![Archives of American Art - Seymour Fogel - 3062](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Archives_of_American_Art_-_Seymour_Fogel_-_3062.jpg)
Seymour Fogel (August 24, 1911 – December 4, 1984) was an American artist whose artistic output included
social realist
Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...
art early in the century,
abstract art
Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world.
Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th ...
and
expressionist
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
art at mid-century, and transcendental art late in the century. His drive to experiment led him to work with expected media –
oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varn ...
s,
watercolor
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
s, and
acrylics – as well as unconventional media such as glass, plastics, sand, and
wax
Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to giv ...
.
Education
Seymour Fogel was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on August 24, 1911. He studied at the
Art Students League
The Art Students League of New York is an art school at American Fine Arts Society, 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists ...
in 1929 and at the
National Academy of Design
The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...
from 1929 to 1932 under such established artists as
Leon Kroll
Leon Kroll (December 6, 1884 – October 25, 1974) was an American painter and lithographer. A figurative artist described by ''Life'' magazine as "the dean of U.S. nude painters", he was also a landscape painter and also produced an exceptional ...
and
George Brandt Bridgman
George Brant Bridgman (November 5, 1864 – December 16, 1943) was a Canadian-American painter, writer, and teacher in the fields of anatomy and figure drawing. Bridgman taught anatomy for artists at the Art Students League of New York for so ...
.
Fogel was dissatisfied with the schooling he received at the National Academy, noting in his memoirs: "when I left my school, I could copy most anything, draw the human figure and paint it, and nothing else. I didn't know what a painting really was, how to create anything, and my impressionable mind was firmly molded in academic Papier-mâché."
Career
In 1932, upon graduation from the National Academy, Seymour Fogel served as an apprentice to the
Mexican mural
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
ist
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...
, then working on his controversial mural at
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco ...
in New York City. Fogel and Rivera became close friends, with the latter exercising a formative influence on the former. Rivera introduced Fogel to the techniques of large-scale mural painting.
By the mid-1930s Fogel was an established member of the New York City art community, and was familiar with artists like
Yasuo Kuniyoshi
was a Japanese-American painter, photographer and printmaker.
Biography
Kuniyoshi was born on September 1, 1889 in Okayama, Japan. He immigrated to the United States in 1906, choosing not to attend military school in Japan. Kuniyoshi original ...
,
Alexander Brook
Alexander Brook (July 14, 1898 – February 26, 1980) was an American artist, teacher, and art critic, known for his paintings. He was active from 1910 until 1966.
Biography
Brook was born in Brooklyn, New York on July 14, 1898, to a Russian f ...
,
Georg Theo Hartman,
Arnold Blanch,
Adolf Dehn
Adolf Dehn (November 22, 1895 – May 19, 1968) was an American artist known mainly as a lithographer. Throughout his artistic career, he participated in and helped define some important movements in American art, including regionalism, social r ...
,
Phillip Guston
Philip Guston (born Phillip Goldstein, June 27, 1913 – June 7, 1980), was a Canadian American painter, printmaker, muralist and draftsman. Early in his five decade career, muralist David Siquieros described him as one of "the most promising ...
,
Ben Shahn
Ben Shahn (September 12, 1898 – March 14, 1969) was an American artist. He is best known for his works of social realism, his left-wing political views, and his series of lectures published as ''The Shape of Content''.
Biography
Shahn was bor ...
, and
Rico Lebrun
Rico (Federico) Lebrun (Naples, December 10, 1900 – Malibu, May 9, 1964) was an Italian-American painter and sculptor.
Early life
Lebrun was born in 1900 in Naples, Italy. He initially studied banking and journalism before taking art classes ...
. Ed Walker, the chairman of Millikin University's art department, noted that Fogel's "story reads like a 'who's who' in midcentury American art."
From 1934 to 1941 Fogel was awarded several mural commissions by both the
Federal Art Project
The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administrati ...
of the
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
("WPA") and the
Treasury Department's
Section of Painting and Sculpture
The Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture was a New Deal art project established on October 16, 1934, and administered by the Procurement Division of the United States Department of the Treasury.
Commonly known as the Section, it was rena ...
, executing murals in such places as
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
;
Safford, Arizona
Safford (Western Apache: Ichʼįʼ Nahiłtį́į́) is a city in Graham County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the population of the city is 10,129. The city is the county seat of Graham County.
Safford is the principal ...
;
Cambridge, Minnesota
Cambridge is a city in Isanti County, Minnesota, United States, located at the junction of Minnesota State Highways 65 and 95. The population was 9,611 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Isanti County. It is located along the Rum Riv ...
;
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and at the
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...
. While traveling across the United States in freight trains to complete mural commissions for the Federal government, Fogel produced drawings of ordinary Americans who had been affected by the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. These social realist works depicted grinding urban poverty, and lynchings in the American South.
In 1946, Fogel moved to
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
where he accepted a teaching position at the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. He became an integral part of the
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
Modernism
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
movement, along with such artists as
Kelly Fearing
William Kelly Fearing was a visual artist who was termed, in his time, a “magical realist” and “Romantic surrealist”. He was a member of the Fort Worth Circle, a cohort of artists often credited with bringing modern art to Texas and the f ...
