(Cover)

Tuuies Witt Vases

Oil on panel, 30 x 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

 
 

 

 

 

HOBSON PITTMAN

RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION
HIS WORK SINCE 1920

 

FEBRUARY 2-MARCH 3, 1963

The Hobson Pittman Retrospective Exhibition is the
third in the North Carolina Museum of Art’s series de-
voted 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.

- Hotway Inrerior
Oil on panel, 22 x 19 inches
Ca. 1948. Signed upper righ
ts i
eee pp ight: Hobson Pittman
American Artists Group, Inc., New York

Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Kaufmann, Haverford, Pennsylvania
Yy , y.

NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART, RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA

Colo: te courtesy American Ttists Group, Inc., New ork, New Yor!
‘olor plai A A G N Y Ne
iP: i k, York

 
LENDERS 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

 

 

 

 

 

FOREWORD

ss ¢ y year i a of Art is pleasec
In North Carolina’s Tercentenary year, the North Carolina Museum of A P

e ater is a obson Pittman.
to honor an illustrious native son, the celebrated artist from Tarboro, H

It is particularly fitting that Hobson Pittman should be COTE) Bae anes
the year in which North Carolina is taking a renewed look at its Pe ee ie oe
process, rediscovering the gifts of its people. This is not to say, however, a ee
of Hobson Pittman need to be “rediscovered.” Hobson Pittman has never throug! nee
years been in any sense neglected by North Carolinians; he has, on the eae ee
a constant source of pride to the people of his State. We are today not so

H a i r i i i is works.
i ing” ittma ur delight in him and his w
“rediscovering” Hobson Pittman as refreshing o g!

ini <i ressed its
The North Carolina Museum of Art, in fact, very early in its existence exp:

regard for Hobson Pittman by seeking and acquiring two works by the artist for its
permanent on: Stu tn Charleston an ouse in the Country. hese w! e
p' collection: Studio Charlest d H he ( bi

on view in this exhibition. a
i i is historica’
F et another reason it is appropriate to honor Hobson Pittman in this his
i inui ‘wise
ae Pittman’s works uniquely provide a continuity that would other
a i | arolina’s past. It is
be lacking in any chronological recording through art of North Ca Pp ee
o i iencing a fallo
too true that in the 19th century North Carolina was clearly experiencing

i at) auties and distinctive
period in painting, and yet there was much to be painted. The beauties a

avor of the ye Di r so worthy of being

t ing the 19th century, so wort 2

fl f th ars during the latter part of : ; x ae

recorded, simply did not find expression on canvas. It remained, then, for Hobson Pitt:
. y

man to set down in his poetic and gentle way his aahouep oF things Bele ee
occupation with the things he saw around him, most of eee had ee ia
since the Civil War, he was and is, as much as any other painter worne 2 a eae
imbued with the spirit of his homeland. And his homeland, in its interiors, landscapes,
and objects, reflected an age of the past. “yh
In the pages that follow, the reader will find notes at! Bee a Ra
people who have been closely associated with Hobson Pittman in his ca ie f stan
are impressions by many familar names in the art or and es a a ae
students. Taken together, these remarks project a revealing picture 0 2

honoring and form a highly appropriate preface to the catalogue.

BEN F. WILLIAMS

 
 

 

It is an altogether pleasant assignment to be asked to write a note on Hobson Pittman,
There are few men in Americ

‘a today who have combined their abilities as a creative
artist of the first rank, and of internati

ional reputation, with a career of matching im-
portance as a teacher,

JoserH T. FRASER, Jr.

Mr. Fraser is the Director of the Penn-
syluania 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 me:
more to me even than the idea of merely painting a canvas.
book — all have the same living qualities of a

or draw from any real object but from remini

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

5 only to
come away realizing that the r land of dreams

and memories.

a teacher, lecturer at the Pennsylvania Academy

the Philadelphi
da wide and import: iladelphia

professional and
ality has helped to make painters
nave him in our midst.

person

HENRI Marceau

Mr. Marceau is the Director of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

i i i le is
Hobson Pittman has a unique and well established Place in eae ane eres
very much his own. His paintings are derived from his aa eee Bate gaa
and lines are used to create space. These may be drawn from 5) ae entne
pure invention. For the interest is not in mepresentabiony but nee ae ee
His paintings do not seem to be of any particular Heenan ine an eee
one who kniows something of eastern North Carolina feels that ee aes
influence—or echo—of Pittman’s early environment in his pees ae aro
gardens. These spacious interiors, with glimpses of sky ee Ee Leaner
and open doors, are sensitively painted. But, above these, it is
of the artist that gives each painting its quality. 5 Te
Not only has Pittman made a contribution to American ar! seamen epee E
not spared himself in giving encouragement and help to o| ec eee
remarked that, as a teacher, he has unusual ability to ee a 3 nee
to impose his own ideas on his students. inneaen, he ee Seaudinca Avan
Pea Cer ae ppm te perhaps been stimulated to go

ing hi i be true to their i P seg :

aes = ee toward the fuller expression of his own individuality.

