by Artist (236)
Philip Evergood
American, 1901–1973
“Sure, I’m a Social Painter,” was the title of an article written by Philip Evergood in 1943. While he and others considered that his art was primarily one of social commentary, over a career spanning some fifty years Evergood developed into an artist not so simply characterized. Incorporating elements of fantasy and romanticism, his art was first and foremost a study of the larger human condition.
Born Philip Blashki in New York City in 1901, he was the son of an artist, Meyer Evergood Blaski, who had emigrated from Australia. His mother, Flora Perry, was the daughter of a wealthy English family, and Evergood’s formal education was primarily accomplished in English boarding schools. A precociously talented child (he was a fine pianist by the time he was nine years old), he received a certificate in drawing from the Slade School of Art in London in 1923, and later attended painting classes in Paris at the Académie Julian.
During the worst years of the Great Depression, Evergood abandoned his original student subject matter of still lifes and nudes and began to paint from his own experience. By combining his expertise in drawing and painting, his style began to evolve as he produced more skillful integrations of space, line and color. His paintings have always featured brilliant, almost jarring color juxtapositions, designed to convey the mood of his subject, usually one of high energy or violence.
Like many other painters of the 1930s, Evergood was determined to comment on events of the day in his work—particularly the social unrest that characterized American life in that era—and he became known for that subject matter. Paint application and color were raw and raucous, without the harmonies that would signal a more peaceful environment. A typical work was American Tragedy (1936) that illustrated a street battle between steel mill strikers and police in Chicago; compositions of this type insured his reputation as a “social painter.”
Happiness Farm conveys a different tone entirely and incorporates a number of elements that are central to Evergood’s art. The composition is structured by the use of a calligraphic line (seen in the massive trees that screen the foreground). The flowers and horses symbolize a peaceful, innocent pleasure. This work was probably painted around the time that Evergood first made contact with his most important patron, Joseph Hirshhorn, whose purchase of Evergood’s art allowed the artist some financial security. He and his wife purchased a home in Manhattan, as well as a small cottage in a rural area near Patchogue, Long Island. This painting reflects a period of domestic contentment that was rare in Evergood’s life.
Later in his career Evergood made a practice of reworking earlier works still in his possession, and this may have been the case with Happiness Farm. When it was exhibited in 1969, it was dated 1963 in the checklist despite the fact that it is clearly dated 1943 in roman numerals on the canvas. It was most likely Evergood’s own decision to re-date the work, but the manner in which he may have adjusted it is unknown.
Philip Evergood, “Sure, I’m a Social Painter,” The Magazine of Art (November, 1943), pp. 254–59.
American, 1901–1973
Happiness Farm
1946
Object Type:
Painting
Dimensions:
30 1/8 x 24 in. (76.52 x 60.96 cm)
Medium and Support:
Oil on canvas
Accession Number:
2018.0010.0002
Credit Line:
Gift of Babette L. Wampold in memory of Charles H. Wampold
Currently On View
“Sure, I’m a Social Painter,” was the title of an article written by Philip Evergood in 1943. While he and others considered that his art was primarily one of social commentary, over a career spanning some fifty years Evergood developed into an artist not so simply characterized. Incorporating elements of fantasy and romanticism, his art was first and foremost a study of the larger human condition.
Born Philip Blashki in New York City in 1901, he was the son of an artist, Meyer Evergood Blaski, who had emigrated from Australia. His mother, Flora Perry, was the daughter of a wealthy English family, and Evergood’s formal education was primarily accomplished in English boarding schools. A precociously talented child (he was a fine pianist by the time he was nine years old), he received a certificate in drawing from the Slade School of Art in London in 1923, and later attended painting classes in Paris at the Académie Julian.
During the worst years of the Great Depression, Evergood abandoned his original student subject matter of still lifes and nudes and began to paint from his own experience. By combining his expertise in drawing and painting, his style began to evolve as he produced more skillful integrations of space, line and color. His paintings have always featured brilliant, almost jarring color juxtapositions, designed to convey the mood of his subject, usually one of high energy or violence.
Like many other painters of the 1930s, Evergood was determined to comment on events of the day in his work—particularly the social unrest that characterized American life in that era—and he became known for that subject matter. Paint application and color were raw and raucous, without the harmonies that would signal a more peaceful environment. A typical work was American Tragedy (1936) that illustrated a street battle between steel mill strikers and police in Chicago; compositions of this type insured his reputation as a “social painter.”
Happiness Farm conveys a different tone entirely and incorporates a number of elements that are central to Evergood’s art. The composition is structured by the use of a calligraphic line (seen in the massive trees that screen the foreground). The flowers and horses symbolize a peaceful, innocent pleasure. This work was probably painted around the time that Evergood first made contact with his most important patron, Joseph Hirshhorn, whose purchase of Evergood’s art allowed the artist some financial security. He and his wife purchased a home in Manhattan, as well as a small cottage in a rural area near Patchogue, Long Island. This painting reflects a period of domestic contentment that was rare in Evergood’s life.
Later in his career Evergood made a practice of reworking earlier works still in his possession, and this may have been the case with Happiness Farm. When it was exhibited in 1969, it was dated 1963 in the checklist despite the fact that it is clearly dated 1943 in roman numerals on the canvas. It was most likely Evergood’s own decision to re-date the work, but the manner in which he may have adjusted it is unknown.
Philip Evergood, “Sure, I’m a Social Painter,” The Magazine of Art (November, 1943), pp. 254–59.
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