TULIPS WITH VASES
Hobson Pittman
(Cover)
TULIPS WITH VASES
Oil on panel, 30 × 42 inches
Ca. 1960-61. Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
COVER COLOR PLATE COURTESY OF MR. AND MRS.
HENRY W. BREYER, JR., HAVERFORD, PENNSYLVANIA
Inpaper figure drawings courtesy of the artist
HOLIDAY INTERIOR
33. HOLIDAY INTERIOR
Oil on panel, 22 × 19 inches
Ca. 1948. Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Reference:
American Artists Group, Inc., New York
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Kaufmann, Haverford, Pennsylvania
Color plate courtesy American Artists Group, Inc., New York, New York
HOBSON PITTMANRETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION HIS WORK SINCE 1920FEBRUARY 2-MARCH 3, 1963 The Hobson Pittman Retrospective Exhibition is the third in the North Carolina Museum of Art's series devoted to great North Carolina artists. The first exhibition in the series, in 1961, honored Francis Speight; the second, held last year, paid tribute to Josef Albers.NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART, RALEIGH,NORTH CAROLINALENDERS TO THE EXHIBITION
Mrs. Donald Alexander, San Antonio, Texas
Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. Breyer, Jr., Haverford, Pennsylvania
Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, Memphis, Tennessee
The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D. C.
Miss Lucy Cherry Crisp, Florence, South Carolina
Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. Dalton, Charlotte, North Carolina
The Florence Museum, Florence, South Carolina
Mr. and Mrs. James Hall, Lumberton, North Carolina
Mrs. Dunham Higgins, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Huber, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Kaufmann, Haverford, Pennsylvania
M. Knoedler and Co., Inc., New York, New York
Mr. and Mrs. Henry R. Luce, New York, New York
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Milch Galleries, New York, New York
The North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, North Carolina
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Phillips Collection, Washington, D. C.
Mr. Hobson Pittman, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. R. Barclay Scull, Villanova, Pennsylvania
The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio
Mrs. William Thomas Tonner, Torresdale, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. William Van Alen, Edgemont, Pennsylvania
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia
Mrs. G. Earle Weeks, Tarboro, North Carolina
Mrs. C. Newbold Welsh, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Mr. William Welsh, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York
Mr. and Mrs. Ben F. Williams, Raleigh, North Carolina
Mr. and Mrs. Walter F. Young, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. George S. Zoretich, University Park, Pennsylvania
FOREWORDIn North Carolina's Tercentenary year, the North Carolina Museum of Art is pleased to honor an illustrious native son, the celebrated artist from Tarboro, Hobson Pittman.
It is particularly fitting that Hobson Pittman should be formally recognized during the year in which North Carolina is taking a renewed look at its past and, in the process, rediscovering the gifts of its people. This is not to say, however, that the gifts of Hobson Pittman need to be “rediscovered.” Hobson Pittman has never through the years been in any sense neglected by North Carolinians; he has, on the contrary, been a constant source of pride to the people of his State. We are today not so much then “rediscovering” Hobson Pittman as refreshing our delight in him and his works.
The North Carolina Museum of Art, in fact, very early in its existence expressed its regard for Hobson Pittman by seeking and acquiring two works by the artist for its permanent collection: Studio in Charleston and House in the Country. These will be on view in this exhibition.
For yet another reason it is appropriate to honor Hobson Pittman in this historical year. Hobson Pittman's works uniquely provide a continuity that would otherwise be lacking in any chronological recording through art of North Carolina's past. It is too true that in the 19th century North Carolina was clearly experiencing a fallow period in painting, and yet there was much to be painted. The beauties and distinctive flavor of the years during the latter part of the 19th century, so worthy of being recorded, simply did not find expression on canvas. It remained, then, for Hobson Pittman to set down in his poetic and gentle way his echoings of things past. In his preoccupation with the things he saw around him, most of which had remained the same since the Civil War, he was and is, as much as any other painter working today, an artist imbued with the spirit of his homeland. And his homeland, in its interiors, landscapes, and objects, reflected an age of the past.
In the pages that follow, the reader will find notes and tributes written by various people who have been closely associated with Hobson Pittman in his career. Included are impressions by many familar names in the art world and also comments by former students. Taken together, these remarks project a revealing picture of the man we are honoring and form a highly appropriate preface to the catalogue.
BEN F. WILLIAMS
PREFACE
It is an altogether pleasant assignment to be asked to write a note on Hobson Pittman. There are few men in America today who have combined their abilities as a creative artist of the first rank, and of international reputation, with a career of matching importance as a teacher.
Throughout his entire life he has continually been fed from the remembrances of his youth in the South but has absorbed, to an extraordinary extent, the many and varied manifestations through which the painting profession has progressed. It can be truly said that the quality of beauty has not been of first importance in much which is presently contemporary, but the qualities inherent in this word have pervaded his every work.
JOSEPH T. FRASER, JR.
Mr. Fraser is the Director of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Hobson Pittman has commented upon his work in these words:
“I have always been interested in painting things of the past, things I have loved and still do. Things I feel and understand. . . .
“The furniture—color and spirit of a place—all impress me very deeply and mean more to me even than the idea of merely painting a canvas. A chair, a window, a book — all have the same living qualities of a human being. Hardly ever do I paint or draw from any real object but from reminiscenses or memory. The actual object has always—even from earliest experiences—confused me to no ends.”
This statement is a full length portrait of Pittman, the artist-poet and the painter-dreamer. Little remains to be said unless it be a word concerning his personal and unique sense of color through which he draws to produce the haunting mystery of his recollections of things past. One senses that his interiors must have existed only to come away realizing that they belong in the never-never land of dreams and memories.
Hobson's contributions to the art scene of Philadelphia go back over the years. As a teacher, lecturer at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and at the Philadelphia Museum of Art he has had a wide and important influence upon the professional and amateur painter. His enthusiastic and outgoing personality has helped to make painters and collectors in our City. We are fortunate to have him in our midst.
HENRI MARCEAU
Mr. Marceau is the Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Hobson Pittman has a unique and well established place in American art. His style is very much his own. His paintings are derived from his imagination. Color areas, nuances and lines are used to create space. These may be drawn from objects or they may be pure invention. For the interest is not in representation, but in creating a painting. His paintings do not seem to be of any particular location or place. At the same time, one who knows something of eastern North Carolina feels that there is distinctly an influence—or echo—of Pittman's early environment in his paintings of interiors and gardens. These spacious interiors, with glimpses of sky and gardens from the windows and open doors, are sensitively painted. But, above these, it is the continuing search of the artist that gives each painting its quality.
Not only has Pittman made a contribution to American art in his paintings, he has not spared himself in giving encouragement and help to other artists. It has been remarked that, as a teacher, he has unusual ability to discern talent. He does not try to impose his own ideas on his students. Instead, he urges them to keep their individuality and seeks to help them develop in ways of their own choosing. And in helping his pupils to be true to their ideas, Pittman has perhaps been stimulated to go forward in his painting toward the fuller expression of his own individuality.
FRANCIS SPEIGHT
Mr. Speight, a former colleague of Mr. Pittman's at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, is presently artist-in-residence at East Carolina College, Greenville.