FRANCIS SPEIGHT

eight, a former colleague of
ae perce Hf the Pennsylvania
Academy of the Fine Arts, is presently
artist-in-residence at East Carolina
College, Greenville,

come to think of it, that I have never seen a Stas ane
mee ene a aintings. This is a misfortune. But I know his worl ae
eae caer a ied 1 recall vividly different canvases seen singly or, Pp ze
a a ae Fuels a in exhibitions in the company ie eee eae
meer F i avoi has enhanc
5 stance, where comparison was unavoidable, ; : f REE
SADE o! of his work—its distinctive, nostalgic poetry. SETS aaa ae
n overtone has no factual source. One could not, from at. os cok foe ae
ide of these paintings, regenerate it for oneself But i ; se preety
ne n phenomenon, and each visitor to this important one man P
aaeeaieate with an enriched and extended realm of experience.

FRANKLIN C. WATKINS

i Mr.
. Watkins is a colleague of
Pte 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 in Philadelphia when we worked together at the
vorite contention of mine, which I often state, is

and critics should not know artists, since the artist’s

evaluative exercises should be as objec-
is impossible, of course,

period of some years
Philadelphia Museum of Art. A fa
that artists should not know critics
creative function is so personal,
tive as possible. Complete cri
rash enough to w

and the critic
al objectivity
rite criticism should, at least, avoid
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 | knew his work well,
over a period of time, before [ met him. I had admired the gentle, poetic character of
his paintings, at once hostaglic 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 sentiment
The sentiment of Hobson Pittman’s art, I discovered

it to intense scrutiny and demands (of himself)
than impulsive, terms,

but anyone who is
increasing his confusion. The

al expression,
, is effective because he subjects
that it be expressed in calculated, rather

JOHN CANADAy

Mr. Canaday is Art Editor of the New
York Times.

A weaver of fantasies, a
days, a spirit touched

years with singular integrity and singleness of purpose,
in intellectual penetration and depth of vision, He has
which brings to life whatever subject he touches,

He has painted through the
his works continually growing
a peculiar power of €vocation

WILLIAM MATHEWsoN M ILLIKEN

Mr. Milliken is Director Emeritus of

the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleve-
land, Ohio.

Bo Rhee Tne
paean of delight, as in his brilliant paintings of flow

n to me a constant song

nots ittman have bee ae . a
For many years the paintings of Hobson Pittmar ong rising at times to

i eace; a S
raised in praise of beauty and of quiet, ordered p ae ae by be
3 i ies gathere

i delicate poppies ¢
ligh 1, again, a muted chamber music of full-blown
sunlight; and, again, a

¢ a white vase on a high Victorian mante set in the midst
mmate grace into i high Vi i a Ib the mi
1 : 1 a0 infini
i F er el
2 u ate gra ir me out

ith 2 door or Wl
of a serene, high-ceiled room with an open

space beyond.

ully aw: ie} e stro ws and curre! ion in the art
d mts of abstraction

Full f the strong and varied undertows

5 aware ig 2

i ide ied nature of
i the widely varied
it d catholic in his appreciation, as evidenced ae De ae
f ay, and ca at : ieee :
i ne and sculpture comprising his Ea ae eS s ce = ee t
the pa gs 2 2 a
vaintai is hi rsonal vision, mn u ian id x oe: Re
steadfastly maintained his highly pe : part aie eato oa phen
pon life. In his years of cosmopolitan living : eh ee ees
respo is a e Seat ean romantic sense of eae aes oA ae a
levi ne wa * ; : ae
ie ae part of his inheritance from his boyhood in the So eee ee Rice
North Carol ni; i imagination, a P
dowed_ imag’ de aoe
Cc ina. Out of a richly en ' , pana
pee e i ith knowledge, understanding, and integrity. id m
fection, he paints wi ge, Ss

tenderness. Lucy CHERRY CRISP

Miss Crisp is Director of the Florence
Museum, Florence, S. C.

ike a breath of fresh spring air in today’s art world—so

inti tate-

4 id intimate s
illy personal an ae
beautifully p e excitement of time

Hobson Pittman’s ieee Pues oR ae
: ren . d seren .
with the sounds o ak of a calm an ith a
filled ith their very subtle message bespeak ff shapes and colors coupled w
eae tec ay Imost precisionist’s placement 0
Vith his almo:
lessness. Wi

. identifiable as a
. is immediately iden
5 plication of paint, Pittman ae he po
RGN, [REGIOENS a ts artist, an assured individualist Franklin Watkins, wrote
er’s painter, an artis hat his distinguished colleague, Fre inters can be tender
eigen oes to me that only the strong painte) heir paint to
It seems ho are continually pointing in t
those who a

i ers.
t and teacher, Pittman has few pe

paint ‘
It seems to be 0 a
in his “Advice to Students’ i. i
without going sappy, ae
their virility.” As an inspire

CHapMAN KELLEY

Mr. Kelley conducts the Atelier Chap-
ese Kelley in Dallas, Texas.

