T. ALLEN LAWSON
Harvest Moon
T. ALLEN LAWSON
Jonathan Cooper 20 Park Walk London SW10 0AQ t: +44 (0)20 7351 0410 mail@jonathancooper.co.uk jonathancooper.co.uk
Harvest Moon
PR EFACE T. Al l e n Laws o n
For the past decade, or so, I have been interested in how other forms of art can influence or inspire works from different disciplines. Over time, it became clear to me that more and more of my inspiration was coming from music, all sorts of music – classic rock ’n’ roll, bluegrass, country, classical, and contemporary. The seed for this exhibition started with a simple conversation with Jonathan Cooper about our mutual love and interest in Neil Young’s 1992 song “Harvest Moon”. I was intrigued by the concept of painting an entire exhibition of paintings connected to music. For the next six months I worked on several paintings that were inspired by the songs, lyrics and melodies from Mr. Young’s album. With excitement for the paintings I had underway, I decided to throw the doors open and explore all kinds of music for my continued inspiration. The exhibition of these thirteen paintings is the result of a little more than three years’ work. Throughout that time I had the privilege of being swept up in the emotional power of music. I hope you will feel some of that emotion in my work and I hope you enjoy the exhibition.
Fields of Gold – Sting
T. Allen Lawson in his studio in Maine, USA, 2023
T. ALLEN L AWS ON Pe y to n Ski pw i t h
Tim Allen Lawson’s paintings are resonant with poetry
crossed Lake Fontana, with only the cow-catcher
and music; the inspiration for some of his musical
between me and eternity.
sources are self explanatory such as Neil Young’s Harvest Moon and Sting’s Fields of Gold, the title of
I was born in a fairly remote part of rural England,
one of the largest and most impressive late summer
though nowadays I am an unashamed city-dweller,
paintings in this exhibition, but the tune that echoed in
but I can still relish Lawson’s love of solitude and his
my mind again and again as I had a privileged pre-view
enjoyment of the landscapes he paints with such
was Sir Hubert Parry’s ‘Repton’, the musical setting for
perception. Although his paintings are bereft of human
that great Congregational Hymn ‘Dear Lord and Father
figures man’s presence is everywhere evident – in the
of mankind‘ with its haunting, and echoing refrain ‘Oh
stubble of Out Here in the Fields and Fields of Gold,
still small voice of calm / Oh still small voice of calm’. The
in the oily puddles of Early Morning – East Yard, and,
words of the hymn were based on a poem, The Brewing
of course, in Home. These settings, and Lawson’s
of Soma, by the nineteenth century American Quaker
renderings of them, are unmistakably American,
abolitionist, John Greenleaf Whittier; author, among
following in the great Regionalist tradition of painters
other works, of Snow-Bound
such Grant Wood and the Wyeths, but also of its writers. Walt Whitman wrote in Song of Myself of the
While the English landscape tends to be intimate and
‘moon that descends the steeps of soughing twilight’
introspective that of North America, with exceptions,
and of hearing the whispering of the stars of heaven
is expansive and extrovert. Over the last fifty or sixty
[Stanza 49], while Faulkner in The Unvanquished
years I have travelled widely in the United States and
makes reference to ‘a thin sickle of moon like the heel
grown to love this boundless expansiveness. Though
print of a boot in wet sand.‘ Not so far removed from
I have only the briefest acquaintance with Lawson’s
that in Lawson’s Sunrise Laughing in which the sun
home state of Maine, I have memories of happy days
may indeed be laughing while in the act of obliterating
and evenings in Vermont in the depths of winter
the previous night’s moon.
enjoying endless vistas of snow-covered hills and mountains. Equally, further south, I have had the thrill,
Washington Irving wrote in The Author’s Account of
and privilege – after traversing the Smoky Mountain
Himself that in ‘no country have the charms of nature
Railway – of riding in front of the engine as it slowly
been more prodigally lavished. Her mighty lakes, like
oceans of liquid silver; her mountains with their bright
Solitude is one of Lawson’s unspoken subjects in many
aerial tints; her valleys teeming with wild fertility; her
of these paintings, most particularly in Alone, but also
tremendous cataracts thundering in their solitudes; her
in such works as Autumn Moon and Sheltering from
boundless plains waving with spontaneous verdure;
the Storm: in this latter it is not man that is sheltering
her broad deep rivers, rolling in solemn silence to the
but the last stragglers of a herd of barely visible black
ocean; her trackless forests, where vegetation puts
cattle. In such circumstances, with storm threatening,
forth all its magnificence; her skies kindling with the
the loneliness of ‘God’s Own Country‘ can become quite
magic of summer clouds and glorious sunshine – no
scary, emphasising the smallness, and helplessness, of
never need an American look beyond his own country
man and beast, in the face of whatever the elements
for the sublime and beautiful of natural scenery.‘ While
may choose to chuck at them. However in Lawson’s
contemplating the group of Lawson’s recent paintings
hands such scenes are distilled and recollected in
assembled here I tried to think of British parallels and
the tranquillity of his studio: his great moons – as
the only name that came into my mind was that of the
in A Full Moon Risin‘ and Alone – are static, they are
Irish artist Paul Henry (1877-1958). The intensity of
never ‘tossed upon cloudy seas’. Like all his work they
the blues in Grey November reminded me of Henry’s
are imbued with an overwhelming sense of calm and
rendering of the distant hills of Connemara; but he too
stillness: a true symbiosis of artist and subject matter.
