The Letter

This is it. The final weekend of AN INTIMATE VIEW: Small Paintings & Drawings by Ben Solowey. The show has been another success for the Solowey Studio and we are delighted by the scores of people who have visited and have enjoyed the exhibition. Even after 17 years of shows, it is surprising how many of these works have never been exhibited before, or have not been shown in years.

As there are pieces from virtually every part of of Ben Solowey’s career, this exhibition is literally a small retrospective. The show cover a half century of Solowey art.

The first pieces are from Ben’s sojourn to Europe in 1924 (the subject of a 1995 exhibition) and reveal their influence on his later work.

From his New York years, there’s a peek into Ben’s studio, theater portraits, and a still life (in one of Ben’s hand carved, gold leaf frames) that was recently discovered in a private collection and that has not been exhibited than 60 years.

There are several portraits of Rae throughout the years, including an very early portrait, a stunning 1939 oil, and an exquisite view of the artist’s wife from the 1950s (in another of Ben’s handcarved, gold-leaf frame).

What you don’t want to miss are the unexpected pleasures of Ben’s work in the exhibition. The heavily impasto 1925 self portrait, the quintessential image of Rae titled Sunny Corner, the serene still life of peonies in a cut glass vase, the pastel that brought so much joy to Kitty Carlisle Hart, or the roughly painted landscape in which Ben used a palette knife rather than a brush.

To see all of this in the studio where much of it was created, set in the middle of a 34 acre farm where the winter wheat is almost ready to harvest and lush vegetation is everywhere, is an offer that you don’t want to let pass by.

Clockwise from top left: Nasturtiums. Oil on canvas, c. 1935, 16 x 20 in; Jardin de Luxemborg. Oil on board, 1924, 13 x 16 in; African Violets. Oil on canvas, 1926, 20 x 16 in. Reflection. Watercolor on paper, 17 x 12 in.

In my “2:30 talks”, what I don’t mention is frequently asked about by visitors. The “talks” are closer to conversations with people who are interested in Ben Solowey’s art. I call them the “poor man’s audio tour” because I talk about the paintings and drawings as people are looking at them. Spontaneous questions from visitors provide more opportunities to compare and contrast works on the walls.

One painting that continues to intrigue visitors is a landscape from the final years of Ben’s career. A work that at first glance doesn’t “look” like a Solowey. Gone is the rich smooth surface of many of his oils. In its place, thick jagged gobs of paint. People often mention Van Gogh, but he is just one of many influences perhaps.

Titled Morning Mood, this small work is a palette-knife painting. Instead of a brush, the paint was applied to the board with a knife. The rough handling of the color gives the work vitality. A brilliant blue sky, smeared with clouds, overhangs a distant peak (perhaps Mt. Haycock) in the background. A field just before harvest dominates the foreground, framed by green. Trees? Other crops? Who knows?

He signed the piece with a flourish on the verso, but never exhibited it. Perhaps he might have considered it for a retrospective that was planned for the Woodmere Art Museum in the spring of 1979. With Ben’s death in May, 1978, the exhibition became a memorial, featuring more than 100 paintings, drawings, and sculptures.

The nearly 40 works in AN INTIMATE VIEW: Small Paintings & Drawings by Ben Solowey serve as their own tour through Ben’s career beginning with paintings from Europe in 1924, through his New York years, including three Theater Portraits, and concluding with pieces from more than four decades on this farm. With works such as Morning Mood, there is more than a half century of art on view in this exhibition.

This new show runs Saturdays and Sundays, 1 to 5 pm through June 28th.

Morning Mood. Oil on board, c. 1977, 6 1/4 x 9 1/2 in.

We had a beautiful opening weekend. It is always a pleasure to see old and new friends, and the reaction to the exhibition was gratifying. Just as he did last year, our seven year old, Henry, and his cousins, sold flowers cut from the garden, American flags, and pine cones with glitter on them to raise money for the Aark Foundation Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center, which helps injured animals. Thanks to everyone who helped them raise $40.75.