 
Hobson Pittman is an artist who has distinguished himself
His many years at The Pennsylvania State University have
to the understanding and practice of
from his inspiring and gifted teaching.
His art documents his sincerity and devotion to Pp
scene is of lasting importance. His steadfast
our day of challenge and change.

GrorcE S. ZorETICH

Mr. Zoretich is Associate Head, Depart-

ment 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,
it had better be Picassoid in character. To my surprise,
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

, if figurative,
Mr. Pittman did not object to

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

as a creator and teacher.

contributed immeasurably
painting. Hundreds of students have benefitted

ainting. His presence on the American
performance and integrity are unique in

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 e@ign GE -

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, ap aixodnedl
were they in their master’s criticism and advice. I soon found aheg 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. Z : ;
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 liga 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 | 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 oe his
courage to talk to Miss Dorothy Miller about me, and Miss Miller has told me a
wonderfully Hobson Pittman presented to her his belief in my work, and how he ha
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 noe 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 au eens
and yet, perhaps I’ve given a partial insight into the value of Hobson nee ce)
recapitulate, I think he will be remembered as the painter who found a way 2 sagt
the best expression of nostalgia, and generations of students must thank him for He
inspiration to make the best art to be found in them. It is unimaginable to hee ae
anywhere lives a teacher who has been more generous with the contribution o! pies
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

 

 

PITTMAN ON HIS WORK

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 frame-
work 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 im-
mediately 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.

ce of inspiration and communion and should
or “school” (we might
he fullest and

The museum is an invaluable sour
be used as such, but to pause too long before a single “name”
also add “style”) is perilous. Embrace all schools, drinking them in to t

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,
what would become of our art?

unbridled as it may seem at times,

 
 

PITTMAN TEACHES PAINTING

(Reprinted from Commonwealth, the Magazine for Pennsylvania, June, 1947)

It was not surprising to find Hobson Pittman among the prize-winners of the re-
cent 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 exquis-
itely 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 waar
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 auch: in methods of
instruction as in the personality of the one who instructs. Pittman is a relentless pase
Giving of himself without stint, he expects and obtains the same Gi others. He infects
students with something of his own dynamic force, and they work like demons. oe
it is to induce the student to realize his in-

One purpose motivates his teaching: s i
aa f oi] painting. Pittman unquestionably

dividual potentialities through the medium o: x ‘ i
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 a
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 Bae
reaction to his own feelings, persuading him if necessary to discard the tricks and man-

nerisms of slick painting. f
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 ae 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.
may use any method he pleases so long

Good painting must, of course,

i i individual
In puttin; aint to a canvas the in . : ‘ :
as he ee ioe well as he is able. He is not instructed in a technique, for there is no

emphasizing any mode of pictorial expression per se. ae ates eee a
abstract; they may be well drawn or hardly drawn at al in et na Se
“form follows function” in modern architecture, so Pee ven P'
quality from the needs and purposes of the artist struggling w! P "

e stude: ouraget art to discover all that
Thi di i .d to explore the realms of
nt is endlessly encouragee 10 © j 5 1
h £ the timeless essence of fine painting, ancient and modern. But he is forb
e can oO! idden

 
 

to imitate without valid reason, without being prompted by an urgent desire to ex-
perience 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
The cumulativ

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 speak-
ing 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.

Harovp E. Dickson
Professor of the History of Art
Pennsylvania State University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHRONOLOGY

 
 

 

 

1925-1926 Attended Carnegie Institute of Technology.
CHRONOLOGY —_— ae

i Stoc Y Studied chiefly with Albert
rs in Woodstock, New York. ;
ae Bee Woodstock. Mainly interested in figure and landscape

painting.

January 14,1900 Born on plantation, Epworth, N
1906

1912-1916

orth Carolina.

Moved to Tarboro, North Carolina.

Attended Rouse Art School (private), Tarboro, North Carolina.
(Generally copied unimportant reproductions).

1916 First visited Pennsylvania.

1918 Moved permanently to Pennsylvania.

First trip abroad. Studied museums and galleries of Europe and Eng-
1921-1922 Attended The Pennsylvania State University.

land. Did series of watercolors. ; :
Sapa show, Edward Side Gallery, Philadelphia. Street scenes,

flowers and interiors.

, silltione’ é

ty

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Traveled abroad continuing study of museums.

series of watercolors.

Sketched and did

(made about 50 or more

Became Director of Art, The Friends’ Centra

Overbrook, Pennsylvania. 1 Country Day School,

Began annual Philadelphia exhibitions.
tion for the school.

