A Wild Note of Longing: Albert Pinkham Ryder and a Century of American Art

(Hardback)

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Few American artists have captured painters' imaginations with the gripping force of Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847-1917). The brooding spirituality of his works, coupled with formal innovation decades ahead of its time, have long made Ryder a favourite of innovators like Jackson Pollock, Marsden Hartley, and Robert Rauschenberg. And yet, the artist's biography and practices remain elusive. A Wild Note of Longing whose title is taken from a Ryder poem takes up the challenge, bringing a new generation of scholarship to the most comprehensive collection of Ryder masterworks assembled to date. Ryder is considered a seminal artist for both the late-nineteenth-century Gilded Age and for the emerging modernism of the early twentieth century. This publication presents research from the last ten years including William Agee's recent work on Ryder's influence and context within modernism. New evidence has also debunked some of the historical myths around Ryder, such as the degree of his elusiveness and social eccentricities and the lack of deliberateness with which he experimented with colour and luminosity. New perspectives include a deep focus on Ryder from the perspective of his hometown of New Bedford, Massachusetts. This monumental project will represent multiple voices from leaders in the field on the continuing and ever evolving relevance of Albert Pinkham Ryder on modern art.

Reviews

"With color illustrations as well as insightful essays by Christina Connett Brophy, Elizabeth Broun, and William C. Agee that analyze, respectively, Ryders historical context, his elusive painterly ideas, and his outsize influence on generations of artists, A Wild Note of Longing: Albert Pinkham Ryder and a Century of American Artoffers us the exceedingly welcome chance to reflect on this austere, stirring, and wholeheartedly strange painter." THE NEW CRITERION

"The exhibition catalogue is a substantial publication. High-quality images alternate with essays by the three curators. While Brophys text focuses on the historical and artistic context of New Bedford, Broun gives an analysis of Ryders work and the effect of his paintings on viewers. As she writes, Ryders artworks 'reveal their allure slowly over time, after repeated looking,' echoing the artists own slow labor. Agees essay (like his curation) focuses on Ryders legacy: 'His influence through generations of artists has often been quiet, even invisible, like an underground stream, but nevertheless one that flows steadily.' Agee explains that Ryders paintings have attracted artists by giving them 'permission to feel again, to break free of the chains of theory.' This license for freedom and individuality was also felt by painter Peter Shear, who describes Ryders work as a 'fortunate place to get lost at a moment when, like all young artists, I was searching for the permission to be myself.'"THE BROOKLYN RAIL

Author Bio

Christina Connett Brophy, PhD, The Douglas and Cynthia Crocker Endowed Chair for the Chief Curator, New Bedford Whaling Museum, Massachusetts. With a PhD from the University of Valencia, Spain; an MA from University of Auckland, New Zealand; and a BA from Northwestern University, Dr. Brophy has curated and advised on exhibitions in numerous institutions nationally and internationally and has over ten years of university teaching experience at RISD and University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.