It seems odd to me, come to think of it, that I have never seen a one-man exhibition of Hobson Pittman's paintings. This is a misfortune. But I know his work well and, as I look back over many years, I recall vividly different canvases seen singly or, perhaps, two at a time in his studio or in exhibitions in the company of other paintings. This latter circumstance, where comparison was unavoidable, has enhanced for me the highly personal flavor of his work—its distinctive, nostalgic poetry. This quality, or dimension, or overtone has no factual source. One could not, from any condition or circumstance outside of these paintings, regenerate it for oneself. But it is not forgotten. It is a Pittman phenomenon, and each visitor to this important one-man retrospective exhibition will leave with an enriched and extended realm of experience.
FRANKLIN C. WATKINS
Mr. Watkins is a colleague of Mr. Pittman's at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Anything I write about Hobson Pittman's work must be colored by my having known him over a period of some years in Philadelphia when we worked together at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A favorite contention of mine, which I often state, is that artists should not know critics and critics should not know artists, since the artist's creative function is so personal, and the critic's evaluative exercises should be as objective as possible. Complete critical objectivity is impossible, of course, but anyone who is rash enough to write criticism should, at least, avoid increasing his confusion. The character of the artist as a person should not be confused with the character of his work. In the case of Hobson Pittman I am in a double position, since I knew his work well, over a period of time, before I met him. I had admired the gentle, poetic character of his paintings, at once nostaglic and visionary, particularly as summarized in his pictures of quiet rooms that seemed still peopled by the remembered presences of romantic personages who had just stepped out into moonlit gardens beyond half-screened terraces. Did my acquaintance with Hobson Pittman affect my way of seeing his work? Yes, to the extent that it increased my already considerable respect for the esthetic disciplines he imposes upon himself. A genuinely nostalgic and romantic temperament, which I discovered to be his, frequently falls into habits of convenient sentimental expression. The sentiment of Hobson Pittman's art, I discovered, is effective because he subjects it to intense scrutiny and demands (of himself) that it be expressed in calculated, rather than impulsive, terms.
JOHN CANADAY
Mr. Canaday is Art Editor of the New York Times.
A weaver of fantasies, a painter whose brush is dipped in nostaglic memories of bye-gone days, a spirit touched by whimsy; such is Hobson Pittman. He has painted through the years with singular integrity and singleness of purpose, his works continually growing in intellectual penetration and depth of vision. He has a peculiar power of evocation which brings to life whatever subject he touches.
WILLIAM MATHEWSON MILLIKEN
Mr. Milliken is Director Emeritus of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio.
For many years the paintings of Hobson Pittman have been to me a constant song raised in praise of beauty and of quiet, ordered peace; a song rising at times to a paean of delight, as in his brilliant paintings of flower bouquets transfigured by the sunlight; and, again, a muted chamber music of full-blown delicate poppies gathered with consummate grace into a white vase on a high Victorian mantel, set in the midst of a serene, high-ceiled room with an open door or window leading out into infinite space beyond.
Fully aware of the strong and varied undertows and currents of abstraction in the art of today, and catholic in his appreciation, as evidenced in the widely varied nature of the paintings and sculpture comprising his private collection, Hobson Pittman has steadfastly maintained his highly personal vision, his unique mode of expression of response to life. In his years of cosmopolitan living in Philadelphia and abroad, he has never lost the warmly personal, romantic sense of experience, the elfin sense of humour, that are a part of his inheritance from his boyhood in the South, in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Out of a richly endowed imagination, a dedicated devotion to perfection, he paints with knowledge, understanding, and integrity, and withal, a moving tenderness.
LUCY CHERRY CRISP
Miss Crisp is Director of the Florence Museum, Florence, S. C.
Hobson Pittman's paintings are like a breath of fresh spring air in today's art world—so filled with the sounds of rent garments. These beautifully personal and intimate statements with their very subtle message bespeak of a calm and serene excitement of timelessness. With his almost precisionist's placement of shapes and colors coupled with a fervent, passionate application of paint, Pittman is immediately identifiable as a painter's painter, an artist's artist, an assured individualist among the herd.
It seems to be of Pittman that his distinguished colleague, Franklin Watkins, wrote in his “Advice to Students”: It seems to me that only the strong painters can be tender without going sappy, and I doubt those who are continually pointing in their paint to their virility.” As an inspired artist and teacher, Pittman has few peers.
CHAPMAN KELLEY
Mr. Kelley conducts the Atelier Chapman Kelley in Dallas, Texas.
Hobson Pittman is an artist who has distinguished himself as a creator and teacher. His many years at The Pennsylvania State University have contributed immeasurably to the understanding and practice of painting. Hundreds of students have benefitted from his inspiring and gifted teaching.
His art documents his sincerity and devotion to painting. His presence on the American scene is of lasting importance. His steadfast performance and integrity are unique in our day of challenge and change.
GEORGE S. ZORETICH
Mr. Zoretich is Associate Head, Department of Art, The Pennsylvania State University.
While a student at Penn State, it was my great good fortune to encounter the almost legendary painter-teacher, Hobson Pittman. I use the word “legendary” advisedly. For this fabled man was known to be conducting summer courses almost mystical, so profound was the seriousness of their purpose. The teacher was said to be devoted to Art almost as a monk cloistered with his faith. The students were said to hold almost hysterical devotion toward their teacher and to be enormously busy in their efforts to meet the teacher's demands that they secure the highest possible purchase upon their own art.
I joined the class with some skepticism. World War II had not made a mystic of me, and, besides, I held to the view that good art was non-objective or that, if figurative, it had better be Picassoid in character. To my surprise, Mr. Pittman did not object to abstraction or non-object painting. But, as I say, I was suspicious, for it seemed to me that Pittman's own painting was 19th century in conception and execution. At last, and after much shuffling about of my opinions in the matter, I eventually concluded century had little bearing upon the case. Pittman's art was personal, clearly; and his images sprang from his deepest affections: his love for gardens, his memory of the lost days of his youth. Time passed its winged way and I awoke one day to the realization
that here was unique painting, and valid painting. I realized that no one in American art has captured the shape of nostalgia with the success of Hobson Pittman.
I was, in those days of our acquaintance, also wary of Hobson Pittman's critiques, so dramatic were they, so fervent, so knowing. And then I discovered the drama to have the most serious implications for his classes who sat about, mouths agape, so absorbed were they in their master's criticism and advice. I soon found that Mr. Pittman's instinct for what was right or wrong in painting was seldom if ever incorrect. He would come by my non-objective panels, and I found that each time I followed his suggestion a problem was solved.
Mr. Pittman drove his classes by driving himself. He lived at an amazing pitch, blazing with nervous energy as if his flames were stoked by huge gangs of firemen. Each of his students became kindled, and he unremittingly tended each little spark and fanned them into the heat of a blaze.
But his eye turned toward the larger talents in his classes. He could not help himself. Despite his sympathy for everyone, he gave advantages to the ablest among us. He could not resist talent. He encouraged, nurtured it. He was on his very knees before it. Never envious. Never spiteful. Never condescending. He cherished talent as no other man in my experience (and I live among teachers). It was as if he had found a way to seize hold of life through another's talent. You see, Hobson Pittman's own fires were fed from fuel that he found stored in the untried abilities of others.
Well, time has its way of winging, as I have said, and much time had passed since those wonderful, remarkable days I'd spent in Pittman's storied classes. A day came when I received word that the Museum of Modern Art wished to see my work. Hobson Pittman was behind it all. He had kept an eye upon me as I matured, and then, when he thought I was ready, he had recommended my painting to the museum. The museum purchased a picture of mine, and later Mr. Pittman told me how he had screwed up his courage to talk to Miss Dorothy Miller about me, and Miss Miller has told me how wonderfully Hobson Pittman presented to her his belief in my work, and how he had stressed its worth and what a fine impression of selflessness he himself made upon her. I am confident the many things Mr. Pittman has done for me he has done in other ways for others, surprising students years away from him that he had not forgotten them. We are his children in Art and, like a good parent, he is unflagging in his desire for us that we are each grown to the highest possible artistic and worldly success.