Like so much in his studio, Ben Solowey made his easel, by hand. It stood center-stage for still lifes, portraits, and interiors, but at night he sometimes wheeled it in a cool corner and hung it with a damp towel so that the oil paint on his canvas would stay supple and wet. This “wet on wet” technique produced a rich smooth surface on many works that convey an air of tranquility that Ben and Rae’s found here on their farm.

His model stand (a five drawer flat file) and his palette table (an upended antique tea chest) are also on wheels, so he could move them wherever he needed them. From photographs, paintings, and drawings, we know that the configuration of the studio was always in flux when Ben was working, and some of that continues today. I think one of the reasons the studio still feels very much “alive” is not because we left everything in place, but rather because we frequently move items around, just as Ben did.

If you look closely at his more than seven-foot tall easel where he stored his brushes, you’ll see sketches of birds. “Drawing was to breathing for Ben,” Rae often said, and the movement of blackbirds and pheasants were regular subjects of a spontaneous sketch, particularly in his later years.

On the easel at the moment is a lovely pastel drawing, titled simply Flowers – Silver and Gold. This still life of spring blossoms including tulips, dogwood, and snowball hydrangea was culled from the property. Because these plants are all still here, we know he drew this in approximately May. That is one of the wonders of this place, to see the source material for Ben’s still lifes come to life. It provides a direct connection to the work for any visitor.

The drawing is housed in one of Ben’s handmade, gold-leafed frames. A simple delicate work that sets off the drawing quite nicely. While not technically part of AN INTIMATE VIEW: Small Paintings & Drawings by Ben Solowey (the main studio is given over to works of all sizes), it still worth the trip as it is a work on consignment, and we cannot guarantee that it will be here on a future visit.

Here are some facts and figures for Saturday’s opening of AN INTIMATE VIEW: Small Paintings & Drawings by Ben Solowey.

• There are over 70 pieces on the walls. In the Second Studio we have 39 lovely small works from just about every phase of Ben’s career. In the Main Studio, we have put together a stunning collection of oils and works on paper from various periods.

• There are 13 Ben Solowey handcrafted frames. This is the largest concentration of Ben’s frames ever. There are beautifully carved gold leafed frames, and others with punch decorations.

• There are eight portraits of Rae and four self portraits. In one work, Rae can be seen in the first year of their marriage, elegantly dressed in a yellow gown. Two of Ben’s self portraits were the subjects of an earlier entry.

• There are ten Bucks County landscapes including four views of the farmhouse in different seasons and media, and a delightful brush drawing (in a Solowey frame) from Lake Nockamixon.

• There are eights scenes from Ben’s 1924 sojourn in Europe. Six are from Paris, including an intoxicating view of the Jardin de Luxemborg, and two plein air paintings of the mountains of Engelberg, Germany.

• There are seven still lifes with flowers from Ben’s garden, including several of Ben’s favorite flowers, peonies (three different colors are in full bloom here now).

• You will also be able to get an intimate peek into Ben’s Fifth Avenue studio in New York, his Philadelphia studio in 1954, and of course scenes from his Bucks County studio where the works are on view.

Clockwise from top left: Hydrangea & Roses. Pastel on board. 16 x 12 in.; The Sail. Brush drawing on paper, 12 x 20 in.; Rae. Oil on canvas, 1939, 16 x 20 in. ; Morning Mood. Oil on board, c. 1977, 6 1/4 x 9 1/2 in.

“Every picture tells a story,” so the saying goes. This week’s highlight from AN INTIMATE VIEW: Small Paintings & Drawings by Ben Solowey, has a story to tell as to why it has not been on view for 13 years at the Studio.

It is a lovely pastel that dates from the last decade of Ben’s career. The zinnias almost certainly came from Ben’s garden right outside his studio. The green glass is still here and played a role in many still lifes over the years. Despite his advanced age, Ben never stopped experimenting as evidenced by the loose gesture that gives the piece an almost action painting background. Ben handcrafted the frame and used small punch decorations in the corners.

