Search Results - Cowles, Russell, 1887-1979

Russell Cowles

Russell Cowles (18871979) was an American artist who painted landscapes, still lifes, and human forms in a style that combined both modernist and traditional elements. In 1947 ''The New York Times'' critic Howard Devree said "his work shows a remarkably dynamic understanding of both traditional occidental and oriental painting as well as of the abstract principles which activate and underlie the modern movement as such". Over a career that spanned some fifty years, he achieved an unusual degree of success as measured by gallery representation, commercial sales of his work, critical reception, and representation in museum collections. He traveled widely throughout his life, combining the study and practice of art with an interest in learning about distant places and cultures. These travels included a circumferential world tour of nearly two years as well as frequent trips to Europe and travel within the United States.

During the first two decades of his career, he experimented with a range of styles from neo-classical and academic to abstract and non-objective. As he moved from one to the next, he absorbed its value to him and eventually established a mature style that was seen as completely his own. In 1946, a critic of the ''New York Sun'' wrote of Cowles's mature style that, "by artful simplification and placement of form, he unfailingly achieves designs of perfect balance. Essentially a realist. he is discreet in his modifications; forms are divested of superficialities, but never subjected to extreme distortion". In 1952, a critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' called him "a sensitive, well balanced, highly cultivated artist who loves his medium and demands of himself a craftsmanship to match his knowledge and sensibility". Provided by Wikipedia