Jerome MyersMorning on the East Side
About the Item
- Creator:Jerome Myers (1867 - 1940, American)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU51531666663
Jerome Myers
Born in Petersburg, Virginia in 1867, Jerome Myers became an important painter of urban realism, starting with a series of images of ghetto life in 1887, the year he began studying at the Cooper Union. One of his earliest works is Backyard from that year, in a private collection, which already shows a raw, unidealized view of New York City. Thus, he actually anticipated the productions of the Ashcan School. Myers continued his studies at the Art Students League where his teacher was George de Forest Brush, the academic painter of idealized Native Americans. Brush's classicism did not rub off on Myers, who had no patience for careful drawing. He was even disturbed by the presence of a studio model, so he completed a series of self-portrait drawings to satisfy the faculty's requirements. For Myers, the academic experience was too imitative. However, he stayed around for eight years. Like artists of the Ashcan School, Myers went directly to the streets of New York for inspiration. He carried a 9x11 inch sketch pad wherever he went, like a "day and night prowler in and out of the crowds," explained Guy Pène du Bois. By 1895, Myers found a position in the New-York Tribune's art department. Probably because of academic indoctrination, Myers thought it was necessary to travel to Paris. There, he shared a room with Solon Borglum and noted the pathetic ruins of American students who had lingered too long. Myers realized the trip was not really that helpful and returned to America. "I asked myself what Paris could give, and the answer was 'Nothing’" Later in a newspaper article, Myers was extolled as "the only artist of consequence in the United States, possibly, who had no European training." He met the influential art dealer William Macbeth, who agreed to exhibit his art and the painter noted ". . . almost overnight, I had become a professional artist," thanks to this encounter. This led to various exhibitions, including the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, where his painting Night Concert won a bronze medal. In 1908, Macbeth gave Myers his first one-man show in January, a month before the famous exhibition of Robert Henri's group The Eight. In many respects, the style of Myers paralleled the gritty urban realism of Henri, George Luks, John Sloan, Everett Shinn, Theresa Bernstein and William Glackens. Although Myers was a friend of Henri, he was not part of the group because Henri regarded Myers's art as too sentimental. Sloan thought it was more a question of Myers being roughly the same age as Henri and thus could not have been a disciple. Myers did, however, participate in the "Exhibition of Independent Artists" in 1910, which Henri and his colleagues organized. Then Myers hosted a group in his studio that was to become the American Association of Painters and Sculptors (AAPS), the group responsible for the Armory Show in 1913. Myers, who exhibited two paintings there along with fifteen drawings, was dismayed that the European art in the show attracted the most attention. In addition, the work turned out to be radical modernist-oriented, excluding the contemporary realists entirely. Myers returned to the streets of New York, especially the places where immigrants gathered on the Lower East Side. He noted, when the immigrants "merge here with New York, something happens that gives vibrancy I didn't get in any other place." He also depicted the moment of leisure, for example, at the East River Pier and night concerts in the parks. Myers relished in the outdoor activities of New Yorkers, and at the end of his life, he regretted a new distrusting atmosphere in which people tended to stay more at home: "Something is gone. Something is missing." I say to myself, "It is the warmth of human contact. New Yorkers no longer live in the open." Myers continued to exhibit and win prizes, five at the National Academy of Design. His works are to be found in major American museums.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Tatoo-Shave-HaircutBy Reginald MarshLocated in New York, NYReginald Marsh (1898-1934), Tattoo-Shave-Haircut, etching, 1932. Signed, titled (“Tattoo-Haircut-Shave”), dedicated (“for Arnold Newman”), and annotated (“Fourth State. First of Two Prints”). Reference: Sasowsky 140. On cream wove paper. In very good condition, with small margins (as trimmed, slightly irregularly, by the artist) (slight foxing in margins), remains of prior hinging verso; 9 7/8 x 9 3/4, the sheet 10 15/16 x 10 5/8 inches; archival matting. A very fine rich black impression; we have not seen impressions of comparable quality on the market. Provenance: Estate of Arnold Newman. Arnold Newman (1918-2006) was one of the great 20th Century masters of photography, and a friend of many leading artists; it is appears that Marsh took special care in printing this impression for Newman. Sasowsky calls for 10 states of Tattoo-Shave, based largely on Marsh’s notes. But the states are not clearly delineated (e.g., his States 3 and 4, one proof each, are characterized by Marsh as “Engraving