Started Permanent Collec.

Began teaching (summer) The Pennsylvania State University.

_ Began the study of etching with Earle Horter,
plates, all of which unsuccessful.

Executed about 20

 

 

 

 

Represented in “Painting and Sculpture from 16 American Cities,”
Museum of Modern Art, New York.

One-man show, “American Group,” Barbizon Plaza Galleries, New
York. Oils.

Represented in the 19th Biannale Exhibition, Venice, Italy.

Group Show, Jacques Seligmann Galleries, New York.

Group Show, Boyer Galleries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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.

Exhibition, Harold Hambridge Warner Galleries, Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia. 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.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Represented in Survey of American Painting,

; Carnegie Institute,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Exhibition, Philadelphia Art Alliance. Oils and _ pastels.

Exhibition, Biltmore Galleries, Los Angeles, California. Oils.
First Honorable Mention, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngs-
town, Ohio. Oil.

One-man exhibition, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown,
Ohio. Oils and pastels.

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.

One-man exhibition, Milch Galleries, New York. Oils and pastels.

Dawson Memorial Prize (pastel), the Philadelphia Academy of the
Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Began teaching, The Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Commissioned by Gimbel Brothers to participate in painting “Penn-
sylvania 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.

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 Gal-
lery, London, England.

Honorable Mention, New Haven Paint and Clay Club.

Exhibition, Biltmore Galleries, Los Angeles, California. Pastels.

Exhibition, Milch Galleries, New York. Pastels of Charleston.

Second Prize, Fhe California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San
Francisco, California.

Fourth Clark Prize, Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D. C.

‘Exhibition, Biltmore Galleries, Los Angeles, California. Oils and
pastels.

i i er.
Special trip to England, France and Switzerland with Margaret Sang!
Visited museums and archeological excavations.
i i rts
Became member of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine A

Faculty. ; ‘
Third Prize, “Painting in the United States,” Carnegie Wee
Honorable Mention, Los Angeles County Fair, Pomona, California.

Exhibition, State Art Gallery, Raleigh, North Carolina. Oils and
pastels.

Exhibition, “70 Contemporary American Painters,” Vose Galleries,
Boston, Massachusetts.

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. Cc.

One-man exhibition, Milch Galleries, New York. Oils and_ pastels.
First Prize, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio. Oil.

Recipient of Guggenheim Fellowship Grant. Spent year abroad visit-
ing 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.

Invited as visiting lecturer, Richmond University Area, Virginia.
Lectured at: University of Virginia, College of William and ae
Randolph Macon College, University of Richmond, Mary Wash-

ington College. :
Resigned as Director of Art, Friends’ Central Country Day School,

Overbrook, Pennsylvania. ; “
Exhibition (small), East Carolina College, Greenville, North Caro-

lina. Oils and pastels.

One-man exhibition, The Pennsylvania State University. Oils and
pastels.

Represented in “250 Years of Art in Pennsylvania,” The Westmore-
land County Museum of Art, Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

Exhibition of pastels, flowers and still-life, The Woodmere Gallery,
Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania.

Elected Honorary Member, International Institute of Arts and Letters.
New

Awarded Brevoort—Eickemeyer Prize, Columbia University,
York. (Awarded for first time in 1960).

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

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.

CATALOG

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Woman Witn Cat
Oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches
1923. Signed upper left: Pittman
Lent by The Pennsylvania Academy
of The Fine Arts, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania

1. A Group or Earty Works
Watercolors and Drawings
Lent by the Artist

. FouNTAIN AT VERSAILLES
i 16 inches
3. Porrrair or MILpRED Oil on Cave 2x) Lee: sc ad
Oil on canvas, 16 x 12 inches 1928. Signed lo
1925 Pittman ven
Lent by the Artist Lent by the Artis

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

5. STREET IN FLORENCE
Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches
1928. Signed lower right: Hobson
Pittman
Lent by the Artist

. VENICE
Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches
1928. Signed lower right: Pittman
Lent by the Artist

Nine P. M.
Oil on canvas, 16 x 22 inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition: Torla's Fair, 1939,
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 1955; New York World’s Fair, 1939,
Inc.; The Walker Galleries, New York, New York
. Man REstTING sar) 4 apn “Lent by the Phillips Collection, Washington, D. C.
Oil on canvas, 16 x 18 inches Fey :
1929

Lent by the Artist

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Tue Wwow
Oil on canvas, 15 x 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 ine
Collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New Yor!

