John Stuart Ingle
Encyclopedia
John Stuart Ingle was an American contemporary
realist
artist, known for his meticulously rendered watercolor paintings, typically still life
s. Some criticism has characterized Ingle's work as a kind of magic realism
. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFD91031F93AA25756C0A967958260
Significant critical recognition of Ingle's work has included the publication of a book, The Eye and the Heart: Watercolors of John Stuart Ingle (Rizzoli International, 1988), authored by Pulitzer Prize
winning journalist John Camp, and including an introduction by Frank H. Goodyear, Jr., president of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
(and author of Contemporary
Realism
since 1960). The 110-page book on Ingle was published in conjunction with major solo exhibitions jointly sponsored by the Wadsworth Atheneum
in Hartford, Connecticut
, and the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science
in Evansville, Indiana
.
The realism of Ingle's paintings can verge on the shocking, especially when, as is sometimes the case, a painting is radically larger than scale. In 2005, another New York Times reviewer wrote of "a giant, startlingly realistic watercolor by John Stuart Ingle showing tomatoes preserved in a Mason jar
." http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906E1DB103DF937A35750C0A9639C8B63&fta=y
If Raynor is correct in characterizing Ingle as a kind of second- or third-generation magic realist, then this is a magic realism closer to the ideals espoused by Franz Roh
in 1925 than to the style of what have commonly been called "magic realist" painters in the early 21st century. These latter-day magic realists have generally pursued a style closer to magic realism in literature, in which the realistic veers into the impossible or fantastic. In contrast, Roh advocated a faithful rendering of the exterior of what is actually observed, the idea being that when one really sees the world with full intensity, the inherent magic of things becomes evident, with no need to add fantastic, impossible, or supernatural elements to a picture. Ingle's own description of his approach to painting is philosophically in tune with Roh's ideal. Of his penetratingly precise realistic style, Ingle has written: "I don't want to make arbitrary changes in what I see to paint the picture, I want to paint what is given. The whole idea is to take something that's given and explore that reality as intensely as I can." http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/biography.aspx?searchtype=BIO&artist=71244 http://www.johnsandford.org/other1.html
Askart.com further categorizes Ingle's style as not just realist, but photo-realist. http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/search/ArtistKeywords.aspx?searchtype=KEYWORDS&artist=71244 This designation would not, however, appear to be appropriate, given that in the introduction to the aforementioned monograph on the artist, Frank Goodyear (page 14) writes, "While not a photorealist, although he [Ingle] does use the airbrush techniques of some photorealists, his finished watercolors do evince the incredible technical virtuosity of photorealism."
, the Yale University Art Gallery
, the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science
, and the Arkansas Arts Center
(AAC). Below is an external link to a page providing information, with color images, on two works by Ingle in the AAC's collection. The Art Institute of Chicago
also includes one of Ingle's watercolors in its collection, according to the Institute's online catalogue. http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/142553
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
realist
Realism (visual arts)
Realism in the visual arts is a style that depicts the actuality of what the eyes can see. The term is used in different senses in art history; it may mean the same as illusionism, the representation of subjects with visual mimesis or verisimilitude, or may mean an emphasis on the actuality of...
artist, known for his meticulously rendered watercolor paintings, typically still life
Still life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
s. Some criticism has characterized Ingle's work as a kind of magic realism
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFD91031F93AA25756C0A967958260
Significant critical recognition of Ingle's work has included the publication of a book, The Eye and the Heart: Watercolors of John Stuart Ingle (Rizzoli International, 1988), authored by Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning journalist John Camp, and including an introduction by Frank H. Goodyear, Jr., president of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
(and author of Contemporary
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
Realism
Realism (visual arts)
Realism in the visual arts is a style that depicts the actuality of what the eyes can see. The term is used in different senses in art history; it may mean the same as illusionism, the representation of subjects with visual mimesis or verisimilitude, or may mean an emphasis on the actuality of...
since 1960). The 110-page book on Ingle was published in conjunction with major solo exhibitions jointly sponsored by the Wadsworth Atheneum
Wadsworth Atheneum
The Wadsworth Atheneum is the oldest public art museum in the United States, with significant holdings of French and American Impressionist paintings, Hudson River School landscapes, modernist masterpieces and contemporary works, as well as extensive holdings in early American furniture and...
in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, and the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science
Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science
The Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science is a general-interest museum located on the Ohio riverfront in downtown Evansville, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1904, it is one of Southern Indiana's most established and significant cultural institutions, with comprehensive collections in...
in Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
.
