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Artwork Details
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Title:Ruin at Daphne
Artist:Edwin Dickinson (American, Seneca Falls, New York 1891–1978 Orleans, Massachusetts)
Date:1943–53
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:48 1/8 × 60 1/8 in. (122.2 × 152.7 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:The Edward Joseph Gallagher III Memorial Collection, Gift of Edward J. Gallagher Jr., 1955
Object Number:55.13.1
Inscription: Signed and dated (left edge): E W Dickinson 1943-1953
the artist, New York (until 1954); Edward J. Gallagher Jr., Baltimore (1954–55; his gift to MMA)
Provincetown Art Association. Summer 1946.
Nantucket. Kenneth Taylor Galleries. "Edwin Dickinson," July 1949.
Museum of Modern Art, New York. "15 Americans," April 9–July 27, 1952, unnumbered cat. (p. 44; as Unfinished composition. Begun 1943—still in progress; lent by the artist).
New York. American Academy of Arts and Letters. "Exhibition of Work of Newly Elected Members, Recipients of Honors, and Childe Hassam Fund Purchases," May 27–June 27, 1954, no catalogue (as "Study for a Composition") [see Ref. Devree 1954].
Houston. Cushman Gallery. "Edwin Dickinson: A Retrospective," March 30–April 25, 1958, unnum. brochure (front cover).
Boston University Art Gallery. "Edwin Dickinson: Retrospective Exhibition," March 7–April 4, 1959, no. 6.
Moscow. Sokolniki Exhibition and Convention Centre. "American Painting and Sculpture. American National Exhibition," July 25–September 5, 1959, no. 35.
New York. Whitney Museum of American Art. "Paintings and Sculpture from the American National Exhibition in Moscow," October 28–November 15, 1959, unnumbered cat. (p. 9).
New York. Graham Gallery. "Edwin Dickinson," February 1–March 11, 1961, no. 91 (dated 1943–52).
New York. American Academy of Arts and Letters. "Exhibition of Works by Newly Elected Members and Recipients of Honors and Awards," May 25–June 17, 1962, no. 17.
New York. American Federation of Arts Gallery. "Brandeis University Creative Arts Awards (1957–1963)," October 22–November 5, 1963, no. 6.
New York World's Fair, Better Living Center. "Four Centuries of American Masterpieces," May 22–October 18, 1964, no. 28.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Three Centuries of American Painting," April 9–October 17, 1965, unnum. checklist.
The White House, Washington D.C. "The White House Festival of the Arts," June 14, 1965, brochure no. 9.
New York. Whitney Museum of American Art. "Edwin Dickinson," October 20–November 28, 1965, no. 98.
Cleveland Museum of Art. "Fifty Years of Modern Art, 1916–1966," June 14–July 31, 1966, no. 85.
Venice. United States Pavilion. "XXXIV Esposizione Biennale Internazionale d'Arte di Venezia. La tradizione figurativa nell'arte americana recente," June 22–October 20, 1968, unnumbered cat. (p. 64).
Washington. National Collection of Fine Arts. "XXXIV International Biennial Exhibition of Art. The Figurative Tradition in Recent American Art," December 19, 1968–February 2, 1969, unnumbered cat.
Lincoln. Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, University of Nebraska. "XXXIV International Biennial Exhibition of Art. The Figurative Tradition in Recent American Art," March 17–April 13, 1969, unnumbered cat.
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. "Great American Paintings from the Boston and Metropolitan Museums," November 30, 1970–January 10, 1971, no. 89.
Saint Louis, Mo. City Art Museum. "Great American Paintings from the Boston and Metropolitan Museums," January 28–March 7, 1971, no. 89.
Seattle Art Museum. "Great American Paintings from the Boston and Metropolitan Museums," March 25–May 9, 1971, no. 89.
Portland, Me. Portland Museum of Art. "Spaces and Places," September 22–November 12, 1972.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Tribute to a Curator: Robert Beverly Hale," November 16, 1978–March 4, 1979, extended to March 18, 1979, unnum. checklist.
