Bradley Walker Tomlin
Encyclopedia
Bradley Walker Tomlin belonged to the early generation of New York School
Abstract Expressionist artists. He participated in the famous ‘’Ninth Street Show.’’ According to John I. H. Baur,
Curator of the Whitney Museum of American Art
, Tomlin’s life and his work were marked by a persistent, restless striving toward perfection, in a truly classical sense of the word, towards that “inner logic” of form which would produce a total harmony, an unalterable rightness, a sense of miraculous completion…It was only during the last five years of his life that the goal was fully reached, and his art flowered with a sure strength and authority.
, Tomlin was the youngest of four children. Since his high school days he wanted to be an artist.
His art teachers were:
Tomlin studied:
Tomlin returned to New York in the fall of 1924. He began exhibiting in 1925 at the Whitney Studio Club.
In 1926 Tomlin returned to Europe
, where he visited England
, Italy
and Switzerland
but he mainly stayed in Paris. He returned to America in July, 1927. He also discovered Woodstock, New York where he spent his summers.
During the depression Tomlin sought teaching positions:
“On Sunday, May 10, 1955, Tomlin drove with his friends to a party at the Jackson Pollock
s’ house on Long Island, from which he returned about midnight, feeling ill.” The following day, he was admitted to St. Vincent’s Hospital where he suffered a heart attack and died at seven that night. Bradley Walker Tomlin died at the age of fifty-three.
New York School
The New York School was an informal group of American poets, painters, dancers, and musicians active in the 1950s, 1960s in New York City...
Abstract Expressionist artists. He participated in the famous ‘’Ninth Street Show.’’ According to John I. H. Baur,
Curator of 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...
, Tomlin’s life and his work were marked by a persistent, restless striving toward perfection, in a truly classical sense of the word, towards that “inner logic” of form which would produce a total harmony, an unalterable rightness, a sense of miraculous completion…It was only during the last five years of his life that the goal was fully reached, and his art flowered with a sure strength and authority.
Biography
Born in Syracuse, New YorkSyracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, Tomlin was the youngest of four children. Since his high school days he wanted to be an artist.
His art teachers were:
- Cornelia Moses, a former pupil of Arthur Wesley DowArthur Wesley DowArthur Wesley Dow was an American painter, printmaker, photographer, and influential arts educator....
- Hugo Gari Wagner was his teacher to study modeling
- Frank LondonFrank LondonFrank London is a New York City-based trumpeter, bandleader, and composer active in klezmer and world music. He also plays various other wind instruments and keyboards, and occasionally sings backup vocals. With The Klezmatics, he won a Grammy award in Contemporary World Music for "Wonder Wheel...
was his mentor and teacher
Tomlin studied:
- 1917 - 1921: Syracuse UniversitySyracuse UniversitySyracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
- College of Fine Arts, New York under Dr. Jeannette Scott and Professor Carl T. Hawley - 1923 – 1924: Académie ColarossiAcadémie ColarossiThe Académie Colarossi is an art school founded by the Italian sculptor Filippo Colarossi. First located on the Île de la Cité, it moved in the 1870s to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, France....
and the Grande Chaumiѐre, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Tomlin returned to New York in the fall of 1924. He began exhibiting in 1925 at the Whitney Studio Club.
In 1926 Tomlin returned to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, where he visited England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
but he mainly stayed in Paris. He returned to America in July, 1927. He also discovered Woodstock, New York where he spent his summers.
During the depression Tomlin sought teaching positions:
- 1932 - 1941: Sarah Lawrence CollegeSarah Lawrence CollegeSarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
- 1932 – 1933: Buckley School
- 1933 – 1934: Dalton School
Selected Solo Exhibitions
- 1922: Skaneatele and Cazenovia, NY (watercolors)
- 1925: Anderson Galleries, NY (watercolors)
- 1926, 1927: Montross Gallery, NY
- 1931, 1944: Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries, NY
- 1950, 1953: Betty Parsons Gallery, NY
- 1955: Phillips Memorial Gallery, Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
- 1957: “Bradley Walker Tomlin,” circ. Exhibition organized by the Art Galleries of the University of CaliforniaUniversity of CaliforniaThe University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, in association with the Whitney Museum of American Art’’
Selected Group Exhibitions
- 1949, 1951: University of Illinois
- 1951: 9th Street Art Exhibition, NYC
- 1951: “Abstract Painting and Sculpture in America,” Museum of Modern ArtMuseum of Modern ArtThe 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...
New York; University of MinnesotaUniversity of MinnesotaThe University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, Minneapolis MNMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state... - 1952: “Fifteen Americans,” Museum of Modern Art, New York;
- 1953: Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of ArtThe 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...
, NYC; “Second Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture Stable Gallery,” NYC - 1954-1955: “The New Decade,” Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC
- 1955: Musѐe d’Art Moderne Paris, France
- 1969: “New American Painting and Sculpture,” Museum of Modern Art, New York
“On Sunday, May 10, 1955, Tomlin drove with his friends to a party at the Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
s’ house on Long Island, from which he returned about midnight, feeling ill.” The following day, he was admitted to St. Vincent’s Hospital where he suffered a heart attack and died at seven that night. Bradley Walker Tomlin died at the age of fifty-three.
See also
- Art movementArt movementAn art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a restricted period of time, or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined within a number of years...
- Abstract ImagistsAbstract ImagistsAbstract Imagists is a term derived from a 1961 exhibition in the Guggenheim Museum, New York called American Abstract Expressionists and Imagists. This exhibition was the first in the series of programs for the investigation of tendencies in American and European painting and sculpture.-Style:It...
- Abstract expressionismAbstract expressionismAbstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
- New York SchoolNew York SchoolThe New York School was an informal group of American poets, painters, dancers, and musicians active in the 1950s, 1960s in New York City...
- Action paintingAction paintingAction painting sometimes called "gestural abstraction", is a style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied...
Books
- Marika Herskovic, American Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s An Illustrated Survey, (New York School Press, 2003.) ISBN 0967799414. p. 338-341
- Marika Herskovic, New York School Abstract Expressionists Artists Choice by Artists, (New York School Press, 2000.) ISBN 0-967799406. p. 16; p. 38; p. 362-365
- Müller-Yao, Marguerite Hui: Der Einfluß der Kunst der chinesischen Kalligraphie auf die westliche informelle Malerei, Diss. Bonn, Köln 1985. ISBN 3-88375-051-4