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Classroom use - profile of artist Ivan Albright
Arts & Activities, Dec, 2002 by Guy Hubbard
THIS FACE
Many artists have painted sadness on the faces of handsome men and beautiful women. Ivan Albright, however, chose to paint a portrait of a middle-aged woman who truly had good reason for sadness because she has forever lost the good looks of her youth. With great sadness on her face, she is gazing into a mirror mournfully remembering the good looks of her youth and how rapidly they have faded away.
ABOUT IVAN ALBRIGHT
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* Ivan Albright and his twin brother, Malvin, were the sons of a succesful Chicago-area artist, Adam Emory Albright. Their father gave intensive drawing instruction to his sons from early childhood and also introduced them to the rich art collection of The Art Institute of Chicago. They also visited the traveling art exhibitions that were periodically displayed there. The importance of their father's contribution, however, lay in involving them with the discipline of drawing from an early age and teaching them to be interested in all kinds of art.
The twins eventually became artists, although their work--especially Ivan's--is very different from their father's. Ivan was very competitive and made art ceaselessly. While he was not interested in selling his work, he craved recognition and winning awards.
* Ivan joined the armed services during World War I and was sent to France, where he worked as a medical illustrator in a military hospital. On his return home, he continued with medical illustration for a while. He also tried working in an architects office and then in an advertising studio. But none of these jobs satisfied him.
* At ages 21, Ivan and Malvin both enrolled at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, from which they graduated in 1923. During this time--and throughout their lives--they continued to surround themselves with art through regular visits to the Art Institute. They also kept themselves up-to-date with the art world by continuing to attend special exhibitions.
* The twins had adjoining studios just outside Chicago and sealed down to be painters during the very difficult time of the Great Depression. Unlike their father who painted sunny, sentimental pictures, they didn't like the idea of painting to please rich people. As a result, they survived by doing odd jobs and also receiving support from their father. Another reason why Ivan could afford to go his own way was that he did not marry until late in life.
One exception to working for himself occurred during the Depression when he worked awhile for the Works Progress Administration, a Federal program set up to provide support for needy artists.
* Ivan rejected European ideas about Modernism in art that were rapidly becoming dominant about 100 years ago. Instead, he was attracted by the often grotesque, nightmarish paintings from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance in Northern European countries, such as Holland and Germany. He admired the expertness of these artists so much, that he copied many of their paintings in order to learn as much as possible about the way these artists worked.
* He was also attracted to ordinary people rather than heroes or those who were wealthy and powerful. And, above all, he was obsessed by the idea that life is very short and that the ripeness of youth is a rapidly passing fantasy.
The French artist, Jean Dubuffet, admired Albright's paintings, but found them very alarming because they leave viewers with an overpowering sense of solitude and emptiness. In his opinion, Albright rejected our normal ideas of beauty and replaced them with a feeling of fear.
* While most of Albright's artworks were oil paintings, he also produced watercolors, prints, and clay sculptures that were later cast in bronze.
* Ivan Albright's major paintings, together with notebooks and sketchbooks, were given to The Art Institute of Chicago when he died, so this is the place to visit to see a collection of his works.
THINGS TO DO IN SCHOOL
* A useful way to begin understanding the art of Ivan Albright is for students to study large reproductions of his work, like the one reproduced here. Even then, they will need to use magnifying glasses to be able to see the extreme detail present in his paintings.
A follow-up to this visual study might be for students to select a very small segment of this reproduction--perhaps a 1-inch square--and draw in as much detail as possible.
* Instead of using part of this reproduction for study, students may prefer to choose a real object that has an interesting surface and draw it in detail. The difference between this task and the one above is that students would be studying actual surfaces--like Albright did--rather than an artist's interpretation of them.
* Ivan Albright was obsessed with the idea that life passes by very quickly. In fact, he often had models sit for him only to paint them as if they were very much older.
While students attending school may find it next to impossible to fully understand the meaning of aging, they may be helped by following the example set by Ivan Albright. For example, they might find a fairly large photograph of a family member, a film star or an athlete and create an original portrait based on the photograph, but showing that same person as if they were much older.
