Source: https://childsgallery.com/artist/herbert-barnett/
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 07:59:12+00:00

Document:
Herbert Barnett was an American artist whose life and work was closely tied to New England, and yet, his distinctive style of painting draws upon both the American tradition of representation and the artistic innovations of the Cubists. He is known as a painter of extraordinary ability and a virtuoso draftsman, whose works are included in numerous public and private collections across the country. Born in Cranston, Rhode Island, Barnett grew up in Providence. While still in high school, he began to study painting at the Rhode Island School of Design. From 1927-31, he studied at the Boston Museum School and soon acquired a reputation for technical proficiency. At seventeen, he had his first one-man show at the Grace Horne Gallery in Boston and was already teaching private classes. After art school, Barnett spent three years traveling and studying in Europe. From the time of his return to the United States in 1934 until 1940, he divided his time between Cape Ann, Mass. and New York City. As he assimilated what he had learned in Europe and absorbed the influence of the older generations of American painters, notably Marsden Hartley, Walt Kuhn and Edward Hopper, Barnett’s style evolved rapidly. By 1939, his painting possessed characteristics that would remain relatively constant in his further development. He began each painting by quickly drawing with the brush to capture the basic contours of his subject. Next, he made a tonal underpainting in oil wash to indicate the most prominent volumes as areas of light and shadow. The painted surface consists of a pattern of discreet, rectangular brushstrokes. Barnett’s emphasis on structure reflects his admiration for Cezanne and the Cubists. In the late 1930s, Barnett’s bold and expressive figure paintings and Cape Ann landscapes brought him recognition. His exhibitions at Boston and New York galleries won his critical acclaim. By 1940, several museums had already acquired his canvases and given him one-man shows. In 1940, he became the head of the Worcester Museum School and began summering in Vermont, where he produced a distinctive group of landscapes of quarries, farms, bridges and mills. In 1951, Barnett became dean of the Art Academy of Cincinnati, the school of the Cincinnati Art Museum, and was soon honored with a retrospective exhibition at the museum. From the 1950s, Herbert Barnett’s work continued to evolve toward a more refined statement of his personal vision. Until his death in 1972, he remained at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, returning to central Massachusetts each summer to paint. A major memorial exhibition took place at the Cincinnati Art Museum in the winter of 1972-73. Subsequently, exhibitions have been held at the Fitchburg Art Museum, the New Britain Museum of American Art, the Robert Hull Fleming Museum of the University of Vermont, and the Worcester Art Museum. Although, the artist sold approximately 700 paintings and drawings during his lifetime, the estate is fortunate to contain many of the finest examples of his work. Childs Gallery has represented Barnett exclusively since 1978. Barnett’s work is represented in many public and private collections including the National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington, DC; the Worcester Art Museum, Mass.; the Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia; Art Institute of Chicago; Mead Art Center, Amherst College, Mass.; University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tuscon; Maier Museum, Randolph Macon College, Lynchburg, Va.; Art Academy of Cincinnati, Ohio; New Britain Museum of American Art, Ct.; and the Robert Hull Fleming Museum, University of Vermont.
1938-40. Signed lower left: "Herbert Barnett". Titled verso. From the estate of the artist.
Signed lower right: "Herbert Barnett".
From artist's sketchbook. In fine condition.
Signed lower right: 'Herbert Barnett'. From artist's sketchbook. In fine conditon aside from adhesive residue at edges.
Signed lower right: "BARNETT". Titled and signed verso: "Double Bass/And Tuba/H. Barnett". From the estate of the artist, estate stamp verso. In fine condition.
Signed lower right: "Herbert Barnett". From the estate of the artist. In fine condition.
Painted in Princeton, MA during the summer of 1964. At the time, the artist was working on a monograph on painting for Watson-Guptill, a book project inspired by Norman Kent's 1960 article on Herbert Barnett in American Artist. While the book was never published, the manuscript has been mined by authors including Charles Movalli and Peter Barnett, the artist's son, to understand the artist's compositional and volumetric principles. Illustrations for the intended book included a number of stages of completion for Compote and Blue Pitcher, including charcoal drawing, watercolor, underdrawing, and phases of the final painting.
From the estate of the artist, estate stamp verso.
Signed lower left: "Herbert Barnett". Titled, signed, and dated verso: "Hens -- No.2 / Herbert Barnett / 1947". From the estate of the artist. Exhibition labels verso.
Exhibited at Mortimer Levitt Gallery, 1947.
Exhibited Cincinatti Art Museum, "Herbert P. Barnett Memorial Exhibition", 1972.
From the estate of the artist, estate stamp verso. Labels verso. In fine condition.
Initialed lower right: "H.B." Label and inscription verso: "Artist Materials / by Herbert Barnett / Property of Peter Barnett / Bronxville NY / HS-11 / 9/24/73." From the estate of the artist. In fine condition.
Exhibited at North Shore Arts Association, Gloucester, MA, 1976.
Signed lower left: "Herbert Barnett". In fine condition aside from tear at right edge not extending into image and tear at left and in lower left; tape on edges.
From the estate of the artist, estate stamp verso. In fine condition.
From artist's sketchbook. From the estate of the artist, estate stamp verso. In fine condition aside from pin holes in corners.
From the artist's sketchbook. In fine condition. From the estate of the artist.Painted in Princeton, MA.
Signed lower right: "Herbert Barnett". From artist's sketchbook. From the estate of the artist. In fine condition aside from tape at top edge on back.
Signed lower left: "Herbert Barnett". In fine condition aside from slight tear in left edge and minor tape residue at bottom left corner.
1955-60. Signed lower right: "Barnett". From the estate of the artist. In fine condition aside from minor tape residue at lower right edge.Probably drawn in Cincinnati, late 1950's-1960. Loosely related to the oil self portrait.
From artist's sketchbook. From the estate of the artist, estate stamp verso. In fine condition.
The irises depicted were provided by Esther or Cornelia Forbes from Esther's flower garden in Worcester, MA.
Estate stamp verso. In fine condition.
In the first years Herbert Barnett lived in Cincinnati, he explored the city and its environs and made many drawings and a number of oil paintings. Mt. Adams is one of the oldest neighborhoods of Cincinnati and is the location of the Art Museum and Art Academy. This drawing has been exhibited a number of times, including the New Britain Museum.
Copyright © 2018 Childs Gallery, Bond Baiano; All Rights Reserved.

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