Appreciative words are so often lame. Right now I feel as if these words are cripples, and yet, perhaps I've given a partial insight into the value of Hobson Pittman. To recapitulate, I think he will be remembered as the painter who found a way to shape the best expression of nostalgia, and generations of students must thank him for the inspiration to make the best art to be found in them. It is unimaginable to me that anywhere lives a teacher who has been more generous with the contribution of himself or more dedicated to something men call Art. His students and art have been the only concern of Hobson Pittman's life; both are vastly the richer for it.
HIRAM WILLIAMS
Mr. Williams is a member of the Art Department at the University of Florida.
Pittman in his studio in Bryn Mawr
It is difficult for an artist to put into words how he feels about his work, but I firmly believe in the keenest observations of nature and a constant study and reflection of the museum at large. These are the best teachers. It is the assimilation of all this that one uses as a painting vocabulary; but be reminded at the start that a personal translation should take place. The artist “sees” his way, and there is a difference between an artist and a painter.
Nature can and does suggest endless ideas: color, light, shape, form, movement. The painter allows these suggestions to take shape on the canvas through a new visual experience, not in terms of trying to copy nature itself. Trying to put down nature verbatim is treacherous and usually unsuccessful; it is for the power of suggestion that the artist struggles. Thomas Eakins and Winslow Homer used nature as a visible framework but never allowed it to become a dictator. They disciplined nature into what they needed. Compare their work with others who are not affected by the elements of such a glorious stimulation. The personal transcription is, like handwriting, what the artist seeks. Both memory and imagination are essential factors in developing such a personality, and the subject “seen” in such a way should reach a greater sense of simplification and abstraction.
To me, color is the most important element in a painting. Color theory does not interest me, as I am afraid of theory or rules. A glance at a painting will tell immediately whether the painter possesses a beautiful and sensitive color sense. White, of all colors, is baffling yet so magnificent. Like a mirror, it reflects all nuances around it. This is not an absolute rule however; Giorgione, who used white as a mirror, is very unlike Picasso, who uses it on occasion directly out of the tube. Both ways work, and they should. It is a matter of the artist's vision and purpose.
The museum is an invaluable source of inspiration and communion and should be used as such, but to pause too long before a single “name” or “school” (we might also add “style”) is perilous. Embrace all schools, drinking them in to the fullest and using them as a mirror, reflecting but never memorizing.
Painting today excites me greatly. There is the exploration of ideas constantly to be discovered among the more daring and searching painters. There are many important and new visions to be dealt with among painters the world over. It may take years to see who will survive out of this large and vital mass. It will be interesting to find which of the more experimental directions are still being pursued at the end of the present period.
And without this fearless and adventurous spirit, unbridled as it may seem at times, what would become of our art?
PITTMAN TEACHES PAINTING
Pittman with students
(Reprinted from Commonwealth, the Magazine for Pennsylvania, June, 1947)
It was not surprising to find Hobson Pittman among the prize-winners of the recent Biennial Exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington. Pittman in his upper forties is a veteran major-league painter, and his pictures are often before the public.
He has exhibited widely in this country and abroad, and is well represented in our larger museums and in private art collections. His poetic and subtly-toned canvases—wistful Victorian interiors, landscapes fresh and delicate as eternal Spring—appeal alike to critical and to untrained sensibilities. They are frequently reproduced in popular as well as in art periodicals. Life Magazine has twice shown Pittman's art in full color, recently in his series of nostalgically-seen interiors from Charleston, S. C.
But while much has been published concerning Pittman the artist, little has been said about his work as a gifted teacher of painting. In this, also, he is a veteran, having served for many years as Director of Art at the Friends Central Day School at Overbrook, Pennsylvania, and for the past fourteen summers as instructor in oil painting at the Pennsylvania State College.
During these summers I have watched Pittman at work and have witnessed the achievement of what seemed to be pedagogic miracles. I have seen a student, to cite one example, whose daubings under a competent instructor were almost empty of merit, after a few weeks with Pittman startlingly transformed into a painter of exquisitely fresh and sensitive canvases—in short, into an artist. And this student shortly gave proof of it by entering pictures in some of the major art shows, having one canvas hung in a Corcoran Biennial on a wall that displayed some of the foremost names in contemporary American painting.
Unexpected revelations of talent have been normal occurrences among Pittman's pupils. His student exhibitions each summer are, in fact, wholesale revelations of an intensive fomenting of artistic energies that would be difficult to match anywhere under similar circumstances. Both in quantity and in quality the work produced by Pittman's students in the brief summer interval of six weeks have been something astonishing to behold.
How is it done?
As always with the best teaching, the explanation centers not so much in methods of instruction as in the personality of the one who instructs. Pittman is a relentless driver. Giving of himself without stint, he expects and obtains the same of others. He infects students with something of his own dynamic force, and they work like demons.
One purpose motivates his teaching: it is to induce the student to realize his individual potentialities through the medium of oil painting. Pittman unquestionably possesses an uncanny knack of finding and releasing the sometimes hidden springs of creative impulse, very often to the surprise and delight of the person in whom artistic talent has been latent. He is a master at drawing out the hesitant newcomer who has never handled a brush, and at whipping the more experienced painter into sensitive reaction to his own feelings, persuading him if necessary to discard the tricks and mannerisms of slick painting.
Good painting must, of course, be deeply experienced. Under Pittman the student must go it alone. He follows no pre-ordained course. He feels and thinks his way through his own problems. He is never set with a group in front of a studio-arranged still life. He never sees the instructor performing sleight-of-hand with a brush, for Pittman refrains from touching any canvas and discourages pupils from studying his own paintings.
In putting paint to a canvas the individual may use any method he pleases so long as he uses it as well as he is able. He is not instructed in a technique, for there is no emphasizing any mode of pictorial expression per se. His pictures can be realistic or abstract; they may be well drawn or hardly drawn at all in the academic sense. As “form follows function” in modern architecture, so painting is to take shape and quality from the needs and purposes of the artist struggling with his problem.
The student is endlessly encouraged to explore the realms of art to discover all that he can of the timeless essence of fine painting, ancient and modern. But he is forbidden
to imitate without valid reason, without being prompted by an urgent desire to experience something for himself.
Pittman is in his element when talking before and about paintings. In the field, in the studio, and above all in weekly criticisms before the classes his acute commentary plays over every inch of painted canvas, judging, comparing, everlastingly driving for quality and the exercise of taste. He is a highly perceptive and sensitive critic, who is as skillful at transmitting the meaning of art in words as he is at embodying the actuality in paint.
With novice and expert alike the pointed critiques strike sparks, and things happen. The cumulative results are displayed at the end of the courses in an exhibition that contains work by every student enrolled. Most of them are teachers in the public schools or students attending college; many return summer after summer and have made gallery connections and many have only five weeks of painting experience behind them. Yet they do unfailingly succeed in filling the large gallery at State College with downright exciting painting.
One quickly senses there the enormous amount of purposeful and well-guided effort that lies behind such a display. Hackneyed and insensitive performance, the blight that so commonly infects exhibitions of this sort, is almost totally absent. It is obvious that these assembled paintings are the works of so many individuals each of whom is speaking for himself and in his own way. . . .