 

9. THE Gossrrs
Oil on canvas, 30 x 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)

 

 
 

 

 

 

. Earty Spring

Oil on canvas, 32 x 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)

- THe Lovers

Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches

Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman

Exhibition: 5 aintings,” 1940; Norfolk
“Second Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary EET EMENS Ear ce a 1948; “From
Museum of Arts and Sciences, 1947; “Exhibition of Sates a err Cena
Southern Museum Collections,” The Mint Museum, Charlotte,
1949 attr

Ht ; inia
Collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virgi
(The John Barton Payne Fund, 1940)

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. BirTH OF SPRING
Oil on canvas, 38 x 53 inches

1938-62. Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:

The Art Association of Newport, 37th Annual Exhibition, 1948; Corcoran Bien-
nial, 1945

Lent by the Artist

House IN THE COUNTRY

Oil on canvas, 19 x 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)

 

 
 

 

16. SOUTHERN SPRING

Oil on canvas, 311% x 46 inches

19388. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman

Exhibition:
“Hobson Pittman,’’ Walker Gallery, New York, 1938; “16th June Show,” Cleve-
land Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, 1940; “Contemporary American Art,”
Swope Art Gallery, Terre Haute, Indiana, 1942; “Artists for Victory,” Metro-
politan Museum of Art, New York, 1943, Cat. p. 93 “Museum's Choice,” Art
Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, 1945

Reference:
Art Digest, April 1, 1942, p. Il

Lent by Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio

(Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund, 1943)

. THE SPINSTER

Oil on canvas, 191% x 2714 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)

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

17. WINTER AND RosEs
Oil on canvas, 27 x 3414 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. 18. SUMMER EVENING
Oil on canvas, 30 x 231% 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)

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

19. THE Gossips
Pastel, 20 x 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

20. Nosratcic SCENE ;
Oil on canvas, 30 x 3614 inches :
1940-1950. Signed lower right: Hobson Pittman

Lent by the Artist

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. Muss Par AND Miss Eva Lyon

Oil on canvas, 30 x 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 Caro-
lina, 1946

Reference:

Art Digest (reproduced on cover), July, 1944; Life (reproduced) , February, 1945;
Cincinnati Art Museum catalogue (reproduced), 1945; American Artist (repro-
duced), 1945; Art Digest; July 1, 1944, p- 8; American Artist, September, 1945,
p- ll

Lent by Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, Memphis, Tennessee

21. THe Mope.
Oil on panel, 13 x 1814 inches
1942. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. William L. Van Alen,
Edgemont, Pennsylvania

 

 
 

 

 

 

23. YELLOW Roses

Pastel, 13 x 20 inches
1945. Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
The Woodmere Gallery, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania
Lent by Mrs. C. Newbold Welsh, Ardmore, Pennsylvania

. Tue Music Room
Pastel, 1734 x 2334 inches
Ca. 1946. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mrs. William Thomas Tonner, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

. Tse Burrer

Oil on canvas, 32 x 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

25. InTERIOR—Pompion (PuUNKIN) Hitt CHAPEL
Pastel, 145% x 1914 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

 

26. ViEW FROM THE PorcH
Oil on panel, 12 x 16 inches
1947. Signed lower left: To sister
from Hobson Jan. ‘47
Lent by Mrs. G. Earle Weeks, Tar-
boro, North Carolina

 

 
 

 

. Furr Moon
Oil on panel, 301% x 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

. Two SIsTERs
Oil on canvas, 20 x 30 inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry R.
Luce, New York, New York

 

 

 
30. Tue View
32. CHALICE

ane, Eats eects Pastel, 914 x 1134
e ight: .
pe ig rae oe 1948. Signed ae left: H. P.
Dalton, Charlotte North Cie: a Lent by Mrs. C. Newbold Welsh,
na :
Ardmore, Pennsylvania

. Hoxmay INTERIOR
Oil on panel, 22 x 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

31. OLp Main

Oil on panel, 1614 x 23 inches
Lent by Mr. and Mrs, Harry L.

Dalton, Charlotte, North Carolina

 

 

 

 
 

35. Tur Op PAINTER
Oil on panel, 1714 x 214% inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. William Welsh, Bryn
Mawr, Pennsylvania

. DYING FLOWERS
Pastel, 1134 x 1814 inches
1950. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
The Woodmere Gallery, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania
Lent by Mrs. C. Newbold Welsh, Ardmore, Pennsylvania

34. ConvVALESCENCE

Watercolor, 1634 x 2234 inches
Signed lower right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Phillips Collection,
Washington, D. CG,

 

 

 

 
37. Poppirs
Pastel, 24 x 19 inches

1950. Signed lower left: Hobson
Pittman

Lent by Mr. and Mrs. R. Barclay
Scull, Villanova, Pennsylvania

38. Quiet SUMMER
Oil on canvas, 24 x 42 inches
me 53 snnsylvania Academy of the
PN Academy of Design, (Saltus Medal), 1953; Pennsylvania Academy
Fine Arts, 48th Annual Exhibition, 1953 ‘
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York, New Yor

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

40. MANTEL ARRANGEMENT
Oil on canvas, 30 x 46 inches
1954. Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:

“Mid-Year Show” (purchase prize),

Youngstown, Ohio, 1955
Lent by the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio

