The 17th Annual USArtists: American Fine Art Show Reviewed

Yesterday, I attended the USArtists American Fine Art Show in Philadelphia.  The galleries participating were mostly from the east coast, but there were a few from farther abroad, including Ohio, Illinois, and California.  The event, held at the 33rd Street Armory, was well organized, and well-attended, even bringing in local celebrities like M. Night Shayamalan to investigate the art, though I was told the crowds were down from last year.

The majority of the art on display was landscape, with a strong emphasis on  Pennsylvania  scenes.   Of the artists featured, the predominant school was of the Pennsylvania Impressionists,  who were associated with the town of New Hope on the Delaware River, and with the surrounding, rural Bucks County area.  Clarence Johnson, Walter Baum, Daniel Garber, and William Sotter, of this school, were all represented.

Other artists on exhibit include William Trost Richards, who was shown in abundance, and whose seascapes were very impressive, Birge Harrison, William MacGregor Paxton, John Singer Sargent, Andrew, Jamie, and Henriette Wyeth, and Walter Launt Palmer;  a new discovery for me and whose snowscapes showed an amazing control of value and impressionistic color.

Of the contemporary artists on view, those who stood out to me were Jeremy Lipking, David Jon Kassan, Michael Klein, Nancy Depew, Robert Liberace, Matthew Cornell, Travis Schlatt, Kate Lehman, Donald Jurney, and Natalie Featherston.  Most of these artists are represented by the same galley in New York City, Arcadia, and of the contemporary galleries, I think Arcadia seemed to have the best sales even in this tough economic time.

A few modern galleries were also there, but there was nothing there to interest me and get me to explore their booths.  Unfortunately for those galleries, it seemed most of the other visitors felt the same way.