Last spring when a group of seven of Pittman's school-teaching painters exhibited at the Norlyst Gallery in New York City, critic Robert Coates commended the show as “an unusually good one”; of the artists he observed, “they come mostly from small towns in Pennsylvania, and if they can teach as well as they can paint, the children of the region must be counted especially fortunate.”
It is fortunate indeed that not only the ability to paint well, but an infectious love and respect for good painting in all of its manifestations is carried by Pittman's students into their widely scattered home communities. This is the far-reaching achievement of inspired teaching.
HAROLD E. DICKSON
Professor of the History of Art
Pennsylvania State University
CHRONOLOGY
Drawing of women with umbrellas
CHRONOLOGY
Painting of wine glass and fruit on table
| January 14, 1900 | Born on plantation, Epworth, North Carolina. |
| 1906 | Moved to Tarboro, North Carolina. |
| 1912-1916 | Attended Rouse Art School (private), Tarboro, North Carolina. (Generally copied unimportant reproductions). |
| 1916 | First visited Pennsylvania. |
| 1918 | Moved permanently to Pennsylvania. |
| 1921-1922 | Attended The Pennsylvania State University. |
Painting of houses and trees
| 1925-1926 | Attended Carnegie Institute of Technology. |
| 1920-1931 | Spent summers in Woodstock, New York. Studied chiefly with Albert Heckman at Woodstock. Mainly interested in figure and landscape painting. |
Drawing of woman in chair
Drawing of vase and fruit on table
| 1928 | First trip abroad. Studied museums and galleries of Europe and England. Did series of watercolors. |
| First one-man show, Edward Side Gallery, Philadelphia. Street scenes, flowers and interiors. |
drawing of corner store
drawing of lines of trees and road
| 1930 | Traveled abroad continuing study of museums. Sketched and did series of watercolors. |
| Began series of linoleum and woodcuts (made about 50 or more blocks). |
Painting of Arc De Triomphe
Cubist painting
| 1931 | Became Director of Art, The Friends’ Central Country Day School, Overbrook, Pennsylvania. |
| Began annual Philadelphia exhibitions. Started Permanent Collection for the school. | |
| Began teaching (summer) The Pennsylvania State University. | |
| Began the study of etching with Earle Horter. Executed about 20 plates, all of which unsuccessful. |
painting of flower and vase
Painting of woman and furniture
| 1933 | Represented in “Painting and Sculpture from 16 American Cities,” Museum of Modern Art, New York. |
| 1934 | One-man show, “American Group,” Barbizon Plaza Galleries, New York. Oils. |
| Represented in the 19th Biannale Exhibition, Venice, Italy. | |
| 1935 | Group Show, Jacques Seligmann Galleries, New York. |
| Group Show, Boyer Galleries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. | |
| 1938 | Exhibition, Maynard Walker Galleries, New York. Oils and pastels. |
| Traveled abroad, continued study of museums and galleries in France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Holland and England. | |
| 1939 | Exhibition, Harold Hambridge Warner Galleries, Los Angeles, California. Paintings and woodcuts. |
| Received Honorable Mention, San Francisco World's Fair. | |
| Exhibition, Phillips Gallery, Washington, D. C. | |
| One-man exhibition, Dayton Institute of Art, Dayton, Ohio. |
| 1940 | Represented in Survey of American Painting, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. |
| 1941 | Exhibition, Philadelphia Art Alliance. Oils and pastels. |
| 1942 | Exhibition, Biltmore Galleries, Los Angeles, California. Oils. |
| First Honorable Mention, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio. Oil. | |
| One-man exhibition, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio. Oils and pastels. | |
| 1943 | Represented in exhibition, “Romantic Painting in America,” Museum of Modern Art, New York. |
| Exhibition, Biltmore Art Salon, Los Angeles, California. Oils. | |
| Scheidt Memorial Prize, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. | |
| 1944 | One-man exhibition, Milch Galleries, New York. Oils and pastels. |
| Dawson Memorial Prize (pastel), the Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. | |
| 1945 | Began teaching. The Philadelphia Museum of Art. |
| Commissioned by Gimbel Brothers to participate in painting “Pennsylvania as Artists See It.” | |
| Represented in “Critics Choice” exhibition, Cincinnati Museum of Art. | |
| Represented in New York Armory Show, “Critics Choice.” | |
| One-man exhibition, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California. | |
| 1946 | Commissioned by Life magazine to paint interiors of well-known houses in Charleston, South Carolina. |
| Commissioned by Clare Boothe Luce to paint landscapes of “Mepkin Plantation,” South Carolina. (At that time, Mr. and Mrs. Luce owned “Mepkin.”) | |
| Exhibition, pastels of flowers in one-man show, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. | |
| American Exhibition “From Colonial Times to Present,” Tate Gallery, London, England. | |
| Honorable Mention, New Haven Paint and Clay Club. | |
| 1947 | Exhibition, Biltmore Galleries, Los Angeles, California. Pastels. |
| Exhibition, Milch Galleries, New York. Pastels of Charleston. | |
| Second Prize, The California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California. | |
| Fourth Clark Prize, Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D. C. | |
| 1948 | Exhibition, Biltmore Galleries, Los Angeles, California. Oils and pastels. |
| 1949 | Special trip to England, France and Switzerland with Margaret Sanger. Visited museums and archeological excavations. |
| Became member of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Faculty. | |
| Third Prize, “Painting in the United States,” Carnegie Institute. | |
| Honorable Mention, Los Angeles County Fair, Pomona, California. | |
| 1950 | Exhibition, State Art Gallery, Raleigh, North Carolina. Oils and pastels. |
| 1952 | Exhibition, “70 Contemporary American Painters,” Vose Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts. |
| 1953 | Exhibition, Philadelphia Art Alliance—Invitation Philadelphia Watercolor Club. Pastels. |
| Elected member National Academy of Design, New York. | |
| Second Clark Prize, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C. | |
| 1954 | One-man exhibition, Milch Galleries, New York. Oils and pastels. |
| 1955 | First Prize, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio. Oil. |
| 1956 | Recipient of Guggenheim Fellowship Grant. Spent year abroad visiting Spain, Mallorca, Sicily, Africa, Greece, Turkey, Italy, France. Special study of sculpture and architecture. Did series of small watercolors. |
| Honored with reception by artists in Parma — Mallorca. | |
| 1957 | Invited as visiting lecturer, Richmond University Area, Virginia. Lectured at: University of Virginia, College of William and Mary, Randolph Macon College, University of Richmond, Mary Washington College. |
| Resigned as Director of Art, Friends’ Central Country Day School, Overbrook, Pennsylvania. | |
| Exhibition (small), East Carolina College, Greenville, North Carolina. Oils and pastels. | |
| 1958 | One-man exhibition, The Pennsylvania State University. Oils and pastels. |
| 1959 | Represented in “250 Years of Art in Pennsylvania,” The Westmoreland County Museum of Art, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. |
| Exhibition of pastels, flowers and still-life, The Woodmere Gallery, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. | |
| 1960 | Elected Honorary Member, International Institute of Arts and Letters. |
| Awarded Brevoort—Eickemeyer Prize, Columbia University, New York. (Awarded for first time in 1960). |
| 1962 | Invited to lecture at the Dallas Museum of Art and the Fort Worth Museum, Texas. Also to conduct series of seminars in art. |
| Presented “Parallels in Music, Architecture, Painting and Sculpture” as benefit for the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Academy of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. | |
| 1963 | First Retrospective Exhibition, The North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, North Carolina. |
Pittman in his house in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, with his collection of contemporary art.
