Philip Reisman

“My art is not genteel art.

Table of Contents

• I. BIOGRAPHY
• II. AN ANALYSIS OF THE ARTIST'S WORK
• III. CHRONOLOGY
• IV. COLLECTIONS
• V. EXHIBITIONS
• VI. MEMBERSHIPS
• VII. AWARDS
• VIII. TEACHING
• IX. BIBLIOGRAPHY
• X. WORKS FOR SALE BY THIS ARTIST

I. BIOGRAPHY

II. AN ANALYSIS OF THE ARTIST'S WORK

Over the span of his 50-year career, Philip Reisman experimented with various mediums, kept to the same Social Realist style, and he always depicted the same subject: the underprivileged classes of New York City. Although his most powerful pieces of art were usually captured with egg tempura paint, Reisman also created a variety of works by using various mediums, such as oil, watercolor, pen ink, charcoal, gouache, and pastel.

From the early age of 25, Reisman was dedicated to capturing unjust social and economic scenes that he witnessed in Brooklyn. This, paired with his disdain for the Capitalist economic system caused Reisman to devote himself and his art toward bringing awareness of the undeserved situations many working class Americans were experiencing. His early paintings captured the vitality of crowded areas, like his piece Clinic (1929). The painting is of a crowded clinic in New York, complete with screaming babies, elderly men, and concerned family members. He once said of the subject, “When I was a child I saw in a clinic on the Lower East Side a situation where a young man, evidently afflicted with cancer, had had an arm amputated.” These experiences made such an impression on the young Reisman, that he was able to paint them from memory without the aid of sketches. At this time, Reisman was developing his style of painting, which focused heavily on the figure. He was also taking anatomy classes at the Art Students’ League.

As Philip Reisman matured, his subject matter became more and more politically charged. This culminated with his landmark show at the Guild Arts Gallery in 1936. All of the paintings in this show provided social commentary on the people who were either stricken by poverty or oppressed by society. One of his most well known paintings, The Bowery (1933), debuted at this show. This painting is named and modeled after areas where many of New York’s homeless would congregate. This painting is very characteristic of Reisman’s Social Realist style, in that he creates a scene based on a large group of people. The figures are created using many loose lines for modeling and heavy outlining. The color palette Reisman chose is deliberately dingy, with browns and blues that help convey the desperate situation these men lived in daily.

Over the years, Reisman’s paintings gradually became less politically charged than his pieces in the Guild Arts Gallery, but they always depicted groups of people who lived under harsh situations. Philip Reisman continued his style and subject all the way through his career, even through the 1980s after so many other artistic styles had overshadowed Social Realism.

III. CHRONOLOGY

1904 Born in Warsaw Poland on July 18

1908 Family settles in New York City

1922 Begins art classes at the Art Students’ League

1926 Illustrates two short stories for Colliers Magazine

1927-28 Studies privately with Harry Wickey

1932 First one man exhibition opens at the Painters and Sculptors Gallery

1933-34 Invited to live and work at the Yaddo Foundation in Saratoga Springs

1934 Travels through the South painting for the WPA

1934 Awarded Nicholas Roerich Museum Prize of a one-person exhibition

1936-37 Executes Bellevue Hospital Mural

1936 One man exhibition at the Guild Art Gallery

1939 Illustrated Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina for Random House

1940 Reisman’s painting were exhibited at the Associated Artists Gallery at 711 Fifth Avenue

1943 Features several canvases in the ACA Gallery

1944 Awarded Pepsi Cola Prize for painting titled Feature Act in Portrait of America Exhibition at the Carnegie Institute Pittsburgh, PA

1944 Visits a scenic village in Massachusetts

1946 Marries Louise Kleinman

1955 Awarded Adam Mickiewitz Centennial Committee Prize

1956 Awarded Joseph S. Isidor Gold Medal, National Academy of Design

1967 Reisman’s final exhibition at the ACA after a 25 year association with the gallery

1968 Awarded the Childe Hassam Fund Purchase Prize, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters

1979 Borough President Andrew Stein of Manhattan proclaimed November 13 to be “Philip Reisman Day”

1984 Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University holds a large retrospective

1992 Died at the age of 88

IV. COLLECTIONS

Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art, The Wichita State University, Wichita, KS

Fine Arts Museum, Long Island, NY

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.