We exhibited the work only once in 1996 as part of a joint show with Ben’s contemporary, William A. Smith, of their works on paper. During the exhibition’s run Kitty Carlisle Hart came to visit. Studio director, David Leopold, was working with the James A. Michener Art Museum on the installation, “Creative Bucks County,” which featured a special section on Kitty’s husband, Moss Hart, and another on the collaboration of Hart and George S. Kaufman.

It was Kitty’s first visit to the Studio and she loved it and the works on the walls. She was particularly enchanted with this work and an oil, “A White Still Life.”

David and Kitty got to know each other better and she insisted that he accompany the fine arts handlers who came to her spacious Manhattan apartment soon thereafter to pick up items she had agreed to lend to the Museum for the first two years of the installation.

As the handlers started to wrap each piece, Kitty began to have second thoughts about lending a small Early American Folk painting that was only remaining part of a collection of such work that hung in the Harts’ Bucks County estate.

First she claimed the work was too valuable to lend, then she said her decor would be missing a beautiful work. Thinking on his feet, David offered a solution: would Kitty be willing to hang a Solowey work in its stead for the duration of the loan?

She agreed, and the following week David brought the two works Kitty liked to her home. She was not able to decide which piece she liked more, so David agreed to lend her both.

Kitty and David remained friendly and he allowed her to hold onto the works long after her items were returned. Kitty passed away in her bed in April 2007 under “A White Still Life” and she kept this pastel near her favorite place in her living room: the piano.

Top: White Zinnias in Green Glass. Pastel on board, n.d. 16 x 12 in.

Ben and Rae Solowey had just finished lunch on May 26, 1978, when the artist told his wife he was going to trim hedges by the stone steps that led to their house. The couple, married just two weeks shy of forty eight years, were expecting guests from England that Memorial Day weekend.

Rae asked how long he might be, and Ben replied twenty minutes. After an hour, Rae went to look for Ben and discovered his lifeless body by the bridge over the creek that runs through the property. It was the end of six decades of award-winning artwork.

Rae would later write to a friend that she “encased herself in steel and went on.” She felt cheated of course, but was at peace on the farm, surrounded by the paintings, drawings, sculpture, and furniture that Ben had made.

Rae maintained his studio, more or less as it was, watering plants and looking through the racks of remaining work. She saw some pieces for the first time. She let the garden, which had supplied virtually all the flowers for Ben’s still lifes, go wild, allowing it to become her “wild French garden.”

As Studio visitors know, Ben is present at every exhibition in oil, watercolor, pastel, charcoal, plaster, bronze, and so many other media. In AN INTIMATE VIEW: Small Paintings & Drawings by Ben Solowey, there are two self portraits that practically bookend Ben’s career.

The oil at left is filled with such vibrant youthful energy that it seems Ben cannot look directly at the viewer. The bold splashes of color, and the loose brushwork reveal almost an impatience to get to the next painting as the works trails off in the lower right with bare white canvas. He assertively signs the work in red.

The drawing at right is much quieter. Its soft muted tones in delicate crayon shows the artist’s direct gaze at the viewer. Unflinching, but somehow not unforgiving, he is literally looking up from the drawing. By its tiny size, one would think this was a study, but the signature — a sure sign of Solowey approval — belies any tossed-off practice. Perhaps he intended the intimacy with the viewer, who has to draw their head in close to examine the work.

It is in many ways what Rae intended when she decided that the Studio should remain open for future generations to enjoy: a close personal experience with art that remains timeless.

Left: Self Portrait. Oil on canvas, 1925. 20 x 16 in.
Right: Self Portrait. Conté crayon on board, c. 1976. 5 1/2 x 4 in.

Assembling the artwork for AN INTIMATE VIEW: Small Paintings & Drawings by Ben Solowey, has been a pleasure. There are so many terrific pieces to choose from, the task proves that the curator’s job is often times not what one puts into a show, but what must be left out. We have whittled the list down to approximately 35 works, and we hope that as we hang the show we discover that space will allow us more (rather than less).

As there are pieces from virtually every part of of Ben Solowey’s career, this exhibition is literally a mini retrospective. The show cover a half century of Solowey art.