Butler Institute of American Art,

 

39. VEILED Bouguer
ee on canvas, 25 x 80 inches
igned upper right: Hob: i
Exhibition: Z ecard
“The Twenty-thi ienni
y-third Biennial Exhibiti
“Traveling Exhibiti See ike Clow
eee ition of Selections from the T. ae Gallery of Art, 1953;
ederation of Arts, 1958-1054 wenty-third Biennial Exhibiti ,
,. : ion,”

Century,” Jacksonvil “an :
, 1 e Sec B
ille Art Museum, Jacksonville ee ee of the 20th
s » 6; Columbus Mu-

seum of Arts and Crafts Four Centur: es oO lower Paintin,
nd Crafts, Columbus, 1957; our Cen
£ Flower Pa 1B

With Flower Arran:
ements,”
In the collection of ne eee Gall f ea Fort Worth m
abery of Art, Washin: ae ee
, gton, D. C.

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

42. POMEGRANATES AND WHITE PLATE
Oil on panel, 11 x 24 inches aes
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New
York, New York

. StupIO IN CHARLESTON

Oil on canvas, 1914 x 333% inches FLowers IN A WuitE Cup :
Exhibition: Pastel, 1134 x 18 inches (sight meas-

“A Faculty Exhibition,” Philadelphia, urement) 6 a
y, Charleston, South Signed upper left: Hobson Pittmar
* Butler Institute of American Art,

The Pennsylvania Academ
1960, Cat. No. 92; “As Others See Us,”

Carolina, 1961, Cat. No. 8; Exhibition:
Youngstown, Ohio, 1954
Lent by the North Carolina Museum of Ar

y of the Fine Arts,
Gibbs Art Galler
“Mid-Year Show,’

Woodmere Art Gallery, Philadel-
t, Raleigh, North Carolina
(Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Clark, Miss

phia, Pennsylvania aan
Nan Clark and Mr. D. Russell Clark, Lent by Mrs. Dunham Higgins,
Tarboro, North Carolina)

adelphia, Pennsylvania

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

44. Tue PAINTER 7 . Poppies
Oil on panel, 16 x 12 inches . has Oil on panel, 1714 x 13% inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman ‘ Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New ‘ ie Lent by the Milch Galleries, New
York, New York i : York, New York

. STUDIO IN CHARLESTON
Oil on panel, 11 x 20 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman = i = . Poppigs AND SHELLS

Lent by the Milch Galleries, New Oil on canvas, 26 x 18 inches
York, New York Lent by the Milch Galleries, New

York, New York

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. THREE Lapies IN HALLWAY
Oil on canvas, 1614 x 2414 inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Harry L.
Dalton, Charlotte, North Carolina

 

48. INTERIOR
Oil on canvas, 3434 x 4814 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman

Lent by the Milch Galleries, New
York, New York

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

51. Conversation No. II :
Oil on panel, 25 x 39 inches :
Signed lower left: Hobson padi,
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Thoma:
Huber, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania

50. SUMMER EvENING

Oil on canyas, 24V4 x 363% inches

Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Harry L.
Dalton, Charlotte, North Carolina

 
52. AZzALEA GARDEN
Oil on panel, 4414 x 331% inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman

Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry R.
Luce, New York, New York

. REFLECTIONS
Oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition: ; ee Pin ae
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, Mid-year Show, 1957
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York, New York

53. MEPKIN BY THE River IN Moonuicur
Oil on panel, 264% x 1614 inches
Signed lower right: Hobson Pittman

Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry R.
Luce, New York, New York

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

. STILL LirE—PEACHES

 

 

 

 

Pastel, 181% x 15 inches

Ca. 1955. Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. Breyer, Jr.
Haverford, Pennsylvania

. INTERIOR WITH ORANGE SCREEN
Oil on canvas, 34 x 27 inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New
York, New York

 
 

 

 

 

 

58. YELLow CHAIR
Qil on canvas, 301% x 4014 inches
Signed lower right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. James Hall,
Lumberton, North Carolina

 

. Smite Lire Wire Borrie
Pastel, 19 x 12 inches

1955. Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. R. Barclay Scull,
Villanova, Pennsylvania

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

. Music Room
Oil on canvas, 30 x 36 inches
1955-1962. Signed upper right: Hob-
son Pittman
Lent by the Artist

 

(opposite)

60. INTERIOR WiTH FLOWERS
Oil on canvas, 441% x 30 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition: \
“Annual Exhibition,” National
Academy of Design, 1960
Lent by the Milch Galleries, New
York

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

62. Lipo aT Ostia #1
Watercolor, 8 x 12 inches
1956. Signed upper left: Hobson
Pittman

Lent by the Artist

 

63. Lipo ar Ostia #3
Watercolor, 8 x 12 inches
1956. Signed upper left: Hobson
Pittman
Lent by the Artist

. SuNLIT Winpow
Oil on canvas, 4914 x 5734 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