Style: intense, "virtuoso" realism
A 1991 New York Times review by Vivien Raynor remarked that "John Stuart Ingle proves that Magic Realism lives in his virtuoso still life incorporating silver, peaches and a plant in a blue ceramic pot, all on a wood table". http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFD91031F93AA25756C0A967958260The realism of Ingle's paintings can verge on the shocking, especially when, as is sometimes the case, a painting is radically larger than scale. In 2005, another New York Times reviewer wrote of "a giant, startlingly realistic watercolor by John Stuart Ingle showing tomatoes preserved in a Mason jar
Mason jar
A Mason jar is a glass jar used in canning to preserve food. They were invented and patented by John Landis Mason, a Philadelphia tinsmith in 1858. They are also called Ball jars, after Ball Corp., a popular and early manufacturer of the jars; fruit jars because they are often used to store...
." http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906E1DB103DF937A35750C0A9639C8B63&fta=y
If Raynor is correct in characterizing Ingle as a kind of second- or third-generation magic realist, then this is a magic realism closer to the ideals espoused by Franz Roh
Franz Roh
Franz Roh , was a German historian, photographer, and art critic.Roh was born in Apolda , Germany. He studied at universities in Leipzig, Berlin, and Basel. In 1920, he received his Ph. D...
in 1925 than to the style of what have commonly been called "magic realist" painters in the early 21st century. These latter-day magic realists have generally pursued a style closer to magic realism in literature, in which the realistic veers into the impossible or fantastic. In contrast, Roh advocated a faithful rendering of the exterior of what is actually observed, the idea being that when one really sees the world with full intensity, the inherent magic of things becomes evident, with no need to add fantastic, impossible, or supernatural elements to a picture. Ingle's own description of his approach to painting is philosophically in tune with Roh's ideal. Of his penetratingly precise realistic style, Ingle has written: "I don't want to make arbitrary changes in what I see to paint the picture, I want to paint what is given. The whole idea is to take something that's given and explore that reality as intensely as I can." http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/biography.aspx?searchtype=BIO&artist=71244 http://www.johnsandford.org/other1.html
Askart.com further categorizes Ingle's style as not just realist, but photo-realist. http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/search/ArtistKeywords.aspx?searchtype=KEYWORDS&artist=71244 This designation would not, however, appear to be appropriate, given that in the introduction to the aforementioned monograph on the artist, Frank Goodyear (page 14) writes, "While not a photorealist, although he [Ingle] does use the airbrush techniques of some photorealists, his finished watercolors do evince the incredible technical virtuosity of photorealism."
Collections
According to Askart.com http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/search/Search_Grid.aspx?searchtype=MUSEUMS&artist=71244, Ingle's work is in several notable public collections, including those of the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan 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 Yale University Art Gallery
Yale University Art Gallery
The Yale University Art Gallery houses a significant and encyclopedic collection of art in several buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Although it embraces all cultures and periods, the Gallery possesses especially renowned collections of early Italian painting,...
, the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science
Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science
The Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science is a general-interest museum located on the Ohio riverfront in downtown Evansville, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1904, it is one of Southern Indiana's most established and significant cultural institutions, with comprehensive collections in...
, and the Arkansas Arts Center
Arkansas Arts Center
One of the leading cultural institutions in the state, the Arkansas Arts Center is located on the corner of 9th and Commerce streets in MacArthur Park, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. The Arkansas Arts Center was founded in 1960, but the idea began in 1914, when the Fine Arts Club of Arkansas formed...
(AAC). Below is an external link to a page providing information, with color images, on two works by Ingle in the AAC's collection. The Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
also includes one of Ingle's watercolors in its collection, according to the Institute's online catalogue. http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/142553
External links
- Askart.com pages on Ingle, including color images of the work
- New York Times review: "ART; The Skill of the Watercolorist" - May 19, 1991 (Viven Raynor, reviewer)
- Arkansas Art Center: information (with access to color images - click on 'objects') on two works by Ingle in the museum's collection
- New York Times review: "ART REVIEW; From Celebrity Faces to Creatures From Children's Books" - March 4, 2005 (Ken Johnson, reviewer)