Oscar Bluemner (1867-1938), one of the great colorists of early modern
American art, was largely overlooked for the majority of his career.
Nevertheless, his place alongside Georgia O’Keefe, John Marin, Marsden
Hartley and Max Weber—all fellow exhibitors at Alfred Stieglitz’s 291
Gallery and the most avant-garde artists in America at the time of the
Armory Show, is now established.
German born, having fled Kaiser Wilhelm II’s conservative government in
1893 for America, Bluemner worked as an architect for more than 20
years, like his father and grandfather before him. This profession would
inform his order of color and subject selection in the multitude of
studies and sketches of buildings and towns he created throughout his
career.
Bluemner developed a friendship with Stieglitz around 1911. After a
drawn-out litigation to rightfully claim his recognition and compensation
for designing the Bronx, New York, courthouse, Bluemner decided to
abandon architecture and focus on painting. He embarked on a seven
month European tour in 1912 to take in the work of Cézanne, van Gogh,
the Fauves and the Cubists. On his return to America, Bluemner’s work
soon reflected a dramatic shift towards modernist scenes represented
with a bright, luminous Fauve palette (lots 178, 179, 182 and 183).
Bleumner exhibited five works in the Armory Show, all modern and colorful
views of New York and New Jersey, ranging in price from $150 to $500
(around $3,500 to $12,000 respectively today). He also wrote an article
for Stieglitz’s progressive publication
Camera Work
defending Modernism
amidst the storm of negative press received by the Armory Show.
