Seymour Fogel
Encyclopedia
Seymour Fogel was an American artist whose artistic output included social realist
art early in the century, abstract art
and expressionist
art at mid-century, and transcendental art late in the century. His drive to experiment led him to work with expected media – oil paint
s, watercolors, and acrylics
– as well as unconventional media such as glass, plastics, sand, and wax
.
on August 24, 1911. He studied at the Art Students League
in 1929 and at the National Academy of Design
from 1929 to 1932 under such established artists as Leon Kroll
and George Brandt Bridgman.
mural
ist Diego Rivera
, then working on his controversial mural at Rockefeller Center
in New York City. From 1934 to 1941 Fogel was awarded several mural commissions by both the Federal Art Project
of the Works Progress Administration
(“WPA”) and the Treasury Department
's Section of Painting and Sculpture
, executing murals in such places as Brooklyn, New York; Safford, Arizona
; Cambridge, Minnesota
; Washington, D.C.
and at the 1939 New York World's Fair
.
In 1946, Fogel moved to Austin, Texas
where he accepted a teaching position at The University of Texas at Austin
. He became an integral part of the Texas
Modernism
movement, along with such artists as Kelly Fearing, Lester and Charles Umlauf
. In Texas he executed what have been considered the first abstract murals in the state for the American National Bank (1953), the Baptist Student Center at the University of Texas (1949), the First National Bank in Waco (1955), the First Christian Church in Houston (1956) and the Petroleum Club, also in Houston (1950). He pioneered the use of ethyl silicate in his mural commissions.
Fogel converted a rustic 19th century barn
in South Austin into a ranch-style house
with Usonian influences in 1953. The Seymour and Barbara Fogel House, which Fogel called "Southwind", was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on April 2, 2003, both for its association with Fogel and its unique architecture and construction.
In 1959 Seymour Fogel moved back to New York City where he maintained a studio and established his residence first in Westport
and then in Weston, Connecticut
. During this time he began to experiment with texturing his paintings with such material as paraffin
, cloth, wood and sand. In New York he produced transcendentalist art which he referred to as “atavistic.” Mural commissions at this time include the U.S. Federal Building in Fort Worth, Texas
(1966), the Hoffman La Roche Corporate Towers in Nutley, New Jersey
(1964), Public School 306 in Brooklyn, New York (1967) and the U.S. Federal Customs Building in Foley Square
, New York City in 1968. In the latter stage of his mural career, he used mosaic as his primary medium.
In 1974 Seymour Fogel relocated his studio from New York City to his residence in Weston. In this last decade of his life, Fogel focused entirely on atavistic art in a variety of forms: paintings, drawings, collages and both painted and raw wood constructions. Seymour Fogel died on December 4, 1984.
, the Corcoran Gallery of Art
, the Telfair Museum of Art
, the Greenville County Museum of Art and the Dallas Museum of Art
.
Fogel generated a prolific and distinctive body of work. John Baur, director emeritus of the Whitney Museum of American Art, noted Seymour Fogel’s art was shown at the Whitney museum many times. Of Fogel, Baur said: “I have learned the only thing one can safely expect in Fogel’s work is the unexpected. Men like Sy have worked in all media, explored all styles, and refused to limit themselves.”
Greta Berman, an art historian and educator at Juilliard College wrote: “Fogel’s endless exploration into self and the eternal world reaches beyond easy definition … revealing a multitude of dimension and meaning that forms the very essence of art.”
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...
art early in the century, abstract art
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
and expressionist
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
art at mid-century, and transcendental art late in the century. His drive to experiment led him to work with expected media – oil paint
Oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
s, watercolors, and acrylics
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
– as well as unconventional media such as glass, plastics, sand, and wax
Wax
thumb|right|[[Cetyl palmitate]], a typical wax ester.Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents...
.
Education
Seymour Fogel was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on August 24, 1911. He studied 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...
in 1929 and at the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
from 1929 to 1932 under such established artists as Leon Kroll
Leon Kroll
-External links:* *...
and George Brandt Bridgman.
Career
In 1932, upon graduation from the National Academy, Seymour Fogel served as an apprentice to the MexicanMexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
ist Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
, then working on his controversial mural at Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
in New York City. From 1934 to 1941 Fogel was awarded several mural commissions by both the Federal Art Project
Federal Art Project
The Federal Art Project was the visual arts arm of the Great Depression-era New Deal Works Progress Administration Federal One program in the United States. It operated from August 29, 1935, until June 30, 1943. Reputed to have created more than 200,000 separate works, FAP artists created...
of the Works Progress Administration
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...
(“WPA”) and the Treasury Department
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
's Section of Painting and Sculpture
Section of Painting and Sculpture
The Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture , commonly known as "the Section," was established in 1934 and administered by the Procurement Division of the United States Department of the Treasury....
