Stanton MacDonald-Wright
American, 1890 - 1973
Stanton MacDonald-Wright
Born Virginia, 1890
Died California, 1973
Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, Stanton MacDonald-Wright was a painter, muralist, writer, lecturer, and teacher. In his youth, he was a difficult child and a problem student. In 1901, he ran away from home on a windjammer. Soon after he was returned home by private detectives, the family moved to California. MacDonald-Wright began working locally with artists Warren Hedges and Joseph Greenbaum. When he was 16, his father sent him to Paris to study art at the Sorbonne, the Beaux Arts Academy, and the Colarossi and Julian Academies.
While in Paris, MacDonald-Wright and artist Morgan Russell developed an art style in which color generates form. They called the new art style 'Synchromism.' MacDonald-Wright and Russell co-exhibited in Paris and Munich in 1913 and in New York in 1914.
MacDonald-Wright returned to the U.S. in 1916, and was active in New York City before he settled in Santa Monica in 1919. He produced the first full-length stop-motion film made in color. He also served as regional advisor for seven states on the Works Progress Administration art program. He taught oriental aesthetics, art history, and iconography at UCLA from 1942-1952.
He eventually retired from teaching to devote full time to painting. He divided his time between Kyoto, Japan and his home in Santa Monica. He died in L.A. in 1973.
Further Reading: Artists in California, 1786-1940, Edan Milton Hughes, Hughes Publishing, San Francisco, 1986.; Stanton MacDonald-Wright: A Retrospective Exhibition, 1911-1970, The UCLA Art Galleries, The Grunwald Graphic Arts Foundation, Los Angeles, 1970.;
Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Vol. II. Peter Hastings Falk, Georgia Kuchen and Veronica Roessler, eds., Sound View Press, Madison, Connecticut, 1999. 3 Vols.
Exhibited: with Morgan Russell, he mounted the first major Synchromist exhibits in 1913, in Munich (Der Neue Kunstsalon) and in Paris; Armory Show, 1913; Carrol Gal., NYC, 1914; "Forum Exhibition of Modern American Painters," Anderson Gal., NYC, 1916; "291," Photosecession Gal., NYC, 1917 (solo); S. Indp. A., 1917; Oakland Art Gal., 1927 (with Morgan Russell); LACMA, 1927, 1932, 1956 (retrospective); An American Place, NYC, 1932 (solo); Stendahl Gal., Los Angeles, 1942-43, 1945 (solos); "Pioneers of Modern Art in America," WMAA, 1946; AIC, 1947; Corcoran Gal. biennials, 1949, 1957; "III Bienal," Museu de Arte Moderna, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1955; La Gal. Arnaud, Paris, 1956 (solo); "The New Tradition: Modern Americans Before 1940," Concoran Gal., 1963; " Roots of Abstract Art in America, 1910-1930," NMAA, 1965, 1967 (retrospective); PAFA Ann., 1966.
Works held: NMAA; Detroit Inst. Art; PMA; Grand Rapids Art Gal.; LACMA; San Diego FA Soc.; DMA; MoMA; WMAA; Santa Barbera Mus. A.; museums in England, France, Poland, Italy, Japan & others Commissions: murals for many schools, libraries & public buildings.: Pub. Lib., City Hall, High School, all in Santa Monica.
Biography courtesy of David Cook Galleries, www.antiquesandfineart.com/davidcook
Born Virginia, 1890
Died California, 1973
Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, Stanton MacDonald-Wright was a painter, muralist, writer, lecturer, and teacher. In his youth, he was a difficult child and a problem student. In 1901, he ran away from home on a windjammer. Soon after he was returned home by private detectives, the family moved to California. MacDonald-Wright began working locally with artists Warren Hedges and Joseph Greenbaum. When he was 16, his father sent him to Paris to study art at the Sorbonne, the Beaux Arts Academy, and the Colarossi and Julian Academies.
While in Paris, MacDonald-Wright and artist Morgan Russell developed an art style in which color generates form. They called the new art style 'Synchromism.' MacDonald-Wright and Russell co-exhibited in Paris and Munich in 1913 and in New York in 1914.
MacDonald-Wright returned to the U.S. in 1916, and was active in New York City before he settled in Santa Monica in 1919. He produced the first full-length stop-motion film made in color. He also served as regional advisor for seven states on the Works Progress Administration art program. He taught oriental aesthetics, art history, and iconography at UCLA from 1942-1952.
He eventually retired from teaching to devote full time to painting. He divided his time between Kyoto, Japan and his home in Santa Monica. He died in L.A. in 1973.
Further Reading: Artists in California, 1786-1940, Edan Milton Hughes, Hughes Publishing, San Francisco, 1986.; Stanton MacDonald-Wright: A Retrospective Exhibition, 1911-1970, The UCLA Art Galleries, The Grunwald Graphic Arts Foundation, Los Angeles, 1970.;
Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Vol. II. Peter Hastings Falk, Georgia Kuchen and Veronica Roessler, eds., Sound View Press, Madison, Connecticut, 1999. 3 Vols.
Exhibited: with Morgan Russell, he mounted the first major Synchromist exhibits in 1913, in Munich (Der Neue Kunstsalon) and in Paris; Armory Show, 1913; Carrol Gal., NYC, 1914; "Forum Exhibition of Modern American Painters," Anderson Gal., NYC, 1916; "291," Photosecession Gal., NYC, 1917 (solo); S. Indp. A., 1917; Oakland Art Gal., 1927 (with Morgan Russell); LACMA, 1927, 1932, 1956 (retrospective); An American Place, NYC, 1932 (solo); Stendahl Gal., Los Angeles, 1942-43, 1945 (solos); "Pioneers of Modern Art in America," WMAA, 1946; AIC, 1947; Corcoran Gal. biennials, 1949, 1957; "III Bienal," Museu de Arte Moderna, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1955; La Gal. Arnaud, Paris, 1956 (solo); "The New Tradition: Modern Americans Before 1940," Concoran Gal., 1963; " Roots of Abstract Art in America, 1910-1930," NMAA, 1965, 1967 (retrospective); PAFA Ann., 1966.
Works held: NMAA; Detroit Inst. Art; PMA; Grand Rapids Art Gal.; LACMA; San Diego FA Soc.; DMA; MoMA; WMAA; Santa Barbera Mus. A.; museums in England, France, Poland, Italy, Japan & others Commissions: murals for many schools, libraries & public buildings.: Pub. Lib., City Hall, High School, all in Santa Monica.
Biography courtesy of David Cook Galleries, www.antiquesandfineart.com/davidcook
Stanton MacDonald-Wright was a well educated early Modernist. He began his academic career at the Art Students League in LA (1904-05) then traveled to Paris to study (1907-09) at the Acadamie Julian and the Ecole Des Beaux Arts (1909-12). MacDonald-Wright is credited for inventing "Synchronism", a style in which form is generated by color. The use of color was governed by natural laws that endow each color with its own character and emotional quality. He was active on the East Coast until his move to Santa Barbara in 1919, where he taught at the ASL for eight years. He took up an interest in Eastern philosophy and approach to art and his own work moved between pure abstraction to figuration throughout his career. MacDonald-Wright produced the first full-length, stop motion film ever made in full color for which he created 500 pastel drawings and designed synchromatic theater sets. He also served as the regional adviser in seven states for the WPA in the 19030s.
Biography courtesy of The Caldwell Gallery, www.antiquesandfineart.com/caldwell
Biography courtesy of The Caldwell Gallery, www.antiquesandfineart.com/caldwell
Loading...