was a regionalist alive to the beauty of his country’s expansive and, in his day, little populated landscape – glorious in all seasons when the sun shines, but miserable when the mists descend and the rain teems down. Another quality of Lawson’s paintings that strikes me very strongly is the intense feeling of solitude, not in a Wordsworthian way, but in its awesomeness – in that sense of awe inspired by these empty tracts of land beneath equally great expanses of sky. The two combining to emphasise the smallness of man.
Right: Early Morning – East Yard, 2023, plate 3 (detail)
1 S E R E N I T Y, 2 0 2 3
oil on linen mounted on panel 12.75 × 18 in (32.4 × 45.7 cm) (opposite: detail)
2 HOME, 2023
oil on linen mounted on panel 18 × 18 in (45.7 × 45.7 cm) (opposite: detail)
3 E A R LY M O R N I N G – E A S T YA R D , 2 0 2 3
oil on panel 26 × 40 in (66 × 101.6 cm)
4 FIELDS OF GOLD, 2023
oil on linen mounted on panel 36 × 42 in (91.4 × 106.7 cm) (opposite: detail)
5 AUTUMN MOON, 2023
oil on linen mounted on panel 15 × 14 in (38.1 × 35.6 cm) (opposite: detail)
6 GREY NOVEMBER, 2023
Oil on linen mounted on panel 20 × 22 in (50.8 × 55.9 cm) (opposite: detail)
7 OUT HERE IN THE FIELDS, 2023
oil on panel 18.5 × 24 in (47 × 61 cm) (opposite: detail)
8 N I G H T D I V I D E S T H E D AY, 2 0 2 2
oil on panel 26 × 24 in (66 × 61 cm) (opposite: detail)
9 HARVEST MOON, 2023
oil on linen mounted on panel 30 × 38 in (76.2 × 96.5 cm)
10 S H E LT E R F R O M T H E S T O R M , 2 0 2 3
Oil on linen mounted on panel 24 × 22 in (61 × 55.9 cm) (opposite: detail)
11 ALONE , 2023
oil on linen mounted on panel 24 × 22 in (61 × 55.9 cm)
12 A F U L L M O O N R I S I N ’, 2 0 2 3
oil on linen mounted on panel 21 × 24.5 in (53.3 × 62.2 cm) (opposite: detail)
13 SUNRISE L AUGHING, 2023
oil on panel 14 × 14 in (35.6 × 35.6 cm) (opposite: detail)
M Y I NSPI R AT I ON T. Alle n Law s o n
#1
SERENIT Y – Eric Satie, “Gymnopedie No. 1”
#2
HOME – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, “Home”
# 3 E A R LY M O R N I N G , E A S T YA R D – D u k e E l l i n g t o n , “ Ta k e t h e A Tr a i n”
#4 FIELDS OF GOLD – Sting, “Fields of Gold”
Left: Autumn Moon, 2023, plate 5 (detail)
#5
AU T U M N M O O N – L e d Z e p p e l i n , “ R a m b l e O n”
#6
G R E Y N O V E M B E R – Ta y l o r S w i f t a n d B o n I v e r , “ E v e r m o r e ”
#7
A L O N E – Tr a m p l e d B y Tu r t l e s , “A l o n e ”
#8
OUT HERE IN THE FIELDS – T h e W h o , “ Ba b a O ’ R i l e y”
#9
A F U L L M O O N R I S I N ’ – N e i l Yo u n g , “ H a r v e s t M o o n ”
#10
N I G H T D I V I D E S T H E D AY – T h e D o o r s , “ B r e a k o n T h r o u g h ”
#11
H A R V E S T M O O N – N e i l Yo u n g , “ H a r v e s t M o o n ”
#12
S H E LT E R F R O M T H E S T O R M – B o b D y l a n , “ S h e l t e r F r o m t h e S t o r m”
#13
SUNRISE L AUGHING – C a a m p, “ St r a w b e r r i e s”
T. ALLE N L AW S O N
Born
Born in Wyoming, USA, 1963
Education Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, Old Lyme, CT 1987-88 American Academy of Art, Chicago, IL 1984-86
H O N O R S A N D AWA R D S 2022
Robert Lougheed Memorial Artists’ Choice Award, Prix de West, Oklahoma City, OK
2022
Wilson Hurley Memorial Award, Prix de West, Oklahoma City, OK
2021
Spirit of the West Award, Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale, Cody, WY
2020
Red Smith Memorial Award, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY
2019
Donald Teague Memorial Award, Prix de West, Oklahoma City, OK
2019
Spirit of the West Award, Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale, Cody, WY
2017
Prix de West Purchase Award, Prix de West, Oklahoma City, OK
2017
Robert Lougheed Memorial Artists’ Choice Award, Prix de West, Oklahoma City, OK
2016
Directors’ Choice for Outstanding Landscape, Prix de West, Oklahoma City, OK
2016
Robert Lougheed Memorial Artists’ Choice Award, Prix de West, Oklahoma City, OK
2010
Founders’ Prize, Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, Lyme, CT
2006
Golden Thunderbird Award-Best of Show, Maynard Dixon Country, Mt Carmel, UT
2000
