Winter 2011 - Museum of Art and Archaeology - University of Missouri

Joseph Paul Vorst (1897–1947)Sharecroppers’ RevoltCa. 1940Oil on panelLent by the John and SusanHorseman CollectionJoseph Vorst used an expressive style, reflective of his studywith Thomas Hart Benton (Benton spent only one day teachingat the colony), to portray and call attention to poverty along theMississippi. His Sharecroppers’ Revolt painted in 1939 shows theplight of jobless tenant farmers. Evicted from their housing, theymust now live in a makeshift house made of quilts during thecold of winter. In The Old Rock House of 1932, Oscar Thalingershows unemployed workers huddling for protection near anabandoned residence at the river’s edge as they wait for daylabor on a barge. He exhibited at the Museum of Modern Arta year later. The richness of his coloring, which so effectivelyevokes the ambience of this scene, reflects his study withHermann Groeber in Munich.Several of the artists chosen for this exhibition were of majorimportance to the success of the art colony. Bernard Peterswas at the colony from the beginning, encouraged by FrankNuderscher, who also painted at Ste. Geneieve and served asDirector of the Ozark School of Art. A highly educated artist,Peters had studied in England, France, at St. Louis University, andat Harvard University. His studies at Gloucester in Massachusetts,however, perhaps proved the most influential as he adopted thesimilar broken application of paint used by Frederick Mulhaupt(also from Missouri), who was a leading painter of this port city.Both Schweig and Rickly hoped that the colony and schoolof Ste. Genevieve would help focus the artistic ambitions of theparticipants and provide opportunities for collegial gatheringsand interesting artistic discussions, as well as encourageinterest in the art and artists who participated. The art colonysucceeded in achieving these goals and its vitality can be seen inthe diversity of themes and responses to contemporary artisticand political issues. The works chosen for this exhibition, whilenot all produced at the colony, illustrate the creativity andexperimental nature of many of the participating artists, whosaw beauty just as readily in the commonplace as in the artisticprocess itself. This exhibition illustrates the diversity of the artproduced in Missouri, the reality of which has been cloudedby the dominance of the style of Regionalism propounded byBenton and his circle.Even though the colony thrived and was viewed as a notableaddition to the artistic scene, the summer school disappearedafter 1938. Schweig and other artists from St. Louis continuedto visit Ste. Genevieve, but they did so in diminished numbers,and with the entry of the United States into World War II thecolony disintegrated. Fortunately, the story does not end there.Several of the artists associated with Ste. Genevieve continuedto have very productive careers, as they won prizes in paintingcompetitions, were selected for important exhibitions, andsometimes even had solo exhibitions in important cities. Despitethe continued prominence of the artists of the Ste. Genevieve ArtColony, they are not widely known today.4