Illustrative drawing
CATALOG
1. A GROUP OF EARLY WORKS Watercolors and Drawings Lent by the Artist
Drawing
Watercolor
Watercolor
Watercolor
2. WOMAN WITH CAT
Oil on canvas, 20 × 16 inches
1923. Signed upper left: Pittman
Lent by The Pennsylvania Academy of The Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
WOMAN WITH CAT
PORTRAIT OF MILDRED
3. PORTRAIT OF MILDRED
Oil on canvas, 16 × 12 inches
1923
Lent by the Artist
FOUNTAIN AT VERSAILLES
4. FOUNTAIN AT VERSAILLES
Oil on canvas, 20 × 16 inches
1928. Signed lower right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
5. STREET IN FLORENCE
Oil on canvas, 16 × 20 inches
1928. Signed lower right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
STREET IN FLORENCE
6. VENICE
Oil on canvas, 16 × 20 inches
1928. Signed lower right: Pittman
Lent by the Artist
VENICE
7. MAN RESTING
Oil on canvas, 16 × 18 inches
1929
Lent by the Artist
MAN RESTING
NINE P. M.
8. NINE P. M.
Oil on canvas, 16 × 22 inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 1955; New York World's Fair, 1939, Inc.; The Walker Galleries, New York, New York
Lent by the Phillips Collection, Washington, D. C.
THE GOSSIPS
9. THE GOSSIPS
Oil on canvas, 30 × 40 inches
1939-40. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
“Fiftieth Annual Exhibition,” St. Albans School, Washington, D. C., 1959; Chester County Art Association, West Chester, Pennsylvania, 1954
Reference:
James Gurskin, American Painting (reproduced); Art News (reproduced), 1939-40
Lent by The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (Presented by William S. Wassell, 1952)
10. THE WIDOW
Oil on canvas, 15 × 25 inches
1937. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
Four Arts Society, Palm Beach, Florida, 1962; The Walker Galleries, New York, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York, 1943
Collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York
THE WIDOW
EARLY SPRING
11. EARLY SPRING
Oil on canvas, 32 × 40 inches
Exhibition:
“Forty-fourth Annual Exhibition,” Cincinnati Museum, Cincinnati, 1937; “One hundred thirty-third Annual Exhibition,” The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1938; Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, 1944; “Group IV,” Knotts Circulating Exhibition, 1948
Lent by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
(George A. Hearn Fund, 1938)
12. THE LOVERS
Oil on canvas, 30 × 40 inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
“Second Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Paintings,” 1940; Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences, 1947; “Exhibition of Southern Artists,” 1948; “From Southern Museum Collections,” The Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1949
Collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia
(The John Barton Payne Fund, 1940)
THE LOVERS
HOUSE IN THE COUNTRY
13. HOUSE IN THE COUNTRY
Oil on canvas, 19 × 28 inches
Exhibition:
“Annual Exhibition” (Honorable Mention), New Haven Paint and Clay Club, New Haven, Connecticut, 1945; “New Year Show” (First Honorable Mention in Oils), Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, 1942
Collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, North Carolina
(Anonymous Gift)
14. BIRTH OF SPRING
Oil on canvas, 38 × 53 inches
1938-’62. Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
The Art Association of Newport, 37th Annual Exhibition, 1948; Corcoran Biennial, 1945
Lent by the Artist
BIRTH OF SPRING
THE SPINSTER
15. THE SPINSTER
Oil on canvas, 19½ × 27½ inches
Signed lower right: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
“One Hundred Thirty-fourth Annual Exhibition,” Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1939; “Work of Philadelphia Artists,” Woodmere Art Gallery, Philadelphia, 1947; The Art Alliance, Philadelphia, 1941
Lent by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
(The Gilpin Collection)
16. SOUTHERN SPRING
Oil on canvas, 31½ × 46 inches
1938. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
“Hobson Pittman,” Walker Gallery, New York, 1938; “16th June Show,” Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, 1940; “Contemporary American Art,” Swope Art Gallery, Terre Haute, Indiana, 1942; “Artists for Victory,” Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1943, Cat. p. 9; “Museum's Choice,” Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, 1945
Reference:
Art Digest, April 1, 1942, p. 11
Lent by Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
(Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund, 1943)
SOUTHERN SPRING
WINTER AND ROSES
17. WINTER AND ROSES
Oil on canvas, 27 × 34¼ inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
“Second National American Exhibition,” Pennsylvania Academy, Philadelphia; “Forty-sixth Annual Exhibition, American Painting and Sculpture,” Art Institute of Chicago; Corcoran Biennial, 1937
Lent by the Phillips Collection, Washington, D. C.
SUMMER EVENING
18. SUMMER EVENING
Oil on canvas, 30 × 23½ inches
1940-41. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
“Painting in the United States,” Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1944; Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, Ohio, 1952
Reference:
Carnegie Magazine (reproduction), January, 1945
Collection of Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
(Patron's Art Fund)
THE GOSSIPS
19. THE GOSSIPS
Pastel, 20 × 25 inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
“New Accessions 1956,” Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado, 1956
Lent by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NOSTALGIC SCENE
20. NOSTALGIC SCENE
Oil on canvas, 30 × 36¼ inches
1940-1950. Signed lower right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
THE MODEL
21. THE MODEL
Oil on panel, 13 × 18½ inches
1942. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. William L. Van Alen,
Edgemont, Pennsylvania
22. MISS PAT AND MISS EVA LYON
Oil on canvas, 30 × 40 inches
Ca. 1943-1944. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
Milch Galleries, New York, 1944; “Critic's Choice of Contemporary American Painting,” Cincinnati Art Museum, 1945; Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1946
Reference:
Art Digest (reproduced on cover), July, 1944; Life (reproduced), February, 1945; Cincinnati Art Museum catalogue (reproduced), 1945; American Artist (reproduced), 1945; Art Digest; July 1, 1944, p. 8; American Artist, September, 1945, p. II
Lent by Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, Memphis, Tennessee
MISS PAT AND MISS EVA LYON
YELLOW ROSES
23. YELLOW ROSES
Pastel, 13 × 20 inches
1945. Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
The Woodmere Gallery, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania
Lent by Mrs. C. Newbold Welsh, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
THE MUSIC ROOM
24. THE MUSIC ROOM
Pastel, 17¾ × 23¾ inches
Ca. 1946. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mrs. William Thomas Tonner, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
INTERIOR — POMPION (PUNKIN) HILL CHAPEL
25. INTERIOR — POMPION (PUNKIN) HILL CHAPEL
Pastel, 14⅝ × 19¼ inches
1946. Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Reference:
Life Magazine (reproduced in color), April 14, 1947
Lent by Miss Lucy Cherry Crisp, Florence, South Carolina
VIEW FROM THE PORCH
26. VIEW FROM THE PORCH
Oil on panel, 12 × 16 inches
1947. Signed lower left: To sister from Hobson Jan. ’47
Lent by Mrs. G. Earle Weeks, Tarboro, North Carolina
27. THE BUFFET
Oil on canvas, 32 × 45 inches
Ca. 1948. Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
National Academy of Design, New York, 1950; The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1948; “Thirty-seventh Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Paintings,” Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, 1950
Reference:
Toledo Museum News (reproduced), July, 1951
Lent by the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio
THE BUFFET
TWO SISTERS
28. TWO SISTERS
Oil on canvas, 20 × 30 inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry R. Luce, New York, New York
29. FULL MOON
Oil on panel, 30½ × 40 inches
Signed lower right: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
Faculty Exhibition, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1960
Reference:
Life, February 19, 1945, p. 68
Lent by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
FULL MOON
30. THE VIEW
Oil on panel, 11 × 24 inches
Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. Dalton, Charlotte, North Carolina
THE VIEW
31. OLD MAID
Oil on panel, 16½ × 23 inches
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. Dalton, Charlotte, North Carolina
OLD MAID
32. CHALICE
Pastel, 9⅛ × 11¾
1948. Signed lower left: H. P.
Lent by Mrs. C. Newbold Welsh, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
CHALICE
33. HOLIDAY INTERIOR
Oil on panel, 22 × 19 inches
Ca. 1948. Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Reference:
American Artists Group, Inc., New York
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Kaufmann, Haverford, Pennsylvania
HOLIDAY INTERIOR
CONVALESCENCE
34. CONVALESCENCE
Watercolor, 16¾ × 22¾ inches
Signed lower right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Phillips Collection, Washington, D. C.
