Art December 2008
Exhibition note
On “George Tooker: A Retrospective” at The National Academy, New York.
"George Tooker: A Retrospective"
The National Academy, New York
October 2, 2008–January 4, 2009
Every painting, whether figurative or abstract, is an image, but not every image is a painting. The primary challenge for anyone pursuing the art form is in locating the equilibrium between aesthetic imperative and imagistic fidelity. The oeuvre of the American artist George Tooker (born in 1920), the subject of a concentrated retrospective at the National Academy Museum, exemplifies the precariousness of this pursuit.
Subway (1950) is Tooker’s masterpiece. A woman, wearing a red dress, a blue coat, and an apprehensive expression, walks through the station. The ceilings are oppressive and low; the corridors zoom. Zombie-like men in overcoats skulk about. The environs are sterile and the atmosphere airless. It’s a place resolutely bereft of human contact. As an allegory of urban...
A Message from the Editors
Support our crucial work and join us in strengthening the bonds of civilization.
Your donation sustains our efforts to inspire joyous rediscoveries.