Joe and Emily Lowe Art Gallery, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

National Academy of Design, NYC

Museum of the City of New York, NYC

Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, NY

The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

The Museum of Modern Art, NYC

The New York Public Library, NYC

Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT

V. EXHIBITIONS

Solo Exhibitions

1931 Painters and Sculptors Gallery, NYC

1932 Painters and Sculptors Gallery, NYC

1934 Nicholas Roerich Museum, NYC

1936 Guild Gallery, NYC

1939 F.A.R. Gallery, NYC

1940 Associated American Artists Gallery, NYC

1943 ACA Gallery, NYC

1945 ACA Gallery, NYC

1947 Young Men’s Hebrew Association, Baltimore, MD

1947 ACA Gallery, NYC

1948 York Art Center, York, PA

1948 ACA Gallery, NYC

1950 ACA Gallery, NYC

1954 ACA Gallery, NYC

1955 ACA Gallery, NYC

1957 ACA Gallery, NYC

1959 The Hudson Guild, NYC

1959 ACA Gallery, NYC

1961 ACA Gallery, NYC

1962 Beaux Arts Gallery, Denver, CO

1963 The Gallery, Norwalk, OH

1963 ACA Gallery, NYC

1965 Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, NY

1965 Harbor Gallery, Cold Springs Harbor, NY

1967 ACA Gallery, NYC

1973 Gallery 1199 Martin Luther King Jr., Labor Center, NY

1975 Southern Vermont Art Center, Manchester, VT

1978 Harbor Gallery, Cold Springs Harbor, NY

1979-80 The Sixties and the Seventies, Museum of the City of New York, NY

1980 Mid-Hudson Arts and Sciences Center, Poughkeepsie, NY

1981 Gallery of Saint Mary’s College of Maryland, Saint Mary’s City,

1981 Gallery of Saint John’s College, Annapolis, MD

1982 Mary Ryan Gallery, NY

1983 Wenniger Graphics, Rockport, MA

1983 Wenniger Graphics, Boston, MA

1984 Mary Ryan Gallery, NY

1984 Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art, The Wichita State University, Wichita, KS

1985 Men And Machines, Cape Ann Historical Association, Gloucester, MA

Group Exhibitions

1929-30 American Printmakers, Downtown Gallery, NYC

1938 Murals for the Community, Federal Art Gallery, NYC

1940 F.A.R. Gallery, NYC

1940 Associated American Artists, NYC

1943 Hudson Guild, New York City

1944 Pepsi Cola Exhibit, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA

1944 British American Art Center, NYC

1945 ACA Gallery, NYC

1946 Walker Art Gallery, NYC

1946 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA

1946 Bothner’s Gallery, NYC

1947 Whitney Annual, Whitney Museum, NYC

1948 Whitney Annual, Whitney Museum, NYC

1948 The Jewish Museum, NYC

1949 Mid Century Gallery, NYC

1949 Ein Herod Museum, Herod Kibbutz, Israel

1950 Golden Jubilee Show, Art Students League, NYC

1951 Nicholas Roerich Museum, NYC

1952 127th Annual, National Academy of Design, NYC

1953 Berryman Gallery, NYC

1954 Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ

1956 131st Annual, National Academy of Design, NYC

1958 Whitney Annual”, Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC

1958 133rd Annual, National Academy of Design, NYC

1958 Hudson Guild, NYC

1959 Whitney Annual, Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC

1959 Hudson Guild, NYC

1960 Woodstock Art Association, NYC

1960 Joe and Emily Lowe Art Gallery, Syracuse University, NY

1963 138th Annual, National Academy of Design, NYC

1964 139th Annual, National Academy of Design, NYC

1964 Di Salvo Gallery, New York City

1965 Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, NYC

1965 American School of Madrid, NYC

1966 Childe Hassam Fund Exhibition, American Academy of Arts and Letters, NYC

1969 144th Annual, National Academy of Design, NYC

1969 Art-o-rama, NYC

1970 The Black Experience in the United States in the Past Two Centuries, Lincoln University, Oxford, PA

1972 Hudson Guild, New York City

1973 148th Annual, National Academy of Design, NYC

1975 Southern Vermont Art Center, Manchester, VT

1977 WPA – New York then and Now, Parsons School of Design, NYC

1977 New Deal for Art, The Grey Art Gallery and Study Center, New York University, NYC

1980 Berkshire Art Association, Lenox, MA

1980 Audubon Artists, NYC

1981 WPA Show, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY

1981 Summit Gallery, NYC

1981 Social Art in America, 1930-1945, ACA Gallery, NYC

1981 Magazine Covers of the World, Cooper-Hewitt Museum, The Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of Design, NYC

1981 American Society of Contemporary Artists, NY

1982 New York WPA Artists, Inc, Lincoln Center, NYC

1983 Social Concern and Urban Realism of the 1930’s, Gallery 1199, Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center, NYC

1983 158th Annual, National Academy of Design, NYC

1983 American Association of Contemporary Artists, NYC

1983-84 Das Andere Amerika: Geschichte, Kunst and Kultur de amerkanische Arbeiterbewegung, Municipal Art Gallery, Berlin, West Germany