35. THE OLD PAINTER
Oil on panel, 17½ × 21½ inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. William Welsh, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
THE OLD PAINTER
36. DYING FLOWERS
Pastel, 11¾ × 18¼ inches
1950. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
The Woodmere Gallery, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania
Lent by Mrs. C. Newbold Welsh, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
DYING FLOWERS
37. POPPIES
Pastel, 24 × 19 inches
1950. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. R. Barclay Scull, Villanova, Pennsylvania
POPPIES
QUIET SUMMER
38. QUIET SUMMER
Oil on canvas, 24 × 42 inches
Exhibition:
National Academy of Design, (Saltus Medal), 1953; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 48th Annual Exhibition, 1953
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York, New York
VEILED BOUQUET
39. VEILED BOUQUET
Oil on canvas, 25 × 30 inches
Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
“The Twenty-third Biennial Exhibition,” The Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1953; “Traveling Exhibition of Selections from the Twenty-third Biennial Exhibition,” American Federation of Arts, 1953-1954; “The Second Quarter of the 20th Century,” Jacksonville Art Museum, Jacksonville, Florida, 1956; Columbus Museum of Arts and Crafts, Columbus, 1957; “Four Centuries of Flower Painting With Flower Arrangements,” Fort Worth Art Center, Fort Worth, Texas, 1960
In the collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.
MANTEL ARRANGEMENT
40. MANTEL ARRANGEMENT
Oil on canvas, 30 × 46 inches
1954. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
“Mid-Year Show” (purchase prize), Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, 1955
Lent by the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio
STUDIO IN CHARLESTON
41. STUDIO IN CHARLESTON
Oil on canvas, 19¼ × 33⅜ inches
Exhibition:
“A Faculty Exhibition,” The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1960, Cat. No. 92; “As Others See Us,” Gibbs Art Gallery, Charleston, South Carolina, 1961, Cat. No. 8; “Mid-Year Show,” Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, 1954
Lent by the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, North Carolina
(Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Clark, Miss Nan Clark and Mr. D. Russell Clark, Tarboro, North Carolina)
POMEGRANATES AND WHITE PLATE
42. POMEGRANATES AND WHITE PLATE
Oil on panel, 11 × 24 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York, New York
43. FLOWERS IN A WHITE CUP
Pastel, 11⅜ × 18 inches (sight measurement)
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
Woodmere Art Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lent by Mrs. Dunham Higgins, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
FLOWERS IN A WHITE CUP
44. THE PAINTER
Oil on panel, 16 × 12 inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York, New York
THE PAINTER
45. STUDIO IN CHARLESTON
Oil on panel, 11 × 20 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York, New York
STUDIO IN CHARLESTON
POPPIES
46. POPPIES
Oil on panel, 17½ × 13½ inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York, New York
47. POPPIES AND SHELLS
Oil on canvas, 26 × 18 inches
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York, New York
POPPIES AND SHELLS
INTERIOR
48. INTERIOR
Oil on canvas, 34¾ × 48¼ inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York, New York
49. THREE LADIES IN HALLWAY
Oil on canvas, 16¼ × 24¼ inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. Dalton, Charlotte, North Carolina
THREE LADIES IN HALLWAY
SUMMER EVENING
50. SUMMER EVENING
Oil on canvas, 24¼ × 36⅜ inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. Dalton, Charlotte, North Carolina
51. CONVERSATION NO. II
Oil on panel, 25 × 39 inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Huber, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
CONVERSATION NO. II
AZALEA GARDEN
52. AZALEA GARDEN
Oil on panel, 44½ × 33½ inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry R. Luce, New York, New York
MEPKIN BY THE RIVER IN MOONLIGHT
53. MEPKIN BY THE RIVER IN MOONLIGHT
Oil on panel, 26½ × 16½ inches
Signed lower right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry R. Luce, New York, New York
REFLECTIONS
54. REFLECTIONS
Oil on canvas, 24 × 36 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, Mid-year Show, 1957
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York, New York
STILL LIFE—PEACHES
55. STILL LIFE—PEACHES
Pastel, 18½ × 15 inches
Ca. 1955. Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. Breyer, Jr. Haverford, Pennsylvania
INTERIOR WITH ORANGE SCREEN
56. INTERIOR WITH ORANGE SCREEN
Oil on canvas, 34 × 27 inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York, New York
STILL LIFE WITH BOTTLE
57. STILL LIFE WITH BOTTLE
Pastel, 19 × 12 inches
1955. Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. R. Barclay Scull, Villanova, Pennsylvania
YELLOW CHAIR
58. YELLOW CHAIR
Oil on canvas, 30½ × 40¼ inches
Signed lower right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. James Hall, Lumberton, North Carolina
MUSIC ROOM
59. MUSIC ROOM
Oil on canvas, 30 × 36 inches
1955-1962. Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
(opposite)
60. INTERIOR WITH FLOWERS
Oil on canvas, 44½ × 30 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
“Annual Exhibition,” National Academy of Design, 1960
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York
INTERIOR WITH FLOWERS
SUNLIT WINDOW
61. SUNLIT WINDOW
Oil on canvas, 49½ × 57¾ inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
“Exhibition of Philadelphia Artists,” The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1956
Lent by Mrs. William Thomas Tonner, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
62. LIDO AT OSTIA #1
Watercolor, 8 × 12 inches
1956. Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
LIDO AT OSTIA #1
63. LIDO AT OSTIA #3
Watercolor, 8 × 12 inches
1956. Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
LIDO AT OSTIA #3
64. LIDO AT OSTIA #6
Watercolor, 8 × 12 inches
Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman, September, 1956
Lent by the Artist
LIDO AT OSTIA #6
65. LIDO AT OSTIA #7
Watercolor, 8 × 12 inches
1956. Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
LIDO AT OSTIA #7
LAWN SCENE WITH TABLE AND CHAIRS
66. LAWN SCENE WITH TABLE AND CHAIRS
Oil on panel, 18 × 18⅝ inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. Dalton, Charlotte, North Carolina
ROSES IN WHITE VASE WITH PEACHES
67. ROSES IN WHITE VASE WITH PEACHES
Pastel, 17½ × 13 inches
Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
A PEAR AND A PEACH
68. A PEAR AND A PEACH
Pastel, 9 × 12 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
69. POPPIES IN PEWTER CONTAINER
Pastel, 17¼ × 12¾ inches (sight measurement)
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Woodmere Art Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lent by Mrs. Dunham Higgins, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
POPPIES IN PEWTER CONTAINER
GRAPES IN A WHITE CUP
70. GRAPES IN A WHITE CUP
Pastel, 10 × 12½ inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
POPPIES IN A VASE
71. POPPIES IN A VASE
Pastel, 18½ × 12 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
