UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 11, Page 3
November 11, 1993
Blending history and culture; Professor's book offers overview of American art

     From 16th-century paintings depicting Native Americans to Andy
Warhol's portrait of Marilyn Monroe, from simple Colonial New England
houses to Frank Lloyd Wright's spiraling Guggenheim Museum, American Art:
History and Culture,  a new book by Wayne Craven, H.F. du Pont Winterthur
Professor of Art History, gives a comprehensive overview of American art
for students and art lovers alike.
     Nine years in the writing--with almost 800 illustrations and
biographical sketches of 600 major artists--the book surveys American
painting, sculpture, architecture, decorative arts and photography. It can
be used for teaching, reading for sheer enjoyment and also as a reference
book with an extensive bibliography.
     To research the book, Craven visited well-known art museums across the
country, and less-known institutions, such as the Cowboy Hall of Fame and
local historical societies. The documents of permission he received for
reproducing art works fill a dozen notebooks, attesting to the voluminous
research and correspondence involved with creating American Art.
     "Having taught classes in American art history for three decades, I
felt that a better text was needed to teach art history and was challenged
to write one myself as an outgrowth of my lectures," he said.
     "American art is distinct from European art in that there was no
aristocracy or organized religion to act as patron. Art is not created in a
vacuum but reflects society, so American art is unique. However, most art
history texts leave out the historical and cultural background, which are
important in understanding how art has emerged and developed. Writing the
book was a learning experience and a personal journey for me," he said.
     In his survey, Craven has included the works of African-Americans and
women who have contributed much to American art, he said, including such
artists as Jacob Lawrence who created the Harriet Tubman series, and modern
sculptor Louise Nevelson.
     "Another goal was to underscore the excellence of the University in
the field of art history and the outstanding resources we have in this
area. For this reason, under my name on the title page, the 'University of
Delaware' is prominently inscribed, and throughout the book I have used
photographs of art from the University's collection and from Winterthur
museum, which has several ties to the University," Craven said.
     The cover of the paperback version of the book, printed by Brown &
Benchmark, is quintessentially American-a group of boys, running barefoot,
with joined hands in Winslow Homer's "Snap the Whip." In contrast, an
abstract work, entitled "Estate" by Robert Rauschenberg is featured on the
back cover.
     The frontispiece is a 1826 self-portrait of artist Charles Willson
Peale, holding back a drapery at the entrance of his museum in
Philadelphia, seemingly inviting the viewer to see the treasures within,
much as Craven is inviting students and others into the world of American
art in his book.
     The book is chronologically arranged, with an introductory background
of each period and with each category of art represented.
     Paintings range from pictures of the new continent by European artists
to pop art and works by Georgia O'Keeffe.
     Architecture is represented from early Spanish mission churches to New
York skyscrapers. Sculpture includes a small, painted wooden carving of
George Washington on his horse and contemporary sculptor Judy Chicago's
famous "Dinner Party," with the names of prominent women at places around a
triangular table.
     An early photograph marks the linking of the railroad across the
continent. In a later period, haunting photographs by Jacob Riis of the
tenements of New York City, which awoke the social conscience of the time,
are shown. Modern photography includes a shadowy study of the torso of a
woman by Robert Mapplethorpe. Decorative arts include early utensils from
Colonial times to the simple, spare design of Charles Eames chairs in the
Museum of Modern Art.
     A hardback version of the book is also being printed by well-known art
publishers Abrams Inc. and features a painting by Mary Cassatt on its front
cover with a photograph of Monticello on the back.
     The author of Colonial American Portraiture and Sculpture in America,
from the Colonial Period to the Present, Craven serves on the editorial
boards of Smithsonian Studies in American Art, the American Art Journal and
other publications, and he is an editor for the forthcoming, multi-volume
American National Biography.
                                                  -Sue Swyers Moncure