Robert Spencer (1879-1931)
On the Canal, New Hope, 1916
Robert Spencer (1879-1931, a native of Nebraska, began studying art at the National Academy of Design in 1899, where his teachers included William Merritt Chase and Robert Henri. He moved to Bucks County in 1906, and in 1909 lived and studied with Garber, who although younger was already well established. His finances remained tight for some years, but he began to achieve success by the mid-teens. Unfortunately an increasingly unhappy marriage and chronic depression caused a series of mental breakdowns which affected his ability to work. Although renewed by trips to Europe throughout the twenties, his demons proved overwhelming, and he committed suicide at the age of fifty-one in 1931.
In On the Canal, New Hope (1916), Spencer reveals his fascination with the architecture and people of the area. Reflecting his internal struggles, his paintings are at once more somber in mood than Garber’s, often portraying the local mills and daily activities of local residents in the tradition of the Ashcan School. The composition is typical of the artist’s oeuvre, with water in the foreground and women engaged in daily tasks. The backdrop of dilapidated tenements references the nearby mills that employed them, though the local industry was gentler than that of Pittsburgh. His interest in working class subjects is unusual for a Pennsylvania Impressionist.
Home... Organized by the Westmoreland Museum of American Art
With support from the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art & The Erie Art Museum
Hosting provided by Erie Internet
|