New York. American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. "Memorial Exhibition: Edwin Dickinson, Charles Eames, Eugene Francis Savage, Edward Durell Stone, Stow Wengenroth," November 19–December 30, 1979, no. 27.
New York. National Academy of Design. "Edwin Dickinson: Draftsman/Painter," April 7–May 9, 1982, unnumbered cat. (p. 45).
Springfield, Mass. Museum of Fine Arts. "Edwin Dickinson: Draftsman/Painter," July 3–August 15, 1982, unnumbered cat.
West Palm Beach. Norton Gallery. "Edwin Dickinson: Draftsman/Painter," September 10–October 17, 1982, unnumbered cat.
New York. Hirschl & Adler Modern. "Edwin Dickinson 1891–1978," November 3–30, 1983, (p. 30) [not in catalogue checklist].
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Selection One: Twentieth-Century Art," February 1–April 30, 1985, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "American Landscape Painting," April 4–August 13, 1989, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "14 Americans," July 16, 1990–January 2, 1991, no catalogue.
Tulsa, Okla. Philbrook Museum of Art. "The Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 14–June 9, 1991, no. 46.
Miami. Center for the Fine Arts. "The Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," June 29–August 24, 1991, no. 46.
Omaha. Joslyn Art Museum. "The Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 14–November 10, 1991, no. 46.
Tampa Museum of Art. "The Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," December 14, 1991–February 8, 1992, no. 46.
Greenville, S. C. Greenville County Museum of Art. "The Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," March 17–May 10, 1992, no. 46.
Madison, Wisc. Madison Art Center. "The Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," June 6–August 2, 1992, no. 46.
Grand Rapids, Mich. Grand Rapids Art Museum. "The Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 11–November 8, 1992, no. 46.
Buffalo. Albright-Knox Art Gallery. "Edwin Dickinson: Dreams and Realities," April 27–July 14, 2002, no. 50.
Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. "Edwin Dickinson: Dreams and Realities," September 21–December 1, 2002, extended to January 12, 2003, no. 50.
New York. National Academy of Design. "Edwin Dickinson: Dreams and Realities," January 29–April 13, 2003, no. 50.
Elaine de Kooning. "Edwin Dickinson Paints a Picture." Art News 48 (September 1949), pp. 26–28, 51, ill. (in progress), notes that its tentative title is "The Ruin" but the artist calls it "study for a composition".
Elaine de Kooning. "Dickinson and Kiesler." Art News 51 (April 1952), p. 67, ill. p. 23 (in progress), notes that the artist tentatively calls it "The Ruin".
Howard Devree. "Award and Honor: American Academy's Annual Exhibition Stresses Contemporary Outlook." New York Times (May 30, 1954), p. X8, calls it "Study for a Composition".
Carlyle Burrows. "Art Review: Artists Honored by Academy." New York Herald Tribune (May 30, 1954), p. C8.
"America, 1953: For the Metropolitan." Art News 54 (March 1955), p. 47, ill. (in progress and final stage).
Harrison E. Salisbury. "Molotov Visits Museum and U.N." New York Times (June 16, 1955), p. 3, calls it "Ruins at Daphne".
Robert Beverly Hale. "The American Moderns." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 16 (Summer 1957), ill. p. 23.
Dorothy C. Miller inNew Art in America: Fifty Painters of the 20th Century. Ed. John I. H. Baur. Greenwich, Conn., 1957, ill. p. 217.
Howard Devree. "Surveying Our Art: New Galleries Opened At Metropolitan." New York Times (October 27, 1957), p. X11, ill.
Jacob Getlar Smith. "Edwin Dickinson: American Mystic." American Artist 21 (January 1957), pp. 56–57, 59, ill. (in progress).
"Correction." American Artist 21 (March 1957), p. 65.
Dorothy Adlow. "American Art in Moscow." Christian Science Monitor (June 18, 1959), p. 9.
"Moscow to See Modern U.S. Art." New York Times (May 31, 1959), p. 60.
