Robert Henri
In the early years of the twentieth century, artists reacted against the light-filled and airy canvases of the Impressionists and turned instead to the urban realities around them. The movement was dubbed the Ashcan School, a term derived from a drawing by George Bellows of a dirty trash can used for the disposal of ashes. Robert Henri (1865–1929) was a leading figure of the aesthetic and was instrumental as a teacher and author, touting “art for life’s sake.” He became the self-appointed spokesman of the group, which had its origins in an exhibition he had helped organize in 1908 called “The Eight.” Henri encouraged artists to turn away from depictions of the elite and to embrace the reality of everyday Americans. His desire to grasp a more authentic experience is complemented by the loosely painted faces of people he encountered in his travels in America and Europe.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, as Robert Henry Cozad, the artist had an adventurous youth. His father, John, was a land speculator and professional gambler who purchased a tract of land in Nebraska from the Union Pacific Railroad in 1873. There he established a settlement in the family name, Cozad. Living in the western frontier had a tremendous impact on young Robert, who saw the land transformed from grazing pastures into productive farmland. The life he had grown accustomed to changed abruptly, however, when his father shot and killed a man in October 1884. The family fled Cozad, took on new identities, and eventually relocated to Atlantic City, New Jersey. Robert and his brother were presented as foster children and assumed multiple surnames. From a French cousin Robert was given the name “Henri,” which his father pronounced “Hen-rye.” [1]
Although he had no art education as a boy, Henri displayed an artistic sensibility early on. With his mother’s encouragement, he enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1886, where he studied under Thomas Anshutz, a protégé of Thomas Eakins. Henri took anatomy classes, which provided an excellent foundation for his figurative work. He continued his formal studies at the Académie Julian in Paris for two years beginning in 1888. He was fascinated by the mundane subject matter and loose style of Frans Hals and Vincent Van Gogh and began to work with a palette knife in order to emulate their paintings.
Henri returned to Philadelphia where he was hired as an instructor at the Women’s School of Design, the first of many teaching positions he held. In 1902, he moved to New York and was affiliated with the New York School of Art; Bellows, Edward Hopper, and Rockwell Kent were among his students. From 1915 to 1927 he taught at the Art Students League. For his paintings—typically figures in a neutral setting—he sought individuals with diverse ethnic backgrounds. Many of his sitters were simple Irish folk whom he encountered during his many summers in Ireland. While Henri’s paintings received praise from critics for their innovative subjects and technical skill, his work did not appeal to popular tastes, and his paintings frequently went unsold. This harsh reality led Henri to advocate for a shift in American art, calling for greater realism and for abandoning conservative salon styles. In a lecture to his students, Henri said: “Do whatever you do intensely. The artist is the man who leaves the crowd and goes pioneering. With him there is an idea which is his life.” [2] Henri followed his own advice, and continued to push the boundaries of American art with his loosely rendered paintings of urban scenes and ordinary people.
Notes:
[1] Bennard B. Perlman, Robert Henri: Life and Art (New York: Dover Publications, 1991), 1–6.
[2] Robert Henri, Janet Le Clair, and Margery Ryerson, ed.,The Art Spirit: Notes, Articles, Fragments of Letters and Talks to Students, Bearing on the Concept and Technique of Picture Making, the Study of Art Generally, and on Appreciation (Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott, 1923), 262.