, Lester and
Charles Umlauf
Charles Umlauf (July 17, 1911 – November 19, 1994) was an American sculptor and teacher who was born in South Haven, Michigan. His sculptures can be found in churches, numerous public institutions, outdoor locations, and museums, including the ...
. In Texas he executed what have been considered the first abstract murals in the state for the American National Bank (1954), which was recognized by
''Time'' magazine as one of the year's most significant achievements in corporate art, the Baptist Student Center at the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
(1949), the First National Bank in
Waco
Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...
(1955), the First Christian Church in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
(1956) and the Petroleum Club, also in Houston (1950). He pioneered the use of
ethyl silicate
Tetraethyl orthosilicate, formally named tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), ethyl silicate is the organic chemical compound with the formula Si(OC2H5)4. TEOS is a colorless liquid. It degrades in water. TEOS is the of orthosilicic acid, Si(OH)4. It ...
in his mural commissions.
![Seymour fogel house 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Seymour_fogel_house_2011.jpg)
Fogel converted a rustic 19th century
barn
A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G. ...
in South Austin into a
ranch-style house
Ranch (also known as American ranch, California ranch, rambler, or rancher) is a domestic architectural style that originated in the United States. The ranch-style house is noted for its long, close-to-the-ground profile, and wide open layout. ...
with
Usonian
Usonia () is a word that was used by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright to refer to the United States in general (in preference to ''America''), and more specifically to his vision for the landscape of the country, including the planning of ...
influences in 1953. The
Seymour and Barbara Fogel House, which Fogel called "Southwind", was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on April 2, 2003, both for its association with Fogel and its unique architecture and construction.
In 1959 Seymour Fogel moved back to New York City where he maintained a studio and established his residence first in
Westport and then in
Weston, Connecticut
Weston is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,354 at the 2020 census with the highest median household income in Connecticut. The town is served by Route 57 and Route 53, both of which run through the t ...
. During this time he began to experiment with texturing his paintings with such material as
paraffin wax
Paraffin wax (or petroleum wax) is a soft colorless solid derived from petroleum, coal, or oil shale that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between 20 and 40 carbon atoms. It is solid at room temperature and begins to m ...
, cloth, wood and sand. In New York he produced
transcendentalist art which he referred to as "atavistic." Mural commissions at this time include the U.S. Federal Building in
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
(1966), the Hoffman La Roche Corporate Towers in
Nutley, New Jersey
Nutley is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 30,143.
What is now Nutley was originally incorporated as Franklin Township by an act of the New Jersey Legisla ...
(1964), Public School 306 in Brooklyn, New York (1967) and the U.S. Federal Customs Building in
Foley Square
Foley Square, also called Federal Plaza, is a street intersection in the Civic Center neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, which contains a small triangular park named Thomas Paine Park. The space is bordered by Worth Street to th ...
, New York City in 1968. In the latter stage of his mural career, he used mosaic as his primary medium.
In 1974 Seymour Fogel relocated his studio from New York City to his residence in Weston. In this last decade of his life, Fogel focused entirely on atavistic art in a variety of forms: paintings, drawings, collages and both painted and raw wood constructions. Seymour Fogel died on December 4, 1984.
Exhibitions
Fogel's art was exhibited in numerous museums and galleries, including the
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...
, the
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University.
Overview
The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design ...
, the
Telfair Museum of Art
Telfair Museums, in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia, was the first public art museum in the Southern United States. Founded through the bequest of Mary Telfair (1791–1875), a prominent local citizen, and operated by the Georgia Histo ...
, the Greenville County Museum of Art and the
Dallas Museum of Art
The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...
. His work can now be found in numerous museum collections, including the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; National Archives of American Art, Washington DC; the Museum of Fine Arts Houston; Dallas Museum of Art; Whitney Museum of American Art, NY; Amon Carter Museum of Art; Telfair Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia; Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO; Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC; Kresge Art Museum, East Lansing, MI; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
Fogel generated a prolific and distinctive body of work. John Baur, director emeritus of the Whitney Museum of American Art, noted Seymour Fogel's art was shown at the Whitney museum many times. Of Fogel, Baur said: "I have learned the only thing one can safely expect in Fogel's work is the unexpected. Men like Sy have worked in all media, explored all styles, and refused to limit themselves."
Greta Berman, an art historian and educator at Juilliard College wrote: "Fogel's endless exploration into self and the eternal world reaches beyond easy definition … revealing a multitude of dimension and meaning that forms the very essence of art."
[Seymour Fogel: Self Knowledge Into Form]
References
External links
Texas Mural ProjectLife of Seymour Fogel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fogel, Seymour
1911 births
1984 deaths
Abstract expressionist artists
20th-century American painters
American male painters
American muralists
Painters from Texas
Art Students League of New York alumni
Federal Art Project artists
Painters from New York City
National Academy of Design alumni
Section of Painting and Sculpture artists
People from Westport, Connecticut
People from Weston, Connecticut
20th-century American male artists