20th century Archives

Quarry by Edward Loper

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.

Color illustration of an antique dining chair — “Chair” by Edward Loper, American, c. 1937, Index of American Design

SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo

Episode theme is “Night on the Docks – Sax” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under a CC-BY Creative Commons Attribution License.

Artwork Information
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.176358.html

Gaudiano, N. (2009, Nov 19). Bidens’ New Home a Gallery for Delaware Art. Gannett News Service (PDF)

Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.dclibrary.idm.oclc.org/docview/450231157?accountid=46320

Exhibition catalogs
The Art of Edward L. Loper, Sr: On the Path of the Masters, University Museums of the University of Delaware, 2007

Edw. L. Loper: From the Prism’s Edge, Delaware Art Museum, 1996.

Interviews
Oral history interview with Edward L. Loper, 1964 Mar. 26

Edward Loper : African American Painter (Video)

Edward Loper: Prophet of Color (Video)

Still Life by Margaret Burroughs

Oil painting of brightly colored cylinders and fruit against a patterned background

Margaret Taylor Burroughs was an author, painter, sculptor, printmaker, curator, museum director, activist, and teacher who left an amazing artistic and historic legacy in Chicago. In today’s episode we’ll find out how she helped launch the Chicago Renaissance in the ’40s and how she combined her social activism with art.

“Still Life” by Margaret Burroughs, American, 1943
Corcoran Collection (The Evans-Tibbs Collection, Gift of Thurlow Evans Tibbs, Jr.)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (7.3MB)

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SHOW NOTES (TR ANSCRIPT)

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo

Episode theme is “Shades of Spring” by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4342-shades-of-spring

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Cain, Mary Ann, and Haki R. Madhubuti. South Side Venus : the Legacy of Margaret Burroughs Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 2019.

Link to materials on Margaret Burroughs at the NGA Library

The Southern University Fine Arts Department Presents Dr. Burroughs., n.d.

You Are Cordially Invited to an Exhibition of New Paintings by Dr. Margaret Burroughs., 1992.

Margaret Burroughs, Marion Perkins : A Retrospective. Washington, D.C. (1910 Vermont Ave., N.W., Washington 20001): Evans-Tibbs Collection, 1982.

Samples of Burrough’s later works

The Woman Who Helped Birth a Black Artistic Renaissance in Chicago (Vice article)

Margaret Burroughs, co-founder of DuSable Museum, dies at 95

Wikipedia entry

DuSable Museum

Linocut printmaking video

Slow Art Day

Autumn Drama by Alma Thomas

Black and white photo of Alma Thomas attending her exhibition opening. — Jack Whitten. Photograph of Alma Thomas at Whitney Museum of American Art exhibition opening, 1972. Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Click here to view “Autumn Drama” on the Gallery’s site. Clicking the image on their page will open a viewer that allows you to zoom in and pan around.

Talk about a second act! Alma Thomas was a longtime art teacher in Washington DC, who began her art career after 35 years of teaching. She took inspiration from nature, color theory, and the works of artists she met through her involvement in the DC arts scene. All of this developed into her unique, colorful style.

We’ll find out how she found success at age when most people have long since retired and achieved national recognition most artists dream of. And what she had in common with Henri Matisse!

The US National Arboretum was a big inspiration to Thomas and this gorgeous photo shows where she might have gotten her color palette for Autumn Drama!