Scenes of American Labor

F

or years, I have assembled paintings byAmericans of Americans putting this country together. It has been my own private labor of love. Perhaps it was watching men and women in the fields of New Mexico, or thinking of my grandmother in Dunkirk during the Great Depression working in a shop full of seamstresses, or working alongside my father as we built or added to our houses in California. I have always loved labor: the sweat of it, the motion of it, the product of it.

When I was younger I could not help but enjoy the art of Thomas Hart Benton and John Stuart Curry featuring men and women, like human vortices, churning raw land, raw iron, raw wood into the sustenance of life. Who would ever forget the simple honesty of Grant Wood’s “American Gothic?” A fine friend of mine argues that I am a brainwashed victim of the American work ethic. Whether it is true or not does not matter. I love my work. I was a carpenter, who became a teacher, who became an engineer, who retired to the profession of dealing in art. I have loved it all.

For me, one of the greatest moments in American Art was during the 1930’s when Roosevelt championed the unemployed artists of this country to “show America getting back on its feet.” This was the creed of WPA artists as they featured the swing of the hammer, the hum of industry, the muscle of human toil.

Labor as a subject matter has never lost its charm for us. Through every movement, American artists have found a way to incorporate labor’s effort. This Sullivan Goss exhibition documents the American worker’s efforts from the late 1800’s to today. The weave of our national fabric is obvious within these paintings. Polish, Irish, Mexican, African, English and all the others have left their mark through toil.

Without their effort there is not one skyscraper, not a cleaned hotel, not food on the table, not a soul to our country.

C O V E R : Check Out by John Nava 2 0 0 5 | 6 3 x 6 3 inches | oil on canvas over board

- Frank Goss

JOHN D A V I E S ( 1 9 0 1 - 1 9 6 5 ) Reporting To Work c. 1930 | 27.5 x 17.25 i n c h es | o i l o n a r t i s t ’ s c a n v a s b o a r d

GEORGE WAS H I N G T O N S M I T H ( 18 7 9 - 1 9 3 0 ) M o n t e r e y F is h e r m e n c. 1916 | 3 3 x 4 0 i n c h es | o i l o n b o a r d

ANDER S A L D R I N ( 1 8 8 9 - 1 9 7 0 ) Man with Shovel 1927 | 30 x 2 2 i n c h es | o i l o n c a n v a s

RICHARD HAINES San F r a n c i s c o , D a y s o f ‘ 4 9 c.193 8 | 7 x 2 5 i n c h es | e g g t e m p e r a o n b o a r d

RICHARD HAINES (1906-1984) R e b u i l d i n g F r o m t h e G r e a t E a rt h q u a k e c . 1 93 8 | 6 . 7 5 x 4 5 . 5 i n c h es | e g g t e m p e r a o n b o a r d

RICHARD HAINES Bay Fer r y T e r m i n a l M u r a l S t u d y c.193 8 | 7 x 21 i n c h es | e g g t e m p e r a o n b o a r d

GUNT H E R G E R Z S O ( 1 9 1 5 - 2 0 0 0 ) Work e r w i t h U n i o n F l a g c.193 9 | 1 1 x 8 . 5 i n c h es | p e n c i l o n p a p e r

J O H N BE R N H A R D T ( 1 9 2 1 - 1 9 6 3 ) The Fallen Man c . 1 9 5 0 s | 1 0 . 7 5 x 1 4 . 5 i n c h es | l i t h o g r a p h , # 1 / 3

ANDER S A L D R I N ( 1 8 8 9 - 1 9 7 0 ) Study for Mu r a l - L o s A n g e l e s P o s t O f f i c e I c. 1935 | 6.63 x 3 6 . 1 5 i n c h es | o i l o n p a n e l

ANDER S A L D R I N ( 1 8 8 9 - 1 9 7 0 ) Study for Mur a l - L o s A n g e l e s P o s t O f f i c e I I c. 1935 | 10.1 3 x 3 6 . 1 3 i n c h es | o i l o n p a n e l

MILLAR D S H E E T S ( 1 9 0 7 - 1 9 8 9 ) Indians Fishin g C i e l i l o F a l l s - Co l u m b i a R i v e r 1950 | 22 x 3 0 i n c h es | w a t e r c o l o r o n p a p e r

DAN L U T Z ( 1 9 0 6 - 1 9 7 8 ) Los Hua c h i n a n g o s ( R ed S n a p p e r) 195 4 | 40 x 5 0 i n c h es | o i l o n c a n v a s