72. STILL LIFE WITH PEARS AND GOOSEBERRIES NO. II
Pastel, 18 × 24½ inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mrs. William Thomas Tonner, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
STILL LIFE WITH PEARS AND GOOSEBERRIES NO. II
73. PEARS IN A WHITE PLATE
Pastel, 24¼ × 17 inches
Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York
PEARS IN A WHITE PLATE
74. FRUIT AND FLOWERS
Pastel, 24¼ × 14¼ inches
Signed lower right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York
FRUIT AND FLOWERS
75. FLOATING PETALS
Pastel, 25⅜ × 18¼ inches
Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York
FLOATING PETALS
76. FRUIT AND ROSE PETALS
Pastel, 24¼ × 18¼ inches
Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York
FRUIT AND ROSE PETALS
77. NECTARINES AND PLUMS
Pastel, 23½ × 14¼ inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by M. Knoedler and Co., Inc., New York
NECTARINES AND PLUMS
INTERIOR WITH YELLOW CHAIRS
78. INTERIOR WITH YELLOW CHAIRS
Oil on panel, 9 × 15⅛ inches
1958. Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
“Instructors Exhibition,” Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia; Women's Cosmopolitan Club, Philadelphia
Reference:
Reproduced for Slide Library, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Walter F. Young, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
MIXED BOUQUET
79. MIXED BOUQUET
Pastel, 18 × 12 inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman, ’58
Exhibition:
Woodmere Art Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1959
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. Breyer, Jr., Haverford, Pennsylvania
STILL LIFE — ROSES
80. STILL LIFE — ROSES
Pastel, 11½ × 17¾ inches
Ca. 1958. Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Florence Museum, Florence, South Carolina
NECTARINES AND PLUMS NO. II
81. NECTARINES AND PLUMS NO. II
Pastel, 25 × 30 inches
1959. Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman, July, ’59
Lent by M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York
82. FLOWERS
Watercolor, 7⅜ × 4⅝ inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Ben F. Williams, Raleigh, North Carolina
FLOWERS
83. FLOWERS IN THREE VASES
Pastel, 20 × 25 inches
Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
FLOWERS IN THREE VASES
84. THREE PEACHES ON A CLOTH
Pastel, 9 × 12 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
THREE PEACHES ON A CLOTH
ENTR'ACTE
85. ENTR'ACTE
Oil on canvas, 22 × 22 inches
Exhibition:
Butler Institute of American Art, 1961, Mid-year Show
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York, New York
TULIPS WITH VASES
86. TULIPS WITH VASES
Oil on panel, 30 × 42 inches
Ca. 1960-61. Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Reproduced in color on cover
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. Breyer, Jr., Haverford, Pennsylvania
87. SUMMER ROSES NO. 1
Oil on panel, 30 × 40 inches
1959-60. Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mrs. Donald Alexander, San Antonio, Texas
SUMMER ROSES NO. 1
SOUTHERN STUDIO
88. SOUTHERN STUDIO
Oil on canvas, 32 × 40 inches
Exhibition:
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1960; National Academy of Design, New York, 1961
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York, New York
FRUITS AND PETALS
89. FRUITS AND PETALS
Pastel, 19½ × 25 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
VIEW FROM ELEANOR THACHER'S
90. VIEW FROM ELEANOR THACHER'S
Watercolor, 7⅜ × 9½ inches
1961. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Ben F. Williams, Raleigh, North Carolina
SUMMER PLEASURES
91. SUMMER PLEASURES
Oil on panel, 48 × 56 inches
Exhibition:
American Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1962
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
92. FLOWERS IN A GLASS
Pastel, 25 × 19 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist
FLOWERS IN A GLASS
93. SUMMER BOUQUET
Pastel, 28 × 33 inches
1962. Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. George S. Zoretich, University Park, Pennsylvania
SUMMER BOUQUET
TULIPS NUMBER II, 1962
94. TULIPS NUMBER II, 1962
Oil on panel, 30 × 42 inches
Lent by the Artist
95. A GROUP OF LATER WORKS
Watercolors, Drawings and Pastels
Lent by the Artist
Watercolor
Watercolor
Drawing
Watercolor
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Painting and Sculpture from Sixteen American Cities, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1933.
Martha Davidson, “Twenty-one Artists Present America's Views,” The Art News, December 5, 1936.
“Early-Spring” (painting) reproduced from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Hearn Fund Collection, The London Studio, November, 1938.
Margaret Breuning, “Hobson Pittman, Romantic Renderer of Our Victorian Past,” The Art News, November 26, 1938.
Edward Alden Jewell, “To Embody or to Imply,” The New York Times, November 20, 1938.
Art News, published by The Art Foundation, November 26, 1938.
American Art Today, (Federation of Arts) Oxford University Press, 1939.
Survey of American Painting, introduction by Homer Saint-Gaudens. Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, 1940.
J. Burn Helme, “The Paintings of Hobson Pittman,” Parnassus, May, 1941.
Kaj Klitgaard, Through the American Landscape, The University of North Carolina Press, 1941.
James W. Lane, “The Old Guard Never Surrenders,” Art News, February 1, 1941.
James Thrall Soby and Dorothy C. Miller, Romantic Painting in America, The Museum of Modern Art, 1943.
Margaret Breuning, “Hobson Pittman Follows No Convention,” Art Digest, November 15, 1944.
Ernest W. Watson, “Hobson Pittman,” American Artist, September, 1945.
“Hobson Pittman—American Artist Recaptures the Past in Scenes of His Victorian Childhood,” Life, February 19, 1945.
Donald Bear, “Contemporary American Painting,” Encyclopedia Britannica Collection, Duell, Sloan and Pearce, New York, 1945.
American Artist, September, 1945.
Donald Bear, “Pittman Canvases Reflect Genuine Charm and Vision,” Santa Barbara News Press, California, 1946.
Harold E. Dickson, “Pennsylvania As the Artists See It,” Commonwealth, The Magazine for Pennsylvania, November-December, 1947.
Harold E. Dickson, “Pittman Teaches Painting,” Commonwealth, The Magazine for Pennsylvania, June, 1947.
“In Bermuda Moonlight” (cover), Holiday Magazine, April, 1947.
“Old Charleston” (color reproductions), Life, April 14, 1947.
John Oliver La Gorce, “Artists Look at Pennsylvania,” The National Geographic Magazine, July, 1948.
Emily Genauer, Best in Art, Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1948.
Margaret Breuning, “Carnegie Presents Last and Best All-American Annual,” The Art Digest, October 15, 1949.
“Carnegie Winners,” The Pittsburgh Press, October 16, 1949.
“Carnegie Prize Winners,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 16, 1949.
“Painting in the United States,” Boston Sunday Herald, October 30, 1949.
“Atlanta Mansion” (cover), Holiday Magazine, January, 1951.
“Miss Pat and Miss Eva Lyon” (cover), Art Digest, 1954.
“Arts in North Carolina,” The Student Publication of the School of Design, North Carolina State College, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1957, vol. 7, no. 3.
Other:
Ernest Watson, Twenty Painters and How They Work.
Allen Gruskin, American Painting.
Dorothy Grafly, editor, Pennsylvania As Artists See It, The Gimbel Collection.