1984 WPA Artists, Municipal Art Gallery, NYC

1984 Pembroke Gallery, Houston, TX

1984 Hudson Guild, NYC

1984 American Society of Contemporary Artists, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY

1985 160th Annual Exhibition, National Academy of Design, NYC

Murals

1936-37 Bellevue Hospital, NYC

VI. MEMBERSHIPS

1959-61 President, Artists’ Equity Association of New York

1961-64 Treasurer, Artists’ Equity Association of New York

1964-66 Secretary, Artists’ Equity Association of New York

1981 Associate Member, National Academy of Design, NYC

1982 Member, National Academy of Design, NYC

Active in John Reed Clubs during the 1930’s

Artists’ Union

American Artists’ Congress

VII. AWARDS

1934 Prize, Nicholas Roerich Museum, NYC

1944 Pepsi-Cola Prize, Portrait of America Exhibition, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA

1955 Adam Mickiewitz Centennial Committee Prize

1956 Joseph S. Isidor Gold Medal, National Academy of Design, NYC

1968 Childe Hassam Fund Purchase Prize, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, NYC

1979 Borough President Andrew Stein of Manhattan proclaimed Novermber 13th, 1979 “Philip Reisman Day” in recognition of Reisman’s contributions to the people of New York City

1981 First Award in Painting, 63rd Annual Exhibition, American Society of Contemporary Artists, NYC

1982 Ralph Mayer Award, 64th Annual Exhibition, American Society of Contemporary Artists, NYC

1984 First Award in Painting, 66th Annual Exhibition, American Society of Contemporary Artists, NYC

VIII. TEACHING

American Artists’ School, NYC

Educational Alliance, NYC

South Shore Arts Workshop, Rockville Center, NYC

Young Mens’ Hebrew Association, Paterson, NJ

IX. Bibliography

2. 1. AskArt.com the Artist’s Bluebook, International edition. Visited 7/16/2007, http://www.askart.com/askart/artist.aspx?artist=20935
3. 2. Bénézit, Emmanuel, Bénézit Dictionary of Artists, Paris: Gründ, 2006.
4. 3. Bush, Martin H. Philip Reisman: People Are His Passion. Wichita, KS: E.A., Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University, c.1986.
5. 4. New Deal for Art: The Government Art Projects of the 1930’s with examples from New York City & State. Oswego, NY: New York State University, Oswego, Tyler Art Gallery, 1977.
6. 5. O’Connor, Francis, New Deal Art Projects: An Anthology of Memoirs, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1972.
7. 6. Paintings by Philip Reisman. April 6 thru April 25, 1936: Guild Art Gallery. New York: The Gallery, 1936.
8. 7. Philip Reisman Papers, 1904-1994. Smithsonian Archives of American Art, (Partially microfilmed on 2 reels) Reel(s): NPR 1 & 8.
9. 8. Social Concern And Urban Realism: American Painting Of The 1930’s. New York, NY: Gallery 1199, 1983.

