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Contributed photo
Sheffield Kagy, Flats Workman, 1936-42, Linocut
PRINTS FROM THE GREAT DEPRESSION: THE RICHARD AND LINDA SCOTT COLLECTION ON VIEW MAY 22 - SEPTEMBER 26, LOWER LEVEL GALLERIES AT THE DAYTON ART INSTITUTE
Contributed photo
James E. Allen, Arch of Steel, 1937, Lithograph.
PRINTS FROM THE GREAT DEPRESSION: THE RICHARD AND LINDA SCOTT COLLECTION ON VIEW MAY 22 - SEPTEMBER 26, LOWER LEVEL GALLERIES AT THE DAYTON ART INSTITUTE
Contributed photo
Boris Gorelick, Discarded, 1941, Lithograph.
PRINTS FROM THE GREAT DEPRESSION: THE RICHARD AND LINDA SCOTT COLLECTION ON VIEW MAY 22 - SEPTEMBER 26, LOWER LEVEL GALLERIES AT THE DAYTON ART INSTITUTE
Contributed photo
Thomas Hart Benton, Huck Finn, c. 1936, Lithograph.
PRINTS FROM THE GREAT DEPRESSION: THE RICHARD AND LINDA SCOTT COLLECTION ON VIEW MAY 22 - SEPTEMBER 26, LOWER LEVEL GALLERIES AT THE DAYTON ART INSTITUTE
Prints from the Great Depression being featured at DAI
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By Meredith Moss,
Staff Writer
Updated 2:57 PM Saturday, July 31, 2010
DAYTON — Delving into a good book is one way to gain a better understanding of a particular period of history.
But there are other approaches as well. At the moment, a visit to the North and South Galleries of the Dayton Art Institute is guaranteed to transport you to the America of the 1930s and ’40s.
“Prints from the Great Depression” — on view through Sept. 26 — includes 40 prints from the collection of Linda and Richard Scott of Sidney. Richard Scott will give a free talk at the DAI on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 1.
The exhibit was curated by DAI director Jan Driesbach who first learned about the Scotts’ print treasures when she paid a visit to their home in Sidney, ostensibly to see their collection of ceramic ware.
“I discovered that they collected in several different areas,” she explains, “and I learned that they had this wonderful collection of Depression-era prints.”
Although some of the prints on display were created in independent artist studios, many were made in the WPA (Works Progress Administration) federal art project era, when the government employed artists in order to get Americans back to work. It was a time of innovation in print- making with lithography and other new techniques coming into their own.
Though most of the prints in this exhibit are lithographs, there are examples of other print-making processes as well, such as colorful silk screens, woodcuts, intaglio.
“These are exquisite prints that speak a lot about the culture from the late ’20s to the early ’40s,” says Driesbach, who arranged the exhibit thematically.
Subject matter ranges from New York skyscrapers to circus scenes, and from sweat shops to boxing matches. You’ll see Huck Finn on the river, giant bridges under construction and factory pollution.
“It was the first time artists took on the subjects of the working man and labor,” Driesbach says, adding that the prints provide an excellent view of all aspects of everyday life.
Among the artists represented are the well-known Mabel Dwight, who was originally from Cincinnati, and Thomas Hart Benton.
“There were WPA workshops all over the country in 168 cities,” explains Driesbach who says the government provided the materials and equipment necessary. “Artists had to submit proposals and get approvals for their projects. They were paid between $18 to $25 a month.”
While WPA artists often created posters and murals in editions of 25 that were distributed to public agencies, other artists were paid $200 to create drawings that were then editioned in prints and sold through university exhibitions, mail order and even department stores.
Richard Scott, who began collecting the prints 15 years ago, says it’s hard to pick a favorite because he loves them all.
What initially attracted him was the realism.
“There’s great pain in the art of the people who were hungry in the Great Depression,” he says. “A piece called ‘Discarded Workers’ shows workers and machinery, and you wonder who is discarded, the machinery or the people? But there is hopefulness in some of the bridges and scaffolding.”
At his talk, Scott will talk about the ways in which art represents the period in which it’s created.
“Art should speak to you,” he concludes. “I’ve always thought good art was something you could look at every day and still enjoy. Whether it’s contemporary or the old masters, it should convey to you what the artist was trying to accomplish.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2440 or mmoss@Dayton DailyNews.com.
How to go
What: “Prints from the Great Depression,” the Richard and Linda Scott Collection
When: Through Sept. 26
Where: North and South Galleries at the Dayton Art Institute
Cost: Free
Gallery talk: “Prints from the Great Depression, The Collectors’ Perspective” with Richard and Linda Scott at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 1.
More info: (937) 223-3140 or www.daytonart institute.org
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