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

64. Lipo ar Ostia #6
Watercolor, 8 x 12 inches
Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman,
September, 1956
Lent by the Artist

65. Lipo at Ostia #7
Watercolor, 8 x 12 inches
1956. Signed upper right: Hobson
Pittman
Lent by the Artist

66. LAwN SceNE WiTH TABLE AND CHAIRS
Oil on panel, 18 x 185% inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Harry L.
Dalton, Charlotte, North Carolina

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

69. Poppies 1N PEWTER CONTAINER
Pastel, 1714 x 1234 inches (sight
measurement)

Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Exhibition:
The Pennsylvania. Academy of the
Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsyl-
yania; Woodmere Art Gallery,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lent by Mrs. Dunham Higgins, Phil-
adelphia, Pennsylvania

67. Rosrs IN WuitE VAsE WITH PEACHES
Pastel, 171% x 13 inches
Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist

70. Grapes IN A WuiTe Cup
Pastel, 10 x 121% inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist

 

 

68. A PEAR AND A PEACH :
Pastel, 9 x 12 inches “4 ei ‘ 71. PoppiEs IN A VASE
pee upper left: Hobson Pittman By ed ha f Pastel, 181% x 12 inches
ent by the Artist rn Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman

Lent by the Artist

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

72. StiLL Lire WITH PEARS AND

Goosrserrigs No. II

Pastel, 18 x 241% inches

Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mrs. William Thomas
Tonner, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

. PEARS IN A WHITE PLATE

Pastel, 2414 x 17 inches

Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by M. Knoedler & Co., Inc.
New York

. Fruir AND FLOWERS

Pastel, 2414 x 1414 inches

Signed lower right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by M. Knoedler & Co., Inc.,
New York

75. FLOATING PETALS

Pastel, 253% x 1814 inches

Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by M. Knoedler & Co., Inc.,
New York

. FRurr AND Rose PETALS

Pastel, 2414 x 1814 inches

Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by M. Knoedler & Co., Inc,
New York

. NECTARINES AND PLUMS

Pastel, 231% x 1414 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by M. Knoedler and Co., Inc.,

New York

 
 

78. INTERIOR WiTH YELLow CHAIRS

Oil on panel, 9 x 151% inches

1958. Signed upper left: Hobson
Pittman

Exhibition:
“Instructors Exhibition,” Philadel-
phia Museum of Art, Philadelphia;
Women’s Cosmopolitan Club, Phil-
adelphia

Reference:
Reproduced for Slide Library, Phil-
adelphia Museum of Art, Philadel-
phia

Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Walter F.

Young, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

. Mrxep Bouqurr
Pastel, 18 x 12 inches

Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
"58

Exhibition:
Woodmere Art Gallery, Philadel-
phia, Pennsylvania, 1959
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry W.
Breyer, Jr., Haverford, Pennsylvania

81.

80. Strict Lire — Roses

Pastel, 1114 x 1734 inches
Ca. 1958. Signed upper left: Hobson

Pittman
Lent by the Florence Museum,

Florence, South Carolina

NECTARINES AND PLums No. II
Pastel, 25 x 30 inches

1959. Signed upper right: Hobson
Pittman, July, ’59

Lent by M. Knoedler & Co., Inc.,
New York

 
84. THREE PEACHES ON A CLOTH
Pastel, 9 x 12 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist

82. FLOWERs

Watercolor, 73% x 45% inches
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Ben F.
Williams, Raleigh, North Carolina

- FLOWERS IN THREE VASES
Pastel, 20 x 25 inches

Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist

85. ENTR’ACTE
Oil on canvas, 22 x 22 inches

Exhibition:
Butler Institute of American Art, 1961, Mid-year Show

Lent by the Milch Galleries, New York, New York

 

 
 

Mics Tibia,

87. SuMMER Roses No. 1
Oil on panel, 30 x 40 inches 2
1959-60. Signed upper right: Hobson Fittman’ a
Lent by Mrs. Donald Alexander, San Antonio, Texas

86. Tuxies WitH Vases
Oil on panel, 30 x 42 inches
Ca. 1960-61. Signed upper right: Hobson Pittman
Reproduced in color on cover
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. Breyer, Ju,
Haverford, Pennsylvania

 

 
 

 

 

beabons Piha he

89. Fruits AND PETALS
Pastel, 1914 x 25 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist

88. SoUTHERN StupIo
Oil on canvas, 32 x 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

90. View From ELEANOR THACHER’S
Watercolor, 734 x 91/4 inches
1961. Signed lower left: Hobson

Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Ben F.
Williams, Raleigh, North Carolina

 

 

 

 
 

92. FLOWERs IN A GLass
Pastel, 25 x 19 inches
Signed upper left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist

. SUMMER BouQuET
Pastel, 28 x 33 inches
1962. Signed upper left: Hobson

Pittman
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. George S.