IX. WORKS FOR SALE BY THIS ARTIST

Philip Reisman was born on July 18th, 1904 in Warsaw, Poland to Max and Helen Zeidler Reisman. He was the second youngest of seven siblings. During this time, Poland was going through a period of widespread anti-Semitism, which was a source of constant concern for Reisman’s Jewish family. Relatives who lived in New York persuaded the Reisman family to leave their homeland for America in 1905. Max and his two oldest sons crossed the Atlantic first to secure jobs and a home for the rest of the family. Three years later in 1908, Helen and the five youngest children reunited with the rest of the family in New York. Philip’s exposure to art was at a very early age, when he witnessed his older brother working on a lesson about perspective for an art class. He once recalled, “I thought it was fascinating, everything going to a vanishing point. It was so wonderful. I decided then, at the age of 10, to be an artist. But my father got upset when I told him. ‘You starve’, he said. ‘Why don’t you become a machinist and paint part time?’ Being foolish and stubborn, I refused.” Fortunately for the Reisman family, times got easier for them by the time Philip was old enough to attend high school. Reisman began studying at a Manuel Training High School, but after one semester, he decided that it was not for him. He dropped out of the school and began taking classes at the Art Students’ League (ASL) of New York. At this time Reisman took various part-time jobs at night, which allowed him to take classes during the day. In 1922, Philip Reisman studied at the ASL for six years. First he studied under Wallace Morgan (1873-1948), who was a prominent illustrator. Then, he took George Bridgeman’s life drawing class, which prompted Reisman to study anatomy under him for five more years. Reisman also began sitting in on classes taught by George Luks (1867–1933), who taught him a lot about simplifying his figures. Luks often told his students to, “Paint directly. Paint with very simple relationships, warm, cool, and soft. Let the silhouette do half the modeling.” One downside to the ASL was that it provided Reisman with no context for his art. Fortunately, he began to study privately with Harry Wickey (1892-1968). Wickey was Reisman’s most influential teacher. He not only taught Reisman valuable graphic techniques like how to etch, how to prepare a plate, and how to build a simple etching press, but he also taught Reisman about important historical figures like Durer, Rembrandt and the great 19th and 20th century French painters. He exhibited at several group exhibitions at galleries in New York, including Dudensign, Kennedy, Macbeth, and Painters and Sculptors and at the Brooklyn Society of Etchers. Then, on November 1st, 1932 at the age of 28, Philip Reisman had his first solo show at The Painters and Sculptors gallery. This show was well reviewed, but it was not a financial success for Reisman. The Great Depression was already setting in and this was a time when many people, including Reisman began wondering if this was the end of a capitalist America. Philip Reisman was drawn to the Communist John Reed Club of New York, where he found their ideals of egalitarian Socialism to be very appealing. He also strongly believed in the John Reed Club’s views on the working class, including farmers and industrial works. He was attracted to their strong praise for this often overshadowed class of Americans. This is where Philip Reisman became acquainted with other socially conscious artists including Ben Shahn (1898-1969), Anton Refregier (1905-1979), and Sol Wilson (1896-1974). He soon decided that his art would be dedicated to capturing societal and economic inequity in his time, but he wanted to capture these injustices with a very personal, humanistic approach. In 1933-34, Reisman was invited to live at the Yaddo Foundation in Saratoga Springs, NY. This was a Retreat set up for established artists to stay and work at. Though he was not paid while he was there, this opportunity did allow Reisman to continue painting during the Depression. After his time at the Yaddo Foundation, Reisman was hired by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to document architecture in the south. Reisman bought an old 1926 Ford and drove down to New Orleans and back, creating about 20 wash drawings of houses, churches and schools. In 1935, Reisman was transferred to the Easel Section of the WPA, where he was paid to turn in a new painting every four to six weeks. While still working for the Easel Section in New York in 1936, Reisman and 10 other artists were commissioned to paint a series of murals for the psychiatric building at the Bellevue Hospital. His next big artistic step was his groundbreaking one man exhibition at the Guild Art Gallery in April 1936. This show was described by some as “Dante’s Inferno, set in New York.” In it, Reisman made very harsh criticisms of New York City’s forgotten in paintings like “The Bowery,” which depicted New York City’s homeless. He stated on the subject,“I do not see any romance or poetic sentiment in this very harsh economic system. I have tried to paint things as they are; and I am dissatisfied with things as they are. They are destructive to the individual, to the sense of security; ultimately they will be destructive to civilization. It is inevitable that some of the feelings should go into my painting. People changing and fighting their environment are the only things that get me in the throat enough to paint them.” In 1942, Philip Reisman was invited to show for the first time at the American Contemporary Art gallery (ACA) by owner Herman Baron. This was the first show in the 25-year relationship Reisman would have with the ACA. Baron invited many other prominent Social Realist artists to participate, including Nicolai Cikovsky (1894-1987), Alexander Dobkin (1908-1975), Philip Evergood (1901-1973), and Jack Levine (1915-). After several exhibitions at the ACA gallery, Sol Wilson, a fellow artist and a friend of Reisman’s, convinced him that it would be a good idea for him to get away from the city for a summer and to go visit a scenic town in Massachusetts. Reisman spent the majority of his time in the nearby town of Gloucester Harbor, where over 10,000 men had lost their lives to fishing over the last three centuries. Reisman captured the Seamen doing everything from working to playing, and he created over 100 canvases based on this theme. Philip Reisman continued having shows at the ACA gallery until his last show in 1967. Social Realism had begun to be overshadowed by various other art movements, but he stayed true to his style. Even while Reisman was in his early 80s, he continued painting with social commentary in mind. Up until Philip Reisman’s death in 1992, he was being featured in many prominent shows, including a 72-piece retrospective at the Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art, and an exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York. II. Analysis of the Artist’s Work “In any circumstance, anywhere and anytime, take up your brush and express what you face and what you think without wasting your time and energy complaining and crying out. I hold that statement as my aim, and as I have told my friends and students, the aim of artists”—Chiura Obata

As both a man and an artist, Chiura Obata “transcended time and space,” and managed to discover beauty even in the harshest of circumstances. His wide array of paintings serve as “living memorials to the significance of his life” and to the strength of his spirit (“University of California, In Memoriam”).