Appropriately, this week’s highlight starts at the beginning of Ben’s career. A 1925 landscape painted soon after his return from six month sojourn in Europe. While abroad, Ben produced a number of small paintings (13 x 16 in) on wood panels and canvas boards that he painted plein air in and around Paris. He was soaking up the influences of Impressionism, Modernism, and other “ism’s” that were all around him in Paris.

He returned to Philadelphia and painted the above work in a similar fashion, capturing a local city scene. Although he was still synthesizing the styles he encountered during his travels, he already had succeeded in personalizing elements of his technique.

At least the judges at the Philadelphia Sketch Club thought so. In a 1926 exhibition, they awarded Ben an Honorable Mention for the painting, an important validation at the time for Ben.

Ben was on his way to become “Ben Solowey” yet in this early work, as was his practice at the time, he signed the work in red (in the lower right), “B. Solowey.” The bold signature that was to become a trademark for him was still five years away.

This painting and others from his trip to Europe in 1924 will be on view in AN INTIMATE VIEW: Small Paintings & Drawings by Ben Solowey.

Above: The Bridge. Oil on board, 1925. 13 x 16 in.

AN INTIMATE VIEW OF THE WORLD OF BEN SOLOWEY
New Exhibition Explores Small Paintings and Drawings

BEDMINSTER, PA — The Studio of Ben Solowey is pleased to announce a new exhibition, AN INTIMATE VIEW: Small Paintings and Drawings by Ben Solowey, featuring a never-before-assembled collection of small works by Ben Solowey (1900 – 1978). The exhibition will open to the public on Saturday June 6th at the Solowey Studio in Bedminster, PA with a reception from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The installation will continue Saturdays and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., through Sunday, June 28, 2009.

“Small paintings give viewers a more personal experience, inviting a closer, more discrete interaction with the work of art,” says David Leopold, Director of The Studio of Ben Solowey. “These works leave no barriers between artist and viewer.” AN INTIMATE VIEW is the first exhibition to focus exclusively on Solowey’s small paintings and drawings. Included in the exhibition are oil paintings from virtually every part of his career, and almost every genre. “The earliest work is a 1925 self portrait that Solowey painted at the end of an eight-month European sojourn that belies the influences of the experience,” says Leopold. “There’s also a 1932 still life, Nasturtiums, that is perhaps the most modern work he ever painted. Visitors can contrast that with a late work, Summer Bouquet, painted in the twilight of his life filled with flowers from his own garden.” There will be landscapes from France and Germany alongside landscapes from the Bucks County farmland surrounding Solowey’s Bedminster studio where the exhibition takes place.

“With our Second Studio devoted to the small works,” says Leopold, “Ben’s main studio will feature a new installation of Solowey oil paintings, drawings, and sculpture.” The inviting studio, and the 34 acre property it sits on, were created and landscaped by Solowey after he left New York in 1942. The Studio has been featured in Architectural Digest, Pennsylvania Heritage, The Discerning Traveler, and Bucks County Town and Country Living.

“In honor of our opening on June 6th we will continue our tradition of serving homemade refreshments in the Solowey home, “ says Leopold. “The two hundred-year old farmhouse was restored by Ben and is filled with museum quality furniture handcrafted by him. This will probably be the only time we open the house this year, so this truly is a special event.”

AN INTIMATE VIEW
Small Paintings and Drawings by Ben Solowey
June 6 – 28, 2009
Free Opening Reception: June 6th
Hours: Saturdays and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. from June 6th through the 28th. Other times by appointment.
Gallery Talk by David Leopold: 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays during the run of the exhibition.
Admission: $5; Free with invitation

When it snows here at the Solowey Studio it really is beautiful. Ben loved to paint winter snow scenes and in his later years, he fashioned a chair to have a surface to draw on so he could turn it toward the window and draw wintry scenes when the drifts got too high to go over to the studio.

It doesn’t snow as much here as it did during Ben’s time. But when it does, it is easy to wish for ability to capture it in paint or pencil.