The Boston Painters 1900-1930

by R.H. Ives Gammell

Copyright 1986 by Elizabeth Ives Hunter 207 pages 11 Photographs, 120 B&W Illustrations and 42 Color Illustrations ISBN 0-940160-31-5 OUT OF PRINT CONDITION This book is in excellent condition. No missing pages or markings.

207 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1986

About the author

Robert Hale Ives Gammell (1883-1981) was an American artist best known for his sequence of paintings based on Francis Thompson's poem "The Hound of Heaven". Gammell painted symbolic images that reflected his study of literature, mythology, psychology, and religion.

Reviews

[Mike Zickar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice illustrations of many underappreciated or neglected Boston-area artists from the previous turn of the century. The book is disappointing though, in that was written by an artist himself who had a strong and narrow conception of art. Basically, art didn't recovery from the 1913 invasion of The Armory Show. Besides the conservative opinions of the author, it was also frustrating in that the content on each of the 7 or so artists he features is generally slim, though occasionally with interesting personal anecdotes. This lack of detail is frustrating because there is so little information out there on many of these artists featured in the book.

On the plus side, a quick read.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important book for those interested in American art and impressionism. It introduces what is now recognized as the Boston School of painting, which was active and influential between 1875 and 1930 and influenced the development of painting in the US. In particular, DeCamp, Tarbell, and Benson, three of the Ten American Painters group – the moving force of American impressionism – were the key figures in the group. Overall, the core of the “Boston School” is a group of artists who were teaching or were taught in several Boston Art schools (School of the MFA, Normal Art School, Cowles Art School) and active in several art clubs. Beyond the three painters mentioned above, it produced several other well-known artists and scores of less-known artists, great in their days.

The book is written by Ives Gamell, who had seen the Boston school at its peak and was a student of several prominent Boston artists. With first-hand knowledge about most Boston school artists, Gamell attempts to present a complete picture of the School's history and highlight notable artists. In the first chapter, “The Antecedents” he starts with the founders, those who taught the first generation of Boston artists and were at the start of the MFA school founded in 1875 – William Morris Hunt, Emil Otto Grundmann, Frank Duveneck, Francis Davis Millet, Dennis Miller Bunker. He devoted the next chapters to presenting several of the most influential artists – starting with Vinton, then DeCamp, Tarbell, and Benson, then William McGregor Paxton, and finally, Philip and Lilian Westcott Halle. These chapters are rather brief but include a good volume of personal knowledge, which makes it a good addition to several books that were devoted to most of these key artists.

The final two chapters “Contemporaries” and “Guild of Boston Artists” cover even more briefly many less-known artists devoting one or more paragraph to each. Contemporaries present artists working side by side with the primary generations, born between 1945 and 1965, while the Guild of Boston Artists introduces the younger generation, those born around 1880, who carried the traditions of Boston School well to the middle of 20th century (many lived to 1960ies and 1970ies). With a few exceptions, there are still no books devoted to these artists, although all of them produced remarkable work and many were members or associates of the National Academy.
The book illustrates its narration with over 150 illustrations of paintings produced by the mentioned artists. It also includes a list of included paintings and brief biographical notes for all mentioned artists.

Overall, it is a highly informative book for those who want to understand better American art, especially the realist and impressionist streams. The main problem of the book is the presentation of the paintings. Most of the illustrations are in B&W. The description says “120 B&W Illustrations and 42 Color Illustrations”. There are only two inserts with color reproductions and the quality of color printing is rather poor. Given that the book was printed in 1986, it is not surprising, but unfortunate.