Thursday 13 October 2011Eugene Savage: The Seminole Paintings
Eugene Savage
To be published in October 2011 by D Giles Limited in association with the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Jacksonville, FL, Eugene Savage: The Seminole Paintings is a colourful introduction to an American artist best known as a muralist with the Works Progress Administration. This new volume features 40 paintings from The Cummer’s important recent acquisition of more than 100 of his Seminole works for its permanent collection
Eugene Savage (1883-1978) is mostly known today for his decorative work for public buildings, including murals on the campuses of Purdue, Columbia and Yale Universities, the new Post Office Building, Washington, D.C., and the sculpture for the fountain at Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY. Savage first visited the Florida Everglades in the 1930s, and inspired by his encounters with the local Seminole Indian tribe produced a series of more than three dozen paintings and countless studies over the next 20 years. Impressed by what he saw as the idyllic simplicity of Seminole life, Savage combined bold colours with shifting perspectives and rhythmic lines and patterns to create stylized scenes of Seminoles gliding through lush tropical swamps in dugout canoes.
His admiration and respect for his subject is shown in this quote: ‘The white man’s civilization has been their ruin. They (the Seminole) exploit nothing and are ruled by their chief and medicine man. What particularly impressed me was that they live off nature. But instead of going out and shooting several deer, and catching a mess of fish, they shoot or catch one and leave the rest. That is the way they conserve their resources. White man could learn a lesson from them.”
This series is a historically important work, reflecting contemporary debates about conservation of the Everglades and protection of Seminole culture. Artistically, Savage’s paintings of the Seminoles represent a significant shift in his style and subject, influenced by the interest in modern primitivism in America during the early twentieth century. Although Savage’s series is perhaps the most extensive painted record of the Florida Seminoles, art historians have largely overlooked these works in favour of studies of the natives of the American Plains or Southwest. This new volume offers new insights into the representation of the Seminoles in American art
Eugene Savage: The Seminole Paintings accompanies the first show devoted to the artist’s work since an exhibition held at the National Academy of Design in 1978. It will be shown at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, October 7, 2011 - January 8, 2012 .
The Author
Dr. Elizabeth Heuer is an assistant professor of Art History at the University of North Florida. She received her PhD from Florida State University in 2008. Her research interests focus on modern American visual culture. Most recently, Heuer has contributed essays to Postcards: Ephemeral Histories of Modernity (2010).
EUGENE SAVAGE
The Seminole Paintings
64 pages, 180 x 180 mm (7 1/8 x 7 1/8 in)
55 colour illustrations, paperback
ISBN: 978 1 904832 99 7
Price: US$12.95/UK£7.95
Publication date: October 2011
Publisher: D Giles Limited, London
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About the Museum
The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is the largest fine arts museum in Northeast Florida. The Cummer was established in 1958, when art collector, garden enthusiast and civic leader Ninah Cummer bequeathed her art collection and riverfront home, which she owned with her husband Arthur, to create a museum.
With nearly 5,000 objects in its permanent collection, The Cummer offers world-class art spanning from 2100 B.C. through the 21st century, and features special exhibits from around the world. The 1.5 acres of historic gardens, set against the backdrop of the St. Johns River, are unique examples of early 20th century garden design, with features such as reflecting pools, fountains, arbours and sculptures. In addition, Art Connections, the Museum’s nationally recognized interactive education centre, engages visitors of all ages by offering educational programs, classes, tours, concerts, as well as community outreach to underserved audiences.
The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is committed to engage and inspire through the arts, gardens and education.
