: The Allentown Art Museum has announced the acquisition of several
important works.
A Twentieth Century American watercolor "The Emperor Jones
(1947)" by Frederick D. Jones, Jr (1914-1996), is among the
highlights. This stunning Cubist watercolor was painted by an
African American artist who has been included in a number of
exhibitions and publications devoted to African American art but
whose life and work remain largely unknown. Born and raised in
North Carolina, he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and
Rhode Island School of Design. Known mainly as a muralist and
printmaker, Jones was strongly influenced by the Harlem
Renaissance painter Hale Woodruff.
In "The Emperor Jones," he chose to paint one of the most famous
African American cultural figures of the Twentieth Century: Paul
Robeson (1898-1976).
The museum has also acquired "Return of the Prodigal Son," circa
1772, by Benjamin West (1738-1820), on view in the Trexler/Butz
Gallery.
A principal focus of the museum has always been the work of
artists associated with Pennsylvania by birth or domicile.
Undoubtedly one of the most famous Pennsylvania artists of all
time, West rose from an unremarkable background to become a
brilliant painter in the Grand Manner, history painter to King
George III of Great Britain and a founder and president of the
Royal Academy.
Although an accomplished portraitist, West's most sought-after
compositions are historical, literary and religious. The biblical
story of the return of the prodigal son was a popular theme for a
number of painters, notably Rembrandt, Murillo and Greuze. West's
"Return of the Prodigal Son," completed in 1772, a decade after
his Roman sojourn, shows an accomplished but still young artist,
fast developing a command of figure painting and the
communication of emotion.
Another acquisition was a late Nineteenth Century decorative
coffee service made by Whiting Manufacturing Co, New York City
and dated about 1880.
Inspired by its Frank Lloyd Wright library from the second
Francis Little House, the museum acquires decorative arts related
to Wright's work from roughly 1875 to 1925. Like Wright,
Whiting's designer was strongly influenced by Japanese
aesthetics. In this case, the use of mixed metals to render
flowers (dogwood) and insects (beetles and flies) borrows from
contemporary Japanese silver styles.
Also added to the museum's collection was an early Twentieth
Century Modernist work, "Geometric Abstraction," circa 1930, by
Charles F. Ramsey (1875-1951) of New Hope, Penn., and a late
Nineteenth Century American Carrara Marble sculpture,
"Pocahontas," circa 1870s, by Joseph Mozier (1812-1870),
currently on view in the Trexler/Butz Gallery.
The museum is at North Fifth Street. For information,
allentownartmuseum.org or 610-432-4333, ext 10.