Zoretich, University Park, Pennsyl-
vania

91. SUMMER PLEASURES
Oil on panel, 48 x 56 inches
Exhibition:
American Exhibition, Pennsylvania
Academy of the Fine Arts, 1962
Signed lower left: Hobson Pittman
Lent by the Artist

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

95. A Group or LATER Works
Watercolors, Drawings and Pastels
Lent by the Artist

94. Turies Numser II, 1962
Oil on panel, 30 x 42 inches
Lent by the Artist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 OWNING
WORKS BY HOBSON PITTMAN

The Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, Ilinois

Miss Mary Adair, Johnstown, Pennsylvania

M Katherine Adams, Bryn Mawr, Pennsyl-
vania

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, Pennsyl-
vania

Mr. and Mrs. Russell Bleakley, Ardmore, Penn-
sylvania

Miss Rebecca Boyle, Hazleton, Pennsylvania

Mrs. Henry Breyer, Sr., Jenkintown, Pennsyl-
vania

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Breyer, Jr., Haverford,
Pennsylvania

Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, Memphis, Ten-
nessee

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, Penn-
sylvania

Mr. and Mrs. Albert Christ-Janer, Brooklyn,
New York

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Clifford, Radnor, Pennsyl-
vania

Miss Mary Cochlin, Mechanicsburg, Pennsyl-
vania

Mr. and Mrs, James Collins, Haverford, Pennsyl-
vania

Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.

M. Frangois Couillard, Saulzais le Potier, France

Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills,
Michigan

Miss Lucy Cherry Crisp, Florence, South Caro-
lina
Mrs. June Crunick, York, Pennsylvania
Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. Dalton, Charlotte, North
Carolina
r. and Mrs. Meyer Davis, New York, New York
Natalie De Marco, Bryn Mawr, Pennsyl-

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, Penn-
sylvania

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, Penn-
sylvania

Miss Betty Greenfield, St. Louis, Missouri

Mr. Paul Griffith, Philadelphia, Pen ania

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
. Dunham Higgins, Chestnut Hill, Pennsyl-

ania

Mr, and Mrs. Thomas Huber, Gladwyne, Penn-
ylvania

Mr. and Mrs. Francis Hyslop, University Park,
Pennsylvania

Mrs. Dorothy C. Jack, Haverford, Pennsylvania

Mrs. Sam Jaffe, Beverly Hills, California

Mr, Oliver B. Jam ew 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, Cali-
fornia

Mr. and Mrs. James P. Magill, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania

Mr. and Mrs. Walter Campbell McAdoo, Jr
Rome, Italy

Dr. and Mrs. Norman MacFarland, Paoli, Penn-
sylvania

Mr. and Mrs, John w. Merriam, Wynnewood,
Pennsylvania

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New
York

Mr. and Mrs. Dan Miller, Philadelphia, Penn-
sylvania

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, Pennsyl-
vania

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, Penn-
sylvania

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Rae, Radnor, Pennsyl-
vania

Miss Elizabeth Rees, Rosemont, Pennsylvania

Mr. Glen Ruby, State College, Pennsylvania

Mrs. Margaret Sanger, Tucson, Arizona

Mrs. Gertrude Scandrett, Pittsburgh, Pennsyl-
vania

Mr. and Mrs, Barclay Scull, Villanova, Pennsyl-

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. GC.

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, Pennsyl-
vania

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, Vir-
ginia

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 Caro-
lina

Dr. and Mrs. H. E, Weeks, Tarboro, North
Carolina

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Welsh, Haverford, Penn-
sylvania

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, Michi-
gan

Mr. and Mrs. Walter Young, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania

Mr. and Mrs. George S. Zoretich, University
Park, Pennsylvania

 

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

OPE
NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART

Governor Terry Sanford —-
Mrs. Charles B. Aycock -

Charles F. Carroll

Egbert L. Davis, Jr.

Edwin Gill —

Robert Lee Humbe

nti, Wailing
Mrs. Charles Kistler

Ralph CG. Price —

Mrs. James Semans -._.__..

Mrs. Arthur W. Levy, Jr.

Henry L. Bridges

STAFF OF THE MUSEUM

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Ben F. Williams Saale
Charles W. Stanford, Jr. -
Gay M. Hertzman -
William T. Beckwith
Stella Suberman

Georgia Fuller
William A. M

Evelyn D. O'Neal -
thristie McLeod —

Edith B. Johnson
Frank L. Manly

Hans H

Branton L. Olive

James R. Hampton ~

Raleigh
Kinston
Raleigh
Winston-Salem
Raleigh
Greenville
_ Raleigh
ayetteville
Greensboro
Durham
Raleigh
Raleigh
Randleman

Director

General Curator
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rar-Librarian

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_ Curatorial Secretary
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as ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED COPIES
PRINTED JANUARY 1963
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