"Art News International: Dickinson Retrospective." Art News 58 (April 1959), p. 8.
"Art News International: U.S. Art to Russia; the State Dept. Changes Policy." Art News 58 (Summer 1959), p. 8.
James Schuyler. "U.S. Painters Today: No. 2. Edwin Dickinson." Portfolio & Art News Annual no. 2 (1960), pp. 89, 101, 103, ill. pp. 89 (overall, cropped), 100 (detail of work in progress).
Dorothy Adlow. Christian Science Monitor (March 6, 1961), p. 12.
Eliot Clark. "Edwin Dickinson." Studio 162 (October 1961), p. 155, fig. 5.
Katharine Kuh. The Artist's Voice: Talks with Seventeen Artists. New York, 1962, pp. ix, 69, 73, 77, pl. 32.
Lloyd Goodrich. The Drawings of Edwin Dickinson. New Haven, 1963, pp. 7, 13, states that it was completed in 1952.
"Artists Will Gain From Exhibition at World's Fair." New York Times (May 17, 1964), p. 90, calls it "Ruins of Daphne".
Henry Geldzahler. American Painting in the Twentieth Century. New York, 1965, pp. 169–71, ill.
Lloyd Goodrich. Edwin Dickinson. Exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art. New York, 1965, pp. 16–20, 51, no. 98, ill. pp. 42 (in progress), 43 (color).
A. L. Chanin. Art Guide/ New York. New York, 1965, p. 100, no. 150, ill.
Diane Waldman. "Dickinson: Reality of Reflection." Art News 64 (November 1965), p. 31.
Patricia Boyd Wilson. Christian Science Monitor (August 20, 1965), p. 8, ill.
Jane H. Kay. "Dickinson Exhibition: Self-Studies Worked Well." Christian Science Monitor (November 19, 1965), p. 6.
A[nne]. H[oene]. "In the Museums: Recent Exhibitions. Edwin Dickinson." Arts Magazine 40 (December 1965), p. 42.
Miles A. Smith. "Versatile Artist Works on Display." Paris News (Paris, Texas) (November 14, 1965), p. 29.
Edward B. Henning. Fifty Years of Modern Art, 1916–1966. Exh. cat., Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, 1966, unpaginated, p. 199, no. 85, ill.
Norman A. Geske. Venice 34. The Figurative Tradition in Recent American Art. Exh. cat., Venice Biennale. United States Pavilion. Washington, D.C., 1968, pp. 44–45, 126, ill. p. 64.
Thomas N. Maytham. Great American Paintings from the Boston and Metropolitan Museums. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Seattle, 1970, p. 138, no. 89, ill. p. 139.
Dorothy Gees Seckler. Provincetown Painters, 1890's–1970's. Ed. Ronald A. Kuchta. Exh. cat., Everson Museum of Art. Syracuse, 1977, p. 41.
George Goodman Jr. "Edwin W. Dickinson Dies at 87; Noted Representational Artist." New York Times (December 3, 1978), p. 44, calls it "Ruins at Daphne".
Joseph Shannon. Edwin Dickinson: Selected Landscapes. Exh. cat., Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution. Washington, D.C., 1980, p. 18 n. 1, p. 20.
Greta Berman and Jeffrey Wechsler. Realism and Realities: The Other Side of American Painting, 1940–1960. Exh. cat., Rutgers University Art Gallery. New Brunswick, N. J., 1981, p. 118, fig. 142.
Patricia Mainardi. "Edwin Dickinson." Arts Magazine 55 (March 1981), p. 17.
Judd Tully. "The Stunning Ferocity of Edwin Dickinson." Art/World 6 (April 22–May 20, 1982), ill. p. 1.
John Ashbery inEdwin Dickinson: Draftsman/Painter. Exh. cat., National Academy of Design. New York, 1982, pp. 14–15, 79, ill. p. 45 (color).
Elliot Adler. "Observations on Edwin Dickinson." Arts Magazine 56 (April 1982), pp. 124, 126, fig. 4.