added”; no information is given for State 5). The design for the print was complete in the first state, and subsequent state changes were not, apparently, major. This impression does not appear to differ in etching lines from the final state impression shown in Sasowsky. Its inscription (as a Fourth State, by Marsh), as well as its rich inking and quality, attest to its being a proof before the edition (of about 34 impressions), but the state of this print (and, presumably of many of the other several proof impressions) cannot at this time be stated with confidence. Marsh printed this impression personally (we recall his famous answer to a question about the size of his editions: “Since I do practically all my own printing, I do not limit the edition. The buyer limits the edition – he rarely buys, I rarely print”). Tattoo-Shave-Haircut depicts a scene in the Bowery, a section of New York’s Lower East Side, during the Great Depression. The building and train structures in the top half of the print recall Piranesi’s Carceri...Category
1930s American Realist Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching
- One Can't Tell Why - Proof from the Disasters of WarBy Francisco GoyaLocated in New York, NYFrancisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746 Fuendetodos – Bordeaux 1828), No se puede saber por qué – One can’t tell why ca. 1808–1814, etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint, an...Category
1810s Old Masters Figurative Prints
MaterialsDrypoint, Etching, Aquatint
- Souper a New YorkBy Jean-Emile LaboureurLocated in New York, NYJean-Emile Laboureur (1877-, Souper a New York, etching on zinc, 1907, signed in pencil bottom left margin; also annotated “No 11/20 imp” bottom margin. Reference: Sylvain Laboureur ...Category
Early 1900s French School Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching
- Dimanche en BretagneBy Jean-Emile LaboureurLocated in New York, NYJean-Emile Laboureur (1877-1943), Dimanche en Bretagne, etching, 1939, signed in pencil lower left and inscribed “ep d’artite” lower right. Reference: Laboureur 543, second state (of...Category
1930s Realist Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching
- Village ChatBy Jean-Emile LaboureurLocated in New York, NYJean-Emile Laboureur (1877-1943), Causerie Villageoise (Village Chat), engraving with touches of roulette and etching, 1924, signed in pencil lower left, numbered and inscribed “imp”...Category
1920s Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching, Engraving
- L'Eventail (The Fan)By Gerald Leslie BrockhurstLocated in New York, NYGerald Brockhurst, L’Eventail (The Fan), etching, 1926, signed in pencil, from the edition of 76. Reference: Fletcher 22, Wright 22. In good condition, on cream laid paper with margins (a thin spot inherent in paper lower margin near edge), the matrix pristine, archival matting. A fine impression of this small but impressive demonstration of Brockhurst’s mastery of etching. The woman carrying the fan is of course Brockhurst’s favorite model, at least at this time, his wife Anais. She wears an embroidered coat which allows Brockhurst to display his capacity to capture complex textures with the etching needle – much as his predecessor Wenzel Hollar used women’s furs...Category
1920s Realist Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching
- Narcissist Seeks Similar (Large)By Harland MillerLocated in Bristol, GBEtching with relief printing Edition of 45/50 Signed on the front, numbered on the back Mint Published by Manifold Editions, 2021 Our mission is to connect art collectors to opportu...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching
- Nadia au regard attentifBy Henri MatisseLocated in London, GBAquatint on Marais wove paper Edition of 25 Signed and numbered 25/25 in pencil lower right Duthuit 794Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Prints and Multiples
MaterialsAquatint
- COUPLE DE PAYSANSBy Camille PissarroLocated in Portland, MEPissarro, Camille. COUPLE DE PAYSANS. D.125. Etching and aquatint on laid paper. Unsigned. From the posthumous edition of 10 printed in 1923. 4 3/4 x 3 1/8 inches, 118 x 78 mm. (plat...Category
1920s Figurative Prints
MaterialsAquatint, Etching
- Fumeur à la Cigarette BlancheBy Pablo PicassoLocated in London, GBEtching and aquatint in colours, 1964, on Richard de Bas wove paper, signed in pencil and numbered 41/50 from the edition of 50, printed by Pennequin for Atelier Crommelynck, publish...Category
1960s Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching
- Ancient Map - Zeilan - Etching by Johannes Janssonius - 1650sBy Johannes JanssoniusLocated in Roma, ITAncient Map - Zeilan is an ancient map realized in 1650 by Johannes Janssonius (1588-1664). The Map is Hand-colored etching, with coeval watercoloring. ...Category
1650s Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching
- Orbis Terrarum - Etching by Johannes Janssonius - 1650sBy Johannes JanssoniusLocated in Roma, ITAntique Map - Orbis Terrarum is an antique map realized in 1650 by Johannes Janssonius (1588-1664). The Map is Hand-colored etching, with coeval watercoloring. Good conditions with...Category
1650s Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsEtching