Robert Hale Ives Gammell (1893 – 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.[1]
In the 1930s Gammell's skill caught up with his ambition. Unlike many of his Boston School peers, he was less interested in portraits and landscapes than in symbolic and mythological images.[5] Although the decade of the 1930s had been his most productive, it ended in a mental breakdown.[2]
While recovering, he discovered in Psychology of the Unconscious by Carl Jung a way to approach what he considered his greatest artistic achievement: a sequence of paintings depicting "The Hound of Heaven", a religious poem by Francis Thompson (1859 – 1907). The poem had captured Gammell's imagination when he was a boy, and for years he had made notes and sketches about it. In Thompson's poem a man is pursued by God. According to Gammell, in the catalog he wrote to accompany the sequence's first exhibit in 1956, he interpreted the poem not so much as a religious conversion as "a history of the experience known as an emotional breakdown". He wrote that Jung's work had provided the link between "myths, symbols, and poetic imagery, and the perpetually recurring emotional patterns of human life from which they evolved."[4] The series of 23 paintings was titled A Pictorial Sequence Painted by R. H. Ives Gammell Based on The Hound of Heaven.
Writing and teachingedit
In 1946 Gammell published a book of art criticism, Twilight of Painting, in which he argued that modern art, with its emphasis on abstraction, undermined the tradition of European craftsmanship. He tried to explain how this problem had occurred and how it might be solved. In Gammell's lament he revealed the aspects of painting he admired: classical, realistic, representational, and academic. He wrote a book of essays published posthumously, The Boston Painters, 1900-1930; edited Shop Talk of Edgar Degas; and wrote a monograph about the Boston painter Dennis Miller Bunker.[5]
Starting in the 1940s, Gammell taught at Fenway Studios in Boston in a room down the hall from where he painted. His student, the painter Robert Cormier, said Gammell's classes included the study of anatomy, memory drawing, and the sight-size method.[6] Another student was Richard Lack, the founder of Classical Realism.[7] Lack recalled that Gammell wanted his students to be immersed in culture. He was a member of the Boston Athenæum and encouraged them to borrow books, attend museums, the symphony, and the opera.[6]
Referencesedit
^Gleeson, Bridget (17 February 2016). "Decades after his death, a realist painter finds recognition as a "visual philosopher"". Artsy. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
^ abIves Hunter, Elizabeth. "R. H. Ives Gammell". Traditional Fine Arts Organization. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
^"R.H. Ives Gammell: Visual Philosopher, on exhibit at Childs Gallery". ArtfixDaily. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
^ abBoardman, Brigid (1994). The Hound of Heaven. Boston, Massachusetts: SIGO Press. ISBN1-879041-15-4.
^ abcMarder Kamhi, Michelle. "R. H. Ives Gammell". Aristos. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
^ abBougie, Peter. "Gammell and His Students". Art Renewal Center. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
^Abbe, Mary. "Richard Lack founded Classical Realist style". Star Tribune. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
Further readingedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to R. H. Ives Gammell.
Ackerman, Gerald M. and Elizabeth Ives Hunter. Transcending Vision: R. H. Ives Gammell 1893–1981. Portland, Oregon: Powells Books, 2001.
Ackerman, Gerald M. and Peter Bougie. "The Gammell-Ackerman letters: A Correspondence of 1967–1969." Classical Realism Journal, Vol. I, No. 1, pp. 18–33.