Grace Glueck. "Art: Haunting Moods of Edwin Dickinson." New York Times (November 11, 1983), p. C26.
Donald B. Kuspit. "American Romantic." Art in America 71 (February 1983), pp. 110–11, ill. (color).
John Paul Driscoll. "Edwin Walter Dickinson: An Iconological Interpretation of the Major Symbolical Paintings." PhD diss., Pennsylvania State University, 1985, pp. iii, 1, 132–48, 153–55, 164–66, pl. 8, dates it 1943–54.
William S. Lieberman in20th Century Art: Selections from the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Vol. 2, Painting: 1945–1985. New York, 1986, pp. 6, 26–27, ill. (color, overall and detail).
Helen Dickinson Baldwin. "Edwin Dickinson." Provincetown Arts 4 (1988), pp. 168–69.
Lisa M. Messinger inThe Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., American Federation of Arts. New York, 1991, pp. 134–35, no. 46, ill. (color).
Robert Rosenblum inThe Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., American Federation of Arts. New York, 1991, pp. 11–12.
Eliot Nusbaum. "Joslyn Hosts a Vivid Landscape Show." Des Moines Sunday Register (September 22, 1991), p. 7F.
Mary Ann Marger. "An Artistic Tribute to America." Tampa Bay Times (January 17, 1992), p. 32.
Jeffrey Morgan. "Brun-Rouge: An American Enigma." Modern Painters 6 (Autumn 1993), pp. 64–66, ill. (color).
Richard Huntington. "New York: Albright-Knox Art Gallery/Buffalo. Edwin Dickinson: Dreams and Realities." Art New England 23 (August/September 2002), p. 36, ill. p. 37.
Douglas Dreishpoon inEdwin Dickinson: Dreams and Realities. Exh. cat., Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo. New York, 2002, pp. 12, 20, 29, 38, 40, 44 n. 4, p. 105, no. 50, ill. p. 162 (color).
Francis V. O'Connor inEdwin Dickinson: Dreams and Realities. Exh. cat., Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo. New York, 2002, pp. 52, 63–64, 66–68, p. 72 n. 31, p. 74 nn. 68, 69, 70, 75, 76.
John Ashbery inEdwin Dickinson: Dreams and Realities. Exh. cat., Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo. New York, 2002, pp. 94–95.
Norman A. Geske inEdwin Dickinson: Dreams and Realities. Exh. cat., Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo. New York, 2002, p. 96.
Helen Dickinson Baldwin inEdwin Dickinson: Dreams and Realities. Exh. cat., Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo. New York, 2002, pp. 217–18, 220.
John L. Ward. Edwin Dickinson: A Critical History of His Paintings. Newark, Del., 2003, pp. 28, 102, 183–96, 222, 243 nn. 18, 41, p. 244 nn. 74, 83, 85, colorpl. 16, figs. 50, 52 (in progress, 1945 and 1949).
Ken Johnson. "Painter's Grief Unfolds in Gloomy Allegories." New York Times (March 21, 2003), p. E41, ill.
David Anfam. "Edwin Dickinson: Philadelphia and New York." Burlington Magazine 145 (March 2003), p. 248, fig. 151 (color).
David Carbone. "A Transcendental Vision." Modern Painters 16 (Autumn 2003), p. 97, ill. p. 94 (color detail).
Donald Kuspit. "Report from NY: Cursed by Life, Saved by Nature. Edwin Dickinson's Paintings at the National Academy of Design." Art New England 24 (April/May 2003), p. 9.
John Driscoll in Charles Brock and Nancy Anderson with Harry Cooper. American Modernism: The Shein Collection. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 2010, pp. 46, 49–50, 51 n. 5, fig. 1 (color).
Helen Dickinson Baldwin. The Edwin Dickinson Catalogue Raisonné. Online resource [edwindickinson.org], 2021 (accessed), no. 459, ill.
Edwin Dickinson (American, Seneca Falls, New York 1891–1978 Orleans, Massachusetts)
1938
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