MUSEUMS AND INDIVIDUALS OWNINGWORKS BY HOBSON PITTMAN
The Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, Illinois
Miss Mary Adair, Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Miss Katherine Adams, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Dr. and Mrs. Francis Heed Adler, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mrs. Donald Alexander, San Antonio, Texas
Mr. and Mrs. George Anderson, Overbrook, Pennsylvania
Miss Irma Ayers, Newark, Delaware
Mr. and Mrs. Emmanuel Benson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dr. and Mrs. Paul Bishop, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Russell Bleakley, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Miss Rebecca Boyle, Hazleton, Pennsylvania
Mrs. Henry Breyer, Sr., Jenkintown, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Breyer, Jr., Haverford, Pennsylvania
Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, Memphis, Tennessee
Mrs. David Bunim, New York, New York
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Butler III, Youngstown, Ohio
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio
Mr. John Canaday, New York, New York
Capehart Collection, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Elizabeth Luther Carey (deceased), New York, New York
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mrs. Nancy Carrell, Dallas, Texas
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Chaplin, Haverford, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Albert Christ-Janer, Brooklyn, New York
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Clifford, Radnor, Pennsylvania
Miss Mary Cochlin, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. James Collins, Haverford, Pennsylvania
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.
M. François Couillard, Saulzais le Potier, France
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Miss Lucy Cherry Crisp, Florence, South Carolina
Mrs. June Crunick, York, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. Dalton, Charlotte, North Carolina
Mr. and Mrs. Meyer Davis, New York, New York
Miss Natalie De Marco, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Dr. and Mrs. Harold Dickson, State College, Pennsylvania
Mr. Frank Dutcher, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Eaton Paper Company Collection, Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Mr. and Mrs. Emlen Etting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mr. Richard Ferguson, Narberth, Pa.
Florence Museum, Florence, South Carolina
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph T. Fraser, Jr., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Geisler, Willow Grove, Pa.
Mr. Henry Gerstley, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Gimbel Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Phillips Goodwin (deceased), New York, New York
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Gordon, Fort Monroe, Virginia
Mrs. Dougherty Grace, Haverford, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Graham, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Gray, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Miss Betty Greenfield, St. Louis, Missouri
Mr. Paul Griffith, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mr. Chester Gutner, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. James Hall, Lumberton, North Carolina
Mr. Don Hartman, Beverly Hills, California
John Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana
Mrs. Dunham Higgins, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Huber, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Francis Hyslop, University Park, Pennsylvania
Mrs. Dorothy C. Jack, Haverford, Pennsylvania
Mrs. Sam Jaffe, Beverly Hills, California
Mr. Oliver B. James, New York, New York
Mr. Eric Johnson, Germantown, Pennsylvania
Mrs. Walter Johnson, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Kaufmann, Haverford, Pennsylvania
Mr. Chapman Kelley, Dallas, Texas
Dr. and Mrs. A. D. Klarmann, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mrs. Myrrl Krieger, Cincinnati, Ohio
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Kuhn, State College, Pennsylvania
Mr. James Lord, State College, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Henry R. Luce, New York, New York
Mr. and Mrs. Giovanni Luciolli, Rome, Italy
Mr. Wright Ludington, Santa Barbara, California
Mr. and Mrs. James P. Magill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Campbell McAdoo, Jr., Rome, Italy
Dr. and Mrs. Norman MacFarland, Paoli, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. John W. Merriam, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Miller, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mrs. Gerrish Milliken, New York, New York
Mr. and Mrs. Cameron Morris, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Dr. Otto Mueller, State College, Pa.
North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, North Carolina
Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Miss Josephine Paul, Johnstown, Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Miss Ethel Pew, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Pew, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Phillips Collection, Washington, D. C.
Mr. and Mrs. Duncan Phillips, Washington, D. C.
Mr. Ogden Phipps, New York, New York
Mr. and Mrs. M. Potamkin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Rae, Radnor, Pennsylvania
Miss Elizabeth Rees, Rosemont, Pennsylvania
Mr. Glen Ruby, State College, Pennsylvania
Mrs. Margaret Sanger, Tucson, Arizona
Mrs. Gertrude Scandrett, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Barclay Scull, Villanova, Pennsylvania
Count and Countess Edgardo Sogne, Milan, Italy
Miss Ann Sothern, Hollywood, California
Mrs. Otto Spaeth, Dayton, Ohio
Mr. Dean Stambaugh, Washington, D. C.
St. Albans School, Washington, D. C.
Mr. G. G. de Sylva, Los Angeles, California
Mr. and Mrs. George Taylor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Theodore, Los Angeles, California
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Tobias, Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio
Mrs. William Thomas Tonner, Torresdale, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Troncelliti, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Twentieth Century Fox, Hollywood, California
Mr. and Mrs. William L. Van Alen, Edgemont, Pennsylvania
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia
Miss Gertrude Walker, Haverford, Pennsylvania
Mr. Maynard Walker, New York, New York
Mr. and Mrs. William W. Wallis, New York, New York
Miss Lela Waring, Charleston, South Carolina
Mr. and Mrs. Franklin C. Watkins, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Cameron S. Weeks, Tarboro, North Carolina
Mrs. George Earle Weeks, Tarboro, North Carolina
Dr. and Mrs. H. E. Weeks, Tarboro, North Carolina
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Welsh, Haverford, Pennsylvania
Mrs. C. Newbold Welsh, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Mr. William Welsh, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Mrs. Morris Wenger, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York
Mr. S. B. Wilder, Hollywood, California
Mr. and Mrs. Ben F. Williams, Raleigh, North Carolina
Mr. Hiram Williams, Gainesville, Florida
Mrs. John Wintersteen, Villanova, Pennsylvania
Mrs. Eva Worchester, Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan
Mr. and Mrs. Phillips Youtz, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Young, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. George S. Zoretich, University Park, Pennsylvania
BOARD OF TRUSTEESOF THE
NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART
| Governor Terry Sanford | Raleigh |
| Mrs. Charles B. Aycock | Kinston |
| Charles F. Carroll | Raleigh |
| Egbert L. Davis, Jr. | Winston-Salem |
| Edwin Gill | Raleigh |
| Robert Lee Humber | Greenville |
| Mrs. William Joslin | Raleigh |
| Mrs. Charles Kistler | Fayetteville |
| Ralph C. Price | Greensboro |
| Mrs. James Semans | Durham |
| Mrs. Arthur W. Levy, Jr. | Raleigh |
| Henry L. Bridges | Raleigh |
| Gregory Ivy | Randleman |
| Justus Bier | Director |
| Ben F. Williams | General Curator |
| Charles W. Stanford, Jr. | Curator of Education |
| Gay M. Hertzman | Registrar-Librarian |
| William T. Beckwith | Administrative Officer |
| Stella Suberman | Public Information Officer |
| Georgia Fuller | Library Assistant |
| William A. Martin | Photographer |
| Evelyn D. O'Neal | Secretary to the Director |
| Christie McLeod | Curatorial Secretary |
| Edith B. Johnson | Bookshop Manager |
| Frank L. Manly | Preparator |
| Hans E. Gassman | Conservator (part-time) |
| Branton L. Olive | Packer-Shipper |
| James R. Hampton | Head Guard |
ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED COPIES
PRINTED JANUARY 1963
NORTH CAROLINA STATE COLLEGE PRINT SHOP
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA
I have art work by Hobson Pittman when he was just a student..if interested please contact me