclination,
not from self conscious affectation.
He was "at home" from the Arctic
to the Equator. Any one seeing these
prints could guess this fact, without
reading the artists own words.
people have always interested me
most" he said. You may think
they're a pretty rough lot-peons,
beachcombers, Negro huskies on, the
levee, tramps in the jungle but I
find them a pretty swell lot"
These subjects he recorded with
shrewd insight, sympathy, humor
and certain amount of exaggera-
ton. He liked to sketch crowds,
and handled them admirably, as in
his Market Place, Haiti" where
native women sell watermelons, live
fowl and vegetables, and carry enor-
nous burdens on their heads; pig
Market, Mexico" ''Voodoo Dance,
Cock Fight" in several versions and
colors; crowds at bathing beaches
on excursion boats, at picnic parties
matinees and many other gather
ings. The collection includes an
aquatint and soft ground etching
'Dias de Fiesta which Hart con.
sidered his masterpiece; also
Dance of the Centaurs," selected
as one Of his best prints by the
Bibliotheque Rationale in Paris.
Hart found people lots of fun"
his humor is untinged with malice
as can be seen in his etching en-.
titled Concert Soloist," which de.
picts a bawling baby in a park, at
tracing the attention of every on,
within earshot; and "Springtime
New Orleans" a lithograph which
fetched medal at the SesQuicen.
tennial in Philadelphia for its ad.
mirable design and handling O
tones. 1t shows the partly shutteret
interior of a garret in the old par
Of the city, with a husky shaving
himself before an open window look
ing out upon sunny spring sky owe
rooftops to church spires which
strongly resemble those of st. Loui
Cathedral 1t is a caricature will
happy implications.
In the last Is years of his lif
Pop Hart achieved recognition
His work won awards, was sough
for exhibitions and purchased TO
museums and private collections
incidentally, the collection now o.
exhibition was his gift to tn
National Museum) He receives