RICHAR D H A I N E S ( 1 9 0 6 - 1 9 8 4 ) Net M e n d e r s - T h r e e W o r k e r s 195 0 | 22 x 3 2 i n c h es | o i l o n b o a r d

EMIL K O S A , J R . ( 1 9 0 3 - 1 9 6 8 ) Mural Study fo r L o c k h e e d A i r c r a f t C o r p o r a t i o n 1954 | 20.63 x 2 2 . 6 3 i n c h es | g o u a c h e o n p a p e r

STEVE HUSTON Carting It Off 2005 | 24 x 3 6 i n c h es | o i l o n p a n e l

STEVE HUSTON Waiting 2005 | 36 x 24 i n c h es | o i l o n p a n e l

DA N Mc C L E A R Y Tanya 2004 | 36.5 x 4 4 . 5 i n c h es | o i l o n c a n v a s

ALIA EL-BERMANI Music Maker 2 0 0 5 | 2 0 x 1 6 i n c h es | o i l o n p a n e l

SHIBA WARD Deliciosos Helados 200 5 | 10 x 8 i n c h es | o i l o n b o a r d

J ON F R A N C I S Have Skill, Will Travel 2 0 0 5 | 2 4 x 2 0 i n c h es | o i l o n c a n v a s

J OE P A S T O R R a i s i n g W al l s 2 0 0 5 | 1 6 x 1 2 i n c h es | o i l o n c a n v a s o v e r b o a r d

ROBIN GOWEN In the Bucket 20 0 5 | 14 x 1 1 in c h es | o i l o n c a n v a s

W A Y NE LACOM R e f i nery Worker 2 0 0 5 | 14 x 21 inches | watercolor on paper

JAY MERCADO G r a p e H a r v e s t #2 2005 | 48 x 4 8 i n c h es | o i l o n c a n v a s

HANK PITCHER 1 9 6 8 J o h n D e e r e # 4 0 2 0 a t S e d ge w i c k 2 0 0 4 | 1 5 . 8 8 x 3 7 . 5 i n c h es | o i l o n c a n v a s o v e r b o a r d

R A Y CUEVAS T h e Flower Pickers II 2 0 0 4 | 11 x 14 inches | oil on artist’s canvas b o a r d

RAY CUEVAS The Flower Pickers 2 0 0 4 | 1 1 x 1 4 i n c h es | o i l o n a r t i s t ’ s c a n v a s b o a r d

JACK R. SMITH Taos Diner 2005 | 10 x 1 0 i n c h es | b l a c k o i l o n c o p p e r

ARTISTS FEATURED: ANDERS ALDRIN • BO BARTLETT • ROBERT CLYDE BENTLEY • JOHN BERNHARDT • COLIN CAMPBELL COOPER RAY CUEVAS • JOHN DAVIES • ALIA EL-BERMANI • PAMELA ENTICKNAP • JON FRANCIS • RICHARD HAINES ROBIN GOWEN • STEVE HUSTON • EMIL KOSA, JR. • WAYNE LACOM • BETTY LANE • DAN LUTZ • DAN McCLEARY JAY MERCADO • BEN MESSICK • JOHN NAVA • R. KENTON NELSON • JOE PASTOR • BEN SHAHN MILLARD SHEETS • GEORGE WASHINGTON SMITH • JACK R. SMITH • SHIBA WARD HOWARD WARSHAW • BERNARD BARUCH ZACKHEIM • MARCO ZIM

JOHN D A V I E S ( 1 9 0 1 - 1 9 6 5 ) Stevenson Street 1931 | 22 x 2 6 i n c h es | o i l o n m a s o n i t e

We are staying open late to welcome artists, collectors, and interested community members to come explore this exhibit. The night will feature a chance for good conversation, refreshments, and a no host bar. Please join us.

Sullivan Goss

Prsrt Std. U.S. Postage PAID Santa Barbara, CA Permit No. 553

AN AMERICAN GALLERY

7 East Anapamu Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101 (805) 730-1460 TO LEAR N M O R E , P L E A S E V I S I T U S O N T HE WEB: www.sull i v a n g o s s . c o m / e x hi b i t s / a m e r i c a n l a b o r .asp

DAN & ARLO

NAMINGHA Recent Works SEPTEMBER - NOVEMBER, 2005 An exhibit of contemporary Native American sculptors, Dan & Arlo Namingha.

Dan Namingha’s work will also be on exhibit in “Native American Contemporary Art” at the Jewish Community Center.

Their event is consponsored by: The Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara and O.U.R.S./SB Native Arts Guild