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Web Exclusives:
Under the Ivy July 6, 2005: A
gallery of Princeton artists A Yalie acquaintance once sniffed that Frank Stella ’58 was the only Princeton graduate of any consequence. (Yes, the Eli was an art museum curator.) A gem of an article buried among the Reunions hullabaloo of the June 3, 1955, issue of PAW, however, might force that old Bulldog to revise his claim. Thrown in with the spring track results are eight pages of artists’ works, which even in grainy, black-and-white reproduction hint at the gifts of the men who created them. From 50 years’ distance, the one-paragraph PAW write-ups are tantalizing. Cleve Gray ’40, who is represented by the painting “The Marriage of Venice with the Sea,” an abstract watercolor, was described as “one of the two or three outstanding younger Princeton artists.” PAW quoted a critic who said Gray holds “the belief that the world is young, bright, and immediately beautiful.” A quick Internet search reveals that over his long career Gray has lived up to his promise; a gorgeous painting called “Ascensions #9” from 1998 is available at a New York gallery. Gifford Beal of the Class of 1900, another of the artists included, died the year after the PAW article appeared, but his legacy lives on through his watercolor works of life on the New England coast. PAW displayed “Mending the Nets off Straitsmouth,” which is representative of his work and recalls the subject matter of a Winslow Homer. The most interesting aspect of Henry Strater ’19’s biography is conspicuously absent from PAW’s paragraph. Under a striking oil painting of an Arizona landscape called “The Museum,” PAW wrote, “Although Henry Strater studied in Madrid and Florence and had his first exhibit in Paris, he has been called by one critic ‘as American as a silo.’ ” What PAW didn’t say is that while studying in Europe, Strater met another American of note: Ernest Hemingway. Strater and Hemingway became fishing and hunting pals, and Strater painted at least three portraits of the writer. A Web biography of Strater also claims that he was the model for a character in F. Scott Fitzgerald ’17’s This Side of Paradise, and notes that Strater did some illustrations for a portion of Ezra Pound’s The Cantos. Strater died in 1987, but is still widely known, especially for his friendship with Hemingway. Alden Wicks ’37, who also died in 1987, is represented by his painting “Jonah,” which from my interpretation of the poor reproduction seems to show the aftermath of Jonah’s expulsion from the whale, though with several nude, Fragonard-esque nymphs watching the proceedings. According to one Web biography, Wicks indeed specialized in surreal, fantastical paintings, with his early work focusing on water, boats, and whales. Abstract landscape painter William Kienbusch ’36, portraitist Wilford S. Conrow 1901, naval artist Standish Backus ’33, and stained-glass master Henry Lee Willet ’22 are also among those included in this remarkable gallery. But while researching the careers of these talented men on line, I did at last come across the work I want for my wall. PAW ran Reginald Rowe ’44’s “Arranging Flowers,” a work that echoes Matisse, and noted that “one of Rowe’s most outspoken admirers is Ernest Hemingway.” (Papa had an understandable attraction to Tigers, apparently.) But the Rowe I covet is “Constellation 7,000,” which even on a computer screen hints at deep mystery and great beauty. For the gallery display, Rowe wrote, “For many artists, art is a vehicle for their concerns with society’s problems. For me, art is to be looked at – and with the same intensity and concern as when listening to Mozart or Duke Ellington.” Six decades later, these inspirational Princeton artists still
evoke that reaction. Note: The above artists all returned multiple hits with a simple Google search. To view the recent works by Cleve Gray and Reginald Rowe cited in this story, visit http://www.artnet.com/artist/7325/cleve-gray.html and http://www.joangronagallery.com/rowe.htm. Jane Martin ’89 is PAW's former editor-in-chief. You can reach her at paw@princeton.edu
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