Early 20th Century WPA Style Industrial Painting of Men at Work in Period Frame

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About the Item

A 1930's era WPA style industrial painting of men at work by Romanian / American artist John Barber (1898 - 1965). The scene depicts a bustling and arguably hot work place filled with men toting large barrels, standing shoulder to shoulder at long tables - all the while in what seems to be a very confined space. Are they mining? I'm not sure. But they are all working and quite assuredly very long hours. The social realist aspect of this work is not to be denied. The work is housed in a period, solid wood, Modernist style picture frame with a raised and painted inner edge. The work is signed BARBER in the top left hand corner. I was curious to learn more about the artist and I came upon a biography on the Proantic website, "Born in Galatz, Romania, John Barber is an American modernist painter of portraits and scenes from life daily. He emigrated from Romania with his family to the United States in 1908. From 1909 to 1910, he studied at the National Academy of Design in New York. However, he finds the teaching too rigid. He entered the Ferrer Center School where he took lessons from Robert Henri. Henri's social realism had a lot of influence on Barber's work, particularly for representations of urban life. In 1916, he was hired as an illustrator for the radical magazine The Masses. In 1917, he was mobilized by the American army and was briefly in France. In 1920, after a brief return to New York, he moved to Paris with his friend Jules Pascin. He is fascinated by cubism. He studied at the Odessa school of André L'Hote. He learned from his teacher André Lhote the principle of articulations of distinct and animated shapes in space. Barber focuses on studies of cubist portraits. In 1927, he returned to the United States with Pascin and devoted himself to painting geometric figures. He then spent several years in France and Portugal with intermittent returns to New York. John Barber exhibited in Paris at the Salon d'Automne from 1923 to 1933. At the Salon des Tuileries in 1929 and 1930. In 1948, he married Dr. Margaret De Ronde, who traveled extensively in Mexico, Europe and the United States. He died of leukemia on December 8, 1965. Collections: Musée du Luxembourg, Musée d'art moderne d'art moderne, Center Pompideau." And not to be out done, the R. H. Love Gallery in Chicago shared this biography, "Barber's English father Frederick and his mother, from Romania, ran an intellectual and multi-lingual household in Galatz. Around 1908 the family moved to New York City. That year, Robert Henri and his group soon to be known as the Ash Can School made their stunning debut at Macbeth's Gallery. John Barber, just fifteen, entered the National Academy of Design a couple of years later. Then as a student of the Ferrer Center School he came into contact with Henri, and William Gropper was one of his fellow students. Barber was also encouraged by Jules Pascin. He must have met Max Eastman at the Ferrer Center, which led him to contribute to The Masses. Before long Barber was Contributing Art Editor. Naturally his subject matter veered toward social realism. Barber devised an unusual way to protest his being drafted to serve in the first world war. Professing Christian Science, he refused treatment for varicocele, which would have allowed him to perform his military duties. He received a dishonorable discharge and was sent to a prison camp. When conscientious objectors were freed following the Armistice, however, he received amnesty after the balance of his prison term was made in New York. There followed a wave of disillusionment among intellectuals and a conservative trend in politics. Barber was an isolated and detached artist. He found work illustrating for The Masses' heir-apparent publication, The Liberator. In 1922, Barber left for France. In Paris he did not fit into the bohemian milieu, which could have taken him away from his art. While Pascin further influenced Barber's drawing style, André Lhote's cubism made its mark. In the fall of 1923, six of the seven works Barber submitted to the Salon d'Automne were accepted. The New York Herald wrote "The style of his work is very original." Barber, Gropper, Art Young, Glenn O. Coleman, Jerome Meyers and others carried on the Henri realist tradition. Although considered old-fashioned, realism would remain ever present in America and Europe. Barber made further trips to Europe and North Africa. The majestic geometry of Piero della Francesca entered as yet another influence. He discovered Lisbon in 1928, which proved to be a gold mine of artistic inspiration. The serenity and classical simplicity of women bringing water from a fountain, bread bakers, or small groups of figures gathered at a marketplace attracted Barber aesthetically. For Richard Love (John Barber: The Artist, The Man, 1981, p. 132), "Barber found that Portugal's curious and uncomplicated pattern of life not only reflected his image of classic art, but also that the poor people who show up in his canvases were images of universal austerity." The Paris Galerie Zak organized a one-man show for Barber in October 1929. Far away on Wall Street the stock market was about to crash. Paris was losing its title as major art center, owing to the troubled economic situation. Although Barber was able to sell two works to the Luxembourg Museum, he returned home since his five years maximum period of absentee citizenship had expired. Another one-man show came in 1935 at the Ehrich-Newhouse Gallery in New York. By October of that year he was back in Portugal but he returned to New York in April 1936. Barber died in December of 1965."

Dimensions:
Height: 26 in (66.04 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)Depth: 1.75 in (4.45 cm)
Style:
Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Canvas,Paint,Wood,Hand-Painted
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
Mid-20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1930's
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. In good antique condition with age appropriate wear. Some losses to paint surface. One tear. Some losses to frame. The canvas on the stretcher measures approximately 24" wide by 20" high.
Seller Location:
Atlanta, GA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU7240235782642

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