Rackstraw Downes (born 1939) is a
British-born
realist painter and
author
In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
. His
oil painting
Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...
s are notable for their meticulous detail accumulated during months of
plein-air
''En plein air'' (; French language, French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors.
This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein ai ...
sessions, depictions of industry and the environment, and elongated compositions with complex perspective.
Education
Born Rodney Harry Rackstraw Downes in
Pembury,
Kent, England, he moved to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and studied painting as an exchange student at
The Hotchkiss School in
Lakeville, Connecticut from 1957 to 1958. He then returned to England and attended
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, where he was at
St John's College and received a
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in English literature. Back in the United States, he studied at the
Yale School of Art with
Neil Welliver,
Al Held and
Alex Katz, and he received a
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.)
is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...
in painting in 1964. Originally an abstract painter, in 1966 Downes changed course and began working in the realist, plein-air style he is known for.
Work
Downes' friendship with Welliver led to the purchase of a farm in
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
in 1964, where he began drawing the landscape, thus changing direction from the non-representational manner of his student work. In 1965 Downes moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Over the next several years he taught at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
,
Parsons School of Design, and later, at the
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.
Though he is primarily based in New York City, where he has painted numerous
cityscapes and urban scenes such as his series of four paintings, entitled "Four Spots Along a Razor-Wire Fence", Downes has traveled widely, creating a significant number of
landscape painting
Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...
s on site in
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
and
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, of subjects including the harbor of
Portland, Maine
Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...
and the
Donald Judd
Donald Clarence Judd (June 3, 1928February 12, 1994) was an American artist associated with minimalism.Tate Modern websit"Tate Modern Past Exhibitions Donald Judd" Retrieved on February 19, 2009. In his work, Judd sought autonomy and clarity for ...
structures in
Marfa, Texas. He has also painted interiors of a panoramic scale similar to his landscapes. Downes' paintings are characterized by their vastness of scope as much as their attention to detail: "they are composed of a fused sequence of visual observations, their horizontal lines 'bending' so as to acknowledge the Earth's curvature and the limitations of two-point
perspective when applied to
wide-angle views."
[Schwartz, Sanford, et al., 2005, page 72.]
He has written for
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
,
Art in America,
Art News,
The New Criterion, and other publications. He also edited ''Art In Its Own Terms: Selected Criticism, 1935–1975'', a collection of
Fairfield Porter's writing. Downes' own writing has been published in two small paperbacks: ''In Relation to the Whole'', which features three essays; ''Under The Gowanus and Razor-Wire Journal'', a documentation of his painting process; and in his own monograph, ''Rackstraw Downes''.
Downes received a
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
in 1998. In 1999 he was inducted into the
American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...
, and in 2009 he was awarded a
MacArthur Fellowship 'genius award'. In 1982 he was elected into the
National Academy of Design as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1994.
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
art critic
Ken Johnson wrote that Downes "paints beautiful pictures of ugly places."
"Rendering the Landscape Less Traveled By," Ken Johnson, July 15, 2009, New York Times.
Collections
Downes' work is held in public collections including the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
and the
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. He is represented by the Betty Cuningham Gallery in New York.
Exhibitions
2010
Parrish Art Museum in
Southampton, New York.
"Art Tussle in the Hamptons: The Tony Parrish Museum Is Leaving Town on Bad Terms," W. M. Akers, June 22, 2010, New York Observer.
2010 Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut.[
2011 Weatherspoon Art Museu]
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...
.
Publications
*Schwartz, Sanford; Storr, Robert, and Downes, Rackstraw. ''Rackstraw Downes''. Princeton University Press, April 2005
*''Under the Gowanus and Razor-Wire Journal: The making of two paintings''. 5.9.99 - 11.15.99. New York, Turning the Head Press, 2000
*''In Relation to the Whole: Three Essays from Three Decades - 1973, 1981, 1996''. New York, Edgewise Press, 2000
References
External links
"Under the J Line At Alabama Avenue" by Rackstraw Downes in ''Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts'' (23.2)
Museum of Modern Art
The Betty Cuningham Gallery
"Landscape's Grittier Aspects"
Richard B. Woodward, ''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', 14 July 2010
Beautifully Bleak
- interactive slideshow by ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''
- Information on Downes' current exhibition at the Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, North Carolina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Downes, Rackstraw
British Realist painters
20th-century English painters
English male painters
21st-century English painters
Living people
1939 births
People from Pembury
MacArthur Fellows
Hotchkiss School alumni
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Yale School of Art alumni
20th-century English male artists
21st-century English male artists
Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters