Arnold Blanch
Encyclopedia
Arnold Blanch was born and raised in Mantorville, Minnesota
. He was an American modernist
painter, etcher, illustrator, lithographer, muralist, printmaker and art teacher. His modernist paintings are associated with the Social Realist movement
. Blanch met his first wife the painter Lucile Blanch
, (born Lucile Lundquist), at the Minneapolis School of Art. After the end of World War I, Lucile and Arnold Blanch moved to New York City and enrolled at the Art Students League of New York
, studying with John Sloan, Robert Henri
, Kenneth Hayes Miller
and Boardman Robinson
. Eventually by 1923 they settled in Woodstock, New York, which was then beginning to become an important art colony
for young artists. By the 1920s Blanch began to achieve recognition for his paintings and lithographs of landscapes and still lifes. During the 1930s in New York, Blanch worked in the WPA
on various mural projects.
In 1939 Blanch remarried and for many years he lived in Woodstock, New York
with his second wife Doris Lee
also an artist. Blanch taught at the Art Students League
's branch in Woodstock for several decades from the 1930s until his death in the late 1960s. His paintings are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
; the Museum of Modern Art
in New York City; the Cleveland Museum of Art
; the Whitney Museum of American Art
; the Smith College
Museum of Art; the Sheldon Museum of Art; the Woodstock Artists Association and Museum (WAAM); one of the oldest American artists organizations., and dozens of others.
Mantorville, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,054 people, 371 households, and 286 families residing in the city. The population density was 741.3 people per square mile . There were 378 housing units at an average density of 265.8 per square mile...
. He was an American modernist
American modernism
American modernism like modernism in general is a trend of thought that affirms the power of human beings to create, improve, and reshape their environment, with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and practical experimentation, and is thus in its essence both progressive and optimistic...
painter, etcher, illustrator, lithographer, muralist, printmaker and art teacher. His modernist paintings are associated with the Social Realist movement
Social realism
Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic...
. Blanch met his first wife the painter Lucile Blanch
Lucile Blanch
Lucile Blanch was an American artist and Guggenheim Fellow.-Biography:Lucile Blanch was born in 1895 in Hawley, Minnesota to the painter and lithographer Lucille Linguist. During World War I, she studied at the Minneapolis School of Art with her future husband Arnold Blanch, and other notable...
, (born Lucile Lundquist), at the Minneapolis School of Art. After the end of World War I, Lucile and Arnold Blanch moved to New York City and enrolled at the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
, studying with John Sloan, Robert Henri
Robert Henri
Robert Henri was an American painter and teacher. He was a leading figure of the Ashcan School in art.- Early life :...
, Kenneth Hayes Miller
Kenneth Hayes Miller
Kenneth Hayes Miller was an American painter and teacher.Born in Oneida, New York, he studied at the Art Students League of New York with Kenyon Cox, Henry Siddons Mowbray and with William Merritt Chase at the New York School of Art. He died in New York City.-Students:Miller taught at the Art...
and Boardman Robinson
Boardman Robinson
Boardman Robinson was a Canadian-American artist, illustrator and cartoonist.-Early years:Boardman Robinson was born September 6, 1876 in Nova Scotia, Canada. He spent his childhood in England and Canada, before coming to Boston in the first half of the 1890s...
. Eventually by 1923 they settled in Woodstock, New York, which was then beginning to become an important art colony
Art colony
right|300px|thumb|Artist houses in [[Montsalvat]] near [[Melbourne, Australia]].An art colony or artists' colony is a place where creative practitioners live and interact with one another. Artists are often invited or selected through a formal process, for a residency from a few weeks to over a year...
for young artists. By the 1920s Blanch began to achieve recognition for his paintings and lithographs of landscapes and still lifes. During the 1930s in New York, Blanch worked in the WPA
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
on various mural projects.
In 1939 Blanch remarried and for many years he lived in Woodstock, New York
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 at the 2000 census.The Town of Woodstock is in the northern part of the county...
with his second wife Doris Lee
Doris Lee
Doris Emrick Lee was born in Illinois and was an American folk artist who was known for her figurative painting and printmaking. She won the Logan Medal of the arts from the Chicago Art Institute in 1935....
also an artist. Blanch taught at the Art Students League
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
's branch in Woodstock for several decades from the 1930s until his death in the late 1960s. His paintings are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
; the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York City; the Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art is an art museum situated in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on Cleveland's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian art, the museum houses a diverse permanent collection of more than 43,000...
; the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
; the Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
Museum of Art; the Sheldon Museum of Art; the Woodstock Artists Association and Museum (WAAM); one of the oldest American artists organizations., and dozens of others.