Lot 245
John McCrady (American, 1911-1968), "Political Rally", multi-stage on canvas, 1935, signed lower right and en verso, four exhibition labels en verso including "Boyer Galleries", "Fifteenth Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Oil Painting, The Corcoran Gallery of Art", "Painting in the South: 1564-1980", organized by the Virginia Museum in 1983-85, and "The American Scene and the South: Paintings and Works on Paper, 1930-1946", organized by the Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia in 1996-97, 31 1/2 in. x 47 1/2 in., in a frame hand-painted by the artist. ized by the Boyer Galleries, Broad Street Suburban Station Building, 1617 Pennsylvania Boulevard, Philadelphia, March 1935 and/or John McCrady: One Man Show, organized by the Boyer Galleries, Broad Street Suburban Station Building, 1617 Pennsylvania Boulevard, Philadelphia, March 1936 The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., Fifteenth Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Art, March 28-May 9, 1937 Paintings by John McCrady: One Man Show, organized by the Boyer Galleries, 69 E. 57th Street, New York, October 1937 John McCrady Memorial Exhibition, organized by Downtown Gallery, New Orleans, October 5-18, 1969 John McCrady, organized by Mississippi Arts Festival, Mississippi State Historical Museum, Old Capitol, 1970 Purchased by Mr. And Mrs. Jack McLarty, Downtown Gallery representing the Estate of the Artist, New Orleans, 1973 John McCrady: 1911-1968, New Orleans Museum of Art, 1975 Illustra ed in the exhibition catalogue by Keith Marshall Painting in the South: 1564-1980, organized by the Virginia Museum, Richmond, 1983-1985 Traveled to The Birmingham Museum of Art, The National Academy of Design, New York, The Mississippi Museum of Art, J.B. Speed Art Museum and New Orleans Museum of Art. Illustrated in exhibition catalogue by Jessie Poesch, Rick Stewart, Donald B. Kuspit, Carolyn J. Weekley and Linda Crocker Simmons. Mr. McCrady of LA-FAY-ETTE County, organized by University Museums, University of Mississippi, Oxford, 1986 Illustrated in The South: A Treasury of Art and Literature, edited by Lisa Howorth, Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, 1993, p. 262 McCrady Exhibition, University Museums, University of Mississippi, in conjunction with Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference, 1994, reproduced as conference poster The American Scene and the South: Paintings and Works on Paper, 1930-1946, organized by the Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athe s, Georgia, 1996-7 Traveled to Mobile Museum of Art, Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, Florida and The Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Georgia, and reproduced in exhibition catalogue. Reproduced in "Destination: Oxford Mississippi," by Lisa Neuman Howorth, Garden & Gun, January/February 2008 issue Provenance and Exhibition History: Collection of the Artist Thirty-Five Paintings of the Deep South, organ
- Notes: Note: Aside from a year studying at New York City's prestigious Art Students League, John McCrady lived his life in the South. The son of an Episcopal minister, McCrady was born and raised in rural Mississippi. As a promising artist, he moved to New Orleans, lured by the Bohemian coterie of artists and writers that congregated in the French Quarter. He married fellow artist Mary Basso and together they opened the John McCrady Art School at 908 Bourbon Street. Despite the national acclaim and attention of East Coast dealers and museums, as well as the temptation to move to New York City to advance his career, McCrady chose the South in which to live and work. The painting "Political Rally" embodies a se se of place, specifically the small town of Oxford, Mississippi, that McCrady had great affection for and knew intimately. In 1928, McCrady's father moved his young family to Oxford when he was asked to join the faculty at the University of Mississippi and soon after became Rector of St. Peter's Church. Set in the town square (which is still recognizable today), the painting depicts a group of locals attentively listening to Theodore Gilmore Bilbo ((1877-1947), Governor of Mississippi (1916-1920 and 1928-1932) and U.S. Senator (1935-1947)). In the tradition of charismatic, demagogic Southern politicians, including Huey Long and Dudley LeBlanc, Bilbo was known as "The Old Maestro of the Stump." The group of men on the left is in the midst of an impassioned and heated debate. On the far left, one man chases another into a building, evidently trying to escape his persistent neighbor's opinions. The emotionalism of local politics is knowledgeably, affectionately and humorously depicted in the painting. As with th majority of John McCrady's paintings, "Political Rally" is autobiographical in nature. To the right stand the artist, his wife and famed Mississippi author William Faulkner. They are presented as both participants and onlookers to the fervent local rally. On the water tower above, McCrady includes the inscription "Oxford/ Miss.,/ Home of/ J. McCrady" which proclaims his attachment and loyalty to the small Southern town. McCrady's paintings tended to be self-referential in nature, and this one is no different. On the outskirts of the painting, a group of young boys on roller skates, along with their dog, circle the crowd. The artist frequently used the image of children at play, including this theme in the paintings "Steamboat 'Round the Bend" and "Boys Playing" as well as in the lithograph "Mississippi Family." By 1935, McCrady returned from his studies in New York City and diligently set to work in his small French Quarter studio. Five of his paintings were selected for the Boyer Galleries of Philadelphia's "Thirty-Five Painters of Deep South," an invitational exhibition. The show in general, and McCrady's work in particular, received critical acclaim. In 1936 the Boyer Galleries of Philadelphia and in 1937 the Boyer Galleries of New York City each hosted a one-man show of McCrady's paintings. In response to the exhibition, Time magazine wrote that McCrady is "a star risen from the bayous who will do for painting in the South what Faulkner is doing for literature" and Life magazine published a five-page spread on the artist and his work. According to the labels en verso of the painting, one can note that between the Boyer Galleries of Philadelphia and the Boyer Galleries of New York City exhibitions, the painting "Political Rally" was exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery's Fifteenth Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Art. An exhibition at such an esteemed institution demonstrates the fact that the young artist's evocative work with its Southern sensibility had already achieved national attention as early as 1937 For the next seventy years, "Political Rally" was exhibited regularly in numerous regional and national exhibitions of John McCrady's work including the 1975 retrospective organized by the New Orleans Museum of Art with an exhibition catalogue written by Keith Marshall. In 1983, the painting was selected as the only example of McCrady's work in the landmark exhibition and catalogue "Paintings in the South: 1954-1980" organized by the Virginia Museum in Richmond. As a twenty four year old emerging artist, fresh out of school, John McCrady created one his most important and engaging paintings, "Political Rally." Throughout his career, he would include multiple views of Oxford, Mississippi, and the surrounding area of Lafayette County in his paintings. The culture, traditions, and people of the South were engrained in McCrady and permeated his work throughout his career. Reference: Kuspit, Donald and Poesch, Jessie, etal., Painting in the South: 1564-1980, Virginia Museum, Richmond, 1983; Marshall, Keith, John McCrady, 1911-1968," New Orleans Museum of Art, 1975; Martinez, Matthew J., "A Conversation on Artist John McCrady," Xavier Review, XIII, Fall 1993; Delehanty, Randolph, Art in the American South: Works from the Ogden Collection, Louisiana University Press, Baton Rouge and London, 1996 and Pennington, Estill Curtis, A Southern Collection: Morris Museum of Art, Morris Communications Corporation, Augusta, 1992
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