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Joseph Allworthy is Joseph Allworthy (September 19, 1892 – August 17, 1991) a prominent mid-twentieth century American realist-representational painter based in Chicago, famous for his still life compositions and portraits. He also did notable work in the field of commercial art and advertisements. Early Life and training: Joseph Allworthy was born in Pennsylvania on September 19, 1892, to parents of German descent. He came from a family of artists. His father was a decorator and illustrator and his grandfather and granduncles painted murals in Catholic Churches after the American Civil War. Joseph Allworthy got his initial training under his father and at the age of 14 worked as an errand-boy in the art department of R.R.Donnelly & Company. He began his formal artistic studies at the Art Institute of Chicago, but never graduated and went on to study at the ‘Grand Central’ in New York. And like all aspiring American artists of the time he headed to Europe, but had to leave with the outbreak of the First World War. It was in Madrid at el Museo del Prado that Joseph Allworthy had an epiphanic experience that was to leave an indelible mark on him as a painter – he discovered Velasquez. After the War, Joseph Allworthy returned to Paris wanting to study under the famous late-Impressionist painter Jean-Paul Laurens, who was then a Professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. It is uncertain how long or for that matter whether he ever did study under Laurens, as Laurens died in the March of 1921. But it was during his visit in 1926-27 that he says “I was fortunate enough to study with a man who by means not revealed to me inherited the thinking that was Chardin’s, Corot’s and Manet’s. From that time on, my work went steadily forward in goodness and quality.” And then he bemoans: “Today there is no one that I know of anywhere in our world who is interested in this great heritage.” This was the famous Australian painter Max Meldrum later famous for his “tonal style” of painting. He studied under Meldrum and adopted his techniques and theory of art. Career: Joseph Allworthy soon established himself as a prominent painter excelling in still life compositions. In 1931 a critic had this to say of him: “Joseph Allworthy is a young Chicago painter whose ability to paint an exquisite and flawless still life has won him great admiration. There are still life arrangements here which will add to his glamorous reputation” Like other artists of his kind, Allworthy also painted portraits. Allworthy began to progressively focus more on portraits, so much so, in 1960 a critic referred to him as “a distinguished portrait painter.” Although he also painted landscapes he never considered it as his métier, but did them as a part of his investigations into his theory of vision and painting. Still life: Joseph Allworthy “whose paintings of still life are practically perfect,” first gained attention of the art world in the early 1930s with his still life arrangements and he continued to paint them even after his focus had shifted to other forms. His still life paintings are today scattered all over the U,S., Canada and Mexico in various museums and private collections. We could give a list and images of his major works here. Portrait: Joseph Allworthy’s favorite subject was the human figure and his heroes were the great masters of portraiture – Velazquez, Rembrandt, Corot and Raeburn – and his ultimate reputation, rests as the preeminent portrait painter of the American Midwest in the middle of the 20th century. As his skill in this genre grew and drew attention, it began to overtake his already impressive reputation as a still life painter. As a critic noted – “Joseph Allworthy lives up to his reputation in a brilliant, smooth still life and surpasses it in a portrait of a model in gypsy dress.” He was sought after to paint official portraits by prominent men and women, in the realms of education, industry and politics, in the Midwest. Portraits by him now hang in all major universities, colleges and industrial houses. The subjects of Joseph Allworthy’s portraits are a veritable who’s who of American Midwest of the mid-century. They included Drug manufacturer Eli Lilly, Banker Walter Cummings, Boeing Chairman,** , the brewers Pabst brothers, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago Laird Bell and many others associated with several Universities across the United States. But perhaps the largest collection of his portraits – 28 of them –is of the cattle barons of the Midwest. These are portraits of men famous in the live stock industry and were hung in the celebrated quarters of the Saddle and Sirloin Club of the stockyard inn until it was demolished *** [year?] We could here provide a list and a few sample images.

Landscapes: Although Allworthy, of necessity, continued to paint landscapes all through his career, he never considered it his métier and he rarely exhibited them. The scores of landscapes he painted were more directed toward his studies of vision and theory of painting and they form a veritable itinerary of his world wide travels. We could here provide a few sample images. Commercial Art: A little known side of Allworthy’s career, but which nonetheless had considerable significance for him, was his work as a commercial artist. After all, he first started earning his living at R. R. Donnelly & Co., albeit not as an artist’s apprentice, but as an errand boy. He was proud of his skills in lettering, design, layout, typography and commercial paintings and was much sought after for them. He even earned a comfortable living out of it. He had accounts with General Motors, Carnation milk, Goodyear rubber, Pabst Beer, Swift & Co and Florsheim shoes. But what characterized his works was that whether he painted sliced ham, a bottle of beer, a pair of shoes or a Buick sedan, he saw them as works of art – in fact, as still life compositions. We could here provide a list and a few sample images.

Theory of Vision and Painting: Joseph Allworthy was not an artist who merely painted. He was a painter who also deeply contemplated on the nature of his art. Profoundly influenced by the great past masters Velazquez and Rembrandt, and more immediately by his teacher Max Meldrum, Allworthy tried to develop further the latter’s theory of vision and painting. He contended visual sensations are interpreted with the aid of one’s past experience of other pictures or nature. Beauty, ugliness, order, confusion are visual properties, indisputable verities that are the same for all viewers allowing of no dispute. But because of personal likes and dislikes not all are capable of unprejudiced vision. Hence, the true recognition of these qualities is essential for a painter engaged in using them to bring about a definite objective through their employment. He termed this skill “detached or unprejudiced vision” and one painter more than anyone else embodied it for him – Velazquez. Personal Life: In 1916 he married Grace Geymer. It was a marriage that was to last a lifetime – a loving couple who not only shared an intense love of art but also a wanderlust. The two were perfect lifelong travelling companions. They visited most European cities and the galleries to study the old masters first hand. In 1922 they bought a townhouse in the Gold Coast in Chicago, where the couple spent the rest of their lives – on its third floor was Joseph’s studio. In Chicago they were a handsome pair whose presence graced many social events at the time. Grace, a beautiful woman, was his ‘perfect model’ – like Rembrandt who obsessively painted his own self-portraits, Joseph Allworthy never tired of painting portraits of his wife. Legacy For all his formidable skills and glamorous reputation, Joseph Allworthy never considered himself a teacher. In the summer of 1934, The American Academy of Art proudly announced that “Joseph Allworthy, well known Chicago painter of portraits and still life, will teach a class in painting in their evening school. Mr. Allworthy has had a number of invitations to teach in schools throughout the country, but this is the first time he has yielded to the temptation.” And again, in the summer of 1942, the Saugatuck Summer Art School had the privilege of him serving as the instructor in charge, announcing that “Joseph Allworthy is an outstanding painter! The opportunity of working with him is one not to be lightly dismissed.” These are the only two known instances where he has imparted instruction. But at the twilight of his career in the late 1970s when he hung up his palette he not only bequeathed his studio to his grand-niece and adopted daughter Dorian Allworthy, but also to the end of his days imparted the secrets of his art to her. And the studio to this day preserves not only his memory but also his heritage, as Dorian Allworthy continues to perpetuate his legacy.


References

1. Personal papers, journals, notes 2. Eleanor Jewett, Chicago Daily Tribune; March 26, 1931 3. Edith Weigle Chicago Daily Tribune; Mar. 27, 1960 4. Eleanor Jewett, Chicago Daily Tribune;May 9.1935 5. Eleanor Jewett, Chicago Daily Tribune; May 2, 1932 6. Eleanor Jewett, Chicago Daily Tribune; September 9.1934 7. Eleanor Jewett, Chicago Daily Tribune;May 31.1942

External links


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