Artists’ Choice Award, Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale, Cody, WY
2000
William F. Weiss Purchase Award, Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale, Cody, WY
1999
Jurors’ Choice Award, Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale, Cody, WY
1995
Red Smith Memorial Award, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY
1994
John F. & Anna Lee Stacey Scholarship Grant
S E L E C T E D P U B L I C A N D P R I V AT E C O L L E C T I O N S The Brinton Museum, Big Horn, WY Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, WY George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, Dallas, TX Campbell County Public Library, Gillette, WY Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, ME Forbes Magazine Collection, New York, NY Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello, Charlottesville, VA
National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC The Tia Collection, Santa Fe, NM Wells Fargo Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
SOLO E XHIBITIONS 2021
Sequestered, Page Gallery, Camden, ME
2021
Recollections and Reflections, The Brinton Museum, Big Horn, WY
2019
Mood and Tone: The Art of T. Allen Lawson, Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, GA
2018
Hometown, Sage Community Arts, Sheridan, WY
2017
An American Vision: From Wyoming to Maine, London, England
2014
Neighbors, Simpson Gallagher Gallery, Cody, WY
2011
Growth Rings, Ten High Street Gallery, Camden, ME
2009
Works on Paper, The Easton Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2008
On Home Ground, Simpson Gallagher Gallery, Cody, WY
2007
New Maine Work, Ten High Street Gallery, Camden, ME
2004
Works in Maine, Ten High Street Gallery, Camden, ME
2000
Works on Paper, The Craven Gallery, West Tisbury, MA
1996
Simpson Gallagher Gallery, Washington, D.C.
1996
Cloud Peak and Beyond, The Birger Sandzen Memorial Gallery, Lindsborg, KS
1995
Cloud Peak and Beyond, The Brinton Museum, Big Horn, WY
1995
Signatures in Snow, The Cooley Gallery, Old Lyme, CT
1994
Simpson Gallagher Gallery, Washington, D.C.
1993
A Change in Seasons, Chatham Fine Art, Livingston, MT
1992
Teton Diary, Partners’ Gallery, Jackson, WY
1991
Four Seasons Plaza, Washington, D.C.
1990
Capitol Hill Club, Washington, D.C.
1989
Caucus Room/Russell Senate Building, Washington, D.C.
1987
Four Seasons Plaza, Washington, D.C.
1986
A Western View, Powder River Gallery, Jackson, WY
AF T ER WOR D Jo n athan C o o p e r
During the month of August in 2020, I was listening to a BBC Radio 4 program on Neil Young’s ‘Harvest Moon’. It was about the impact that this ground breaking album made on various individuals at the time of its release around the World. The power of beautiful poetic songs to change people’s lives was moving. I immediately wondered which of my artists was appropriate to capture the romance and beauty of the Harvest Moon. I knew I had that special man, that same afternoon, I phoned Tim Allen Lawson in America and told him about the idea. Tim after all was from North America, the same part of the World as Neil Young and he painted landscapes! Tim’s response was to say the least enthusiastic, he loved the idea and from that moment on he has been on a journey of creativity. Tim loves music in all its various forms, many of his works have been painted whilst listening to music or inspired by a piece of music, there is a strong connection. In this exhibition, which in my opinion touches the stars, we can enjoy this remarkable artists response in all its beauty and simplicity to his subject matter. I am indeed fortunate to be involved, my business has opened many doors and this is one of the most satisfying and it touches my heart.
Left: Harvest Moon, 2023, plate 9 (detail)
This exhibition is in memory of Rosalee and David McCullough
© All Works: T. Allen Lawson © Catalogue: Jonathan Cooper © Introduction: Peyton Skipwith Editor: Melissa Tahar Design: Graham Rees Design Photography of Plates: Douglas Atfield Film still of T. Allen Lawson in his studio: Post Office Editorial, Camden, Maine
Jonathan Cooper