Modern Art History: MFA Examines Five New Installations

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Dos Mujeres (Salvadora y Herminia) by Frida Kahlo (detail), 1928. The oil on canvas is one of the artworks examining modern art history at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

REVIEW: Five New Installations at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Examine Modern Art History and Contributions of Artists

BY KAZAD

BOSTON— A series of new installations examining what it meant to be in the vanguard of Modern art in the 20th century is one of the major attractions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) this July. With an overarching title of Making Modern in the 20th century, each installation represents a moment—from Mexico City to New York to Boston—that illustrates the evolution of Modern art in North America.

On display are works by Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, Georgia O’Keeffe, Max Beckmann, Karl Zerbe, Pablo Picasso, and several other important modern artists of the 20th century. At the core of the installations is the history of modern art and modern artists in the Americas who drew influences from different sources, including contemporaries, teachers, rivals, and friends. These influences inspired 20th-century painters who took their artistic practice in dramatic new directions.

Located on the third floor of the Art of the Americas Wing at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), the installations feature new acquisitions, rarely seen loans, and masterpieces from the MFA’s collection. The installations provide a fresh perspective on Modern artists working in the 20th century.

Five New Installations Examining Modern Art History and Artists:

Kahlo and Her Circle: A close look at Frida Kahlo’s Dos Mujeres, and her circle of family and friends.

Image: Imogen Cunningham's photograph of Frida Kahlo Rivera, Painter and Wife of Diego Rivera is one of the images examining modern art history at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Imogen Cunningham, Frida Kahlo Rivera, Painter and Wife of Diego Rivera (detail), 1931. Photograph, gelatin silver print. The Lane Collection. Image: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

One of the installations is Kahlo and Her Circle in the Robert and Jane Burke Gallery. Included in the show are artworks of Frida Kahlo and her circle of family and friends in Mexico City. Based on the Museum of Fine Art in Boston’s recently acquired and newly conserved Dos Mujeres (1928) by Kahlo, the installation brings an important new context to Kahlo’s artistic career.

Adding meaning to the art installation are photographs by Tina Modotti, Edward Weston, and Imogen Cunningham. Cunningham’s black and white portrait photograph of Kahlo is very revealing of the artist as a stylish cultural icon. The show also includes lithographs by Diego Rivera, and recently acquired archival material related to the artist, including the wedding portrait of Kahlo and Rivera by Victor Reyes. The images from recently acquired archival material related to the artist bring new understanding to the life of the artist.

***Pollock/Picasso*: The Artistic Dialogue of Two Titans**

Modern Art- Jackson Pollock's Number 10, 1949 (detail), 1949, is one of the paintings examining modern art history at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The contrasts between two titans of Modern art is at the center of Pollock/Picasso in the Saundra B. and William H. Lane Galleries. Besides showing the stylistic difference between Jackson Pollock and Pablo Picasso, the side-by-side groupings of paintings, sculpture, works on paper, and films of the artist at work investigates Pollock’s engagement with Picasso.

More importantly, Pollock/Picasso reveals how Pollock shifted away from representation into abstraction during the 1930s and ’40s. Although Pollock had experienced Picasso’s artworks in museums, galleries, and publications, he shifted his creative direction to embrace abstraction. The mid-century shift—both geographic (Paris to New York) that laid the foundation for Abstract Expressionism in the US is at the core of Pollock/Picasso. Although Picasso pushed the boundaries of representation, Pollock took it in a new direction that influenced a generation of artists.

The Lane Collection: Georgia O’Keeffe, Charles Sheeler, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, and Stuart Davis.

Modern Art -Georgia O’Keeffe's Deer’s Skull with Pedernal, 1936, is one of the paintings examining modern art history at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Georgia O’Keeffe, Deer’s Skull with Pedernal, 1936. Oil on canvas. ©Georgia O’Keeffe Museum / Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Artworks by Georgia O’Keeffe, Charles Sheeler, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, and Stuart Davis occupy the central gallery at the MFA in an exhibition titled The Lane Collection: O’Keeffe, Sheeler, Dove. The five American artists are from photographer Alfred Stieglitz’s circle. They showed their artworks in Alfred Stieglitz’s and Edith Halpert’s New York City galleries.

Artists Influencing Artists

The artists who were close friends influenced and inspired each other. Their works were actively collected by William H. Lane and his wife Saundra, which is where the works for this installation emanated. While the works by the artists are grouped separately to reveal their individual artistic identity, they also show their influences. The installation also presents the voice and contributions of the artists to Modern art.

Beckmann in America: Max Beckmann and the Boston Expressionists

Image: Max Beckmann's Perry T. Rathbone 1948, is one of the paintings examining modern art history at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

At the height of the persecution of artists in Germany during Hitler’s reign of terror, Max Beckmann and Karl Zerbe fled Europe. The German-born artists immigrated to the US and had a lasting impact on American artists especially those working in Boston. Beckmann in America located in the Saundra B. and William H. Lane Galleries highlights the influence of Max Beckmann and Karl Zerbe on Boston Expressionists.

Boston Expressionism

The Saundra B. and William H. Lane Galleries explore the work of both artists, as well as their students Hyman Bloom and Jack Levine, who established Boston Expressionism as a major style of painting at mid-century. Individually, each artist went on to articulate their own personal responses to the bold subjects and broad technique of the German Expressionists. Beckmann, Zerbe, and their students, including David Aaronson, went on to establish the Fine Art Department at Boston University.

Hofmann and the Next Generation of Abstract Artists

Image: Hans Hofmann's Twilight (detail), 1957 oil on plywood is one of the paintings examining modern art history at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Hans Hofmann (American, born in Germany), an abstract expressionist and prominent teacher is a phenomenon in modern art history. Besides training hundreds of students in his distinctive technique, he also inspired his peers and a new generation to develop their own artistic voice. His studios in New York and Provincetown were a beehive of activities and filled with students desperate to learn.

Hofmann and the Next Generation in the Melvin Blake and Frank Purnell Gallery illustrates the impact of pedagogy on mid-century abstract artists. The gallery features works by Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler, David Smith, and Peter Voulkos. Many of the paintings reflect their deep influence on abstract art and technique. Sculptures by David Smith and Peter Voulkos also show Hofmann’s deep influence on the next generation of abstract artists.