October 2020 - A Long Look

We’ve reached the end of Season 5 and as this unbelievable year comes to a close, I’ll be taking some time off to figure out what’s next for the show.

It’s been a huge pleasure bringing you all the great stories I found and sharing the incredible variety of works in the Gallery. And talking to the occasional guest like Bruce Campbell and Sandy Bellamy was great!

I think what made this season special, though, was learning with you about the incredible Black artists of the Evans-Tibbs Collection. I was familiar with Henry Ossawa Tanner and Alma Thomas but finding out about the work and life of Margaret Burroughs and Edward Loper was amazing. We really only scratched the surface, so if you want to find out more about these and other Black artists, here are a few resources:

Evans-Tibbs Collection exhibition

Digitized Evans-Tibbs archive items

Archive of American Art

Finally, I want to thank everyone at the Gallery who have provided so much help and encouragement.

I’ll continue to be on Instagram @alonglookslowart, so look for me there!

SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas (YouTube)

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Did you know the US government once actually paid artists to work? During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration helped launch the career of Edward L. Loper, a prominent artist from Wilmington, Delaware.

We’ll find out how his lifelong curiosity, study, and teaching built a successful career lasting more than 60 years.

“Quarry” by Edward Loper, American, c. 1937, Corcoran Collection (The Evans-Tibbs Collection, Gift of Thurlow Evans Tibbs, Jr.)

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“Chair” is one of Loper’s beautiful illustrations for the Index of American Design. You can see more on the American Drawings page on the Gallery’s site. The Index is listed in the sidebar. You can get a version to zoom and pan around in here.