, executing murals in such places as Brooklyn, New York; Safford, Arizona
Safford, Arizona
- History :Safford was founded by Joshua Eaton Bailey, Hiram Kennedy and Edward Tuttle, who came from Gila Bend, in southwestern Arizona. They left Gila Bend in the winter of 1873-74; their work on canals and dams having been destroyed by high water the previous summer...
; Cambridge, Minnesota
Cambridge, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,520 people, 2,237 households, and 1,353 families residing in the city. The population density was 894.1 people per square mile . There were 2,373 housing units at an average density of 384.4 per square mile...
; 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....
and at the 1939 New York World's Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
.
In 1946, Fogel moved to Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
where he accepted a teaching position at The University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. He became an integral part of the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
Modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
movement, along with such artists as Kelly Fearing, Lester and Charles Umlauf
Charles Umlauf
Charles Umlauf was an American sculptor and teacher who was born is South Haven, Michigan.In 1929 he began three years of study with Albin Polasek at the Art Institute of Chicago. He subsequently spent one year as an assistant to Lorado Taft at his Midway Studio before returning to the AIC where...
. In Texas he executed what have been considered the first abstract murals in the state for the American National Bank (1953), the Baptist Student Center at the University of Texas (1949), the First National Bank in Waco (1955), the First Christian Church in Houston (1956) and the Petroleum Club, also in Houston (1950). He pioneered the use of ethyl silicate in his mural commissions.
Fogel converted a rustic 19th century barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
in South Austin into a ranch-style house
Ranch-style house
Ranch-style houses is a domestic architectural style originating in the United States. First built in the 1920s, the ranch style was extremely popular amongst the booming post-war middle class of the 1940s to 1970s...
with Usonian influences in 1953. The Seymour and Barbara Fogel House, which Fogel called "Southwind", was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on April 2, 2003, both for its association with Fogel and its unique architecture and construction.
In 1959 Seymour Fogel moved back to New York City where he maintained a studio and established his residence first in Westport
Westport, Connecticut
-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....
and then in Weston, Connecticut
Weston, Connecticut
Weston is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut. The population was 10,179 at the 2010 census. The town is served by Route 57 and Route 53, both of which run through the town center. About 19% of the town's workforce commutes to New York City, about to the southwest.Like many towns in...
. During this time he began to experiment with texturing his paintings with such material as paraffin
Paraffin
In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...
, cloth, wood and sand. In New York he produced transcendentalist art which he referred to as “atavistic.” Mural commissions at this time include the U.S. Federal Building in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
(1966), the Hoffman La Roche Corporate Towers in Nutley, New Jersey
Nutley, New Jersey
2010 Census Data:*TOTAL: 28,370 or 100%*White: 23,405 *African American: 628 *Asian: 2,824 *American Indian and Alaska Native: 36 *Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 4...
(1964), Public School 306 in Brooklyn, New York (1967) and the U.S. Federal Customs Building in Foley Square
Foley Square
Foley Square is a street intersection and green space in the Civic Center neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City and – by extension – the surrounding area, which is dominated by civic buildings. The space is bordered by Worth Street, Centre Street and Lafayette Street and lies...
, New York City in 1968. In the latter stage of his mural career, he used mosaic as his primary medium.
In 1974 Seymour Fogel relocated his studio from New York City to his residence in Weston. In this last decade of his life, Fogel focused entirely on atavistic art in a variety of forms: paintings, drawings, collages and both painted and raw wood constructions. Seymour Fogel died on December 4, 1984.
Exhibitions
Fogel’s art was exhibited in numerous museums and galleries, including the Whitney Museum of American ArtWhitney 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 Corcoran Gallery of Art
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo...
, the Telfair Museum of Art
Telfair Museum of Art
The Telfair Museum of Art, located in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia, is the South’s first public art museum. Founded through the bequest of Mary Telfair , a prominent local citizen, the museum opened in 1886 in the Telfair family’s renovated Regency-style mansion, known as the Telfair...
, the Greenville County Museum of Art and the Dallas Museum of Art
Dallas Museum of Art
The Dallas Museum of Art is a major art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, USA, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In 1984, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Arts District, Dallas, Texas...
.
Fogel generated a prolific and distinctive body of work. John Baur, director emeritus of the Whitney Museum of American Art, noted Seymour Fogel’s art was shown at the Whitney museum many times. Of Fogel, Baur said: “I have learned the only thing one can safely expect in Fogel’s work is the unexpected. Men like Sy have worked in all media, explored all styles, and refused to limit themselves.”
Greta Berman, an art historian and educator at Juilliard College wrote: “Fogel’s endless exploration into self and the eternal world reaches beyond easy definition … revealing a multitude of dimension and meaning that forms the very essence of art.”