April 12, 2024
ives, gammell, robert, hale, ives, gammell, 1893, 1981, american, artist, best, known, sequence, paintings, based, francis, thompson, poem, hound, heaven, gammell, painted, symbolic, images, that, reflected, study, literature, mythology, psychology, religion, . Robert Hale Ives Gammell 1893 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 1 R H Ives GammellGammell during his military serviceBornRobert Hale Ives Gammell1883Providence Rhode IslandDied1981Boston MassachusettsNationalityAmericanEducationSchool of the Museum of Fine Arts Academie Julian William McGregor PaxtonKnown forPaintingNotable workThe Hound of Heaven 1956 MovementClassical Realism Contents 1 Early life and education 2 The Hound of Heaven 3 Writing and teaching 4 References 5 Further readingEarly life and education editGammell was born into a wealthy family in Providence Rhode Island and attended Groton prep school He spent much time alone drawing and by his teens expressed his desire to pursue art He went to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston where his teachers included Edmund C Tarbell Joseph DeCamp and Philip Leslie Hale all members of the Boston School of painters He went to the Academie Baschet where he studied with Henri Royer and William Laparra in Paris but his studies were interrupted by World War I during which he served with the U S military 2 3 Returning to Boston Gammell painted murals portraits and landscapes He aspired to more imaginative subjects but he felt restricted by what he considered his inferior drawing and compositional skills He apprenticed to painter and teacher William McGregor Paxton also of the Boston School who was considered an expert in these skills 4 Paxton had been a student of the French academic painter Jean Leon Gerome who was himself a student of Paul Delaroche 5 The Hound of Heaven editIn the 1930s Gammell s skill caught up with his ambition Unlike many of his Boston School peers he was less interested in portraits and landscapes than in symbolic and mythological images 5 Although the decade of the 1930s had been his most productive it ended in a mental breakdown 2 While recovering he discovered in Psychology of the Unconscious by Carl Jung a way to approach what he considered his greatest artistic achievement a sequence of paintings depicting The Hound of Heaven a religious poem by Francis Thompson 1859 1907 The poem had captured Gammell s imagination when he was a boy and for years he had made notes and sketches about it In Thompson s poem a man is pursued by God According to Gammell in the catalog he wrote to accompany the sequence s first exhibit in 1956 he interpreted the poem not so much as a religious conversion as a history of the experience known as an emotional breakdown He wrote that Jung s work had provided the link between myths symbols and poetic imagery and the perpetually recurring emotional patterns of human life from which they evolved 4 The series of 23 paintings was titled A Pictorial Sequence Painted by R H Ives Gammell Based on The Hound of Heaven Writing and teaching editIn 1946 Gammell published a book of art criticism Twilight of Painting in which he argued that modern art with its emphasis on abstraction undermined the tradition of European craftsmanship He tried to explain how this problem had occurred and how it might be solved In Gammell s lament he revealed the aspects of painting he admired classical realistic representational and academic He wrote a book of essays published posthumously The Boston Painters 1900 1930 edited Shop Talk of Edgar Degas and wrote a monograph about the Boston painter Dennis Miller Bunker 5 Starting in the 1940s Gammell taught at Fenway Studios in Boston in a room down the hall from where he painted His student the painter Robert Cormier said Gammell s classes included the study of anatomy memory drawing and the sight size method 6 Another student was Richard Lack the founder of Classical Realism 7 Lack recalled that Gammell wanted his students to be immersed in culture He was a member of the Boston Athenaeum and encouraged them to borrow books attend museums the symphony and the opera 6 References edit Gleeson Bridget 17 February 2016 Decades after his death a realist painter finds recognition as a visual philosopher Artsy Retrieved 4 June 2016 a b Ives Hunter Elizabeth R H Ives Gammell Traditional Fine Arts Organization Retrieved 30 May 2016 R H Ives Gammell Visual Philosopher on exhibit at Childs Gallery ArtfixDaily Retrieved 30 May 2016 a b Boardman Brigid 1994 The Hound of Heaven Boston Massachusetts SIGO Press ISBN 1 879041 15 4 a b c Marder Kamhi Michelle R H Ives Gammell Aristos Retrieved 30 May 2016 a b Bougie Peter Gammell and His Students Art Renewal Center Retrieved 30 May 2016 Abbe Mary Richard Lack founded Classical Realist style Star Tribune Retrieved 13 June 2016 Further reading edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to R H Ives Gammell Ackerman Gerald M and Elizabeth Ives Hunter Transcending Vision R H Ives Gammell 1893 1981 Portland Oregon Powells Books 2001 Ackerman Gerald M and Peter Bougie The Gammell Ackerman letters A Correspondence of 1967 1969 Classical Realism Journal Vol I No 1 pp 18 33 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title R H Ives Gammell amp oldid 1109325036, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
