In Ronan’s words, “Cooper, like many of his Californian contemporaries, has been more or less forgotten over the years, ignored by accounts of American art history, which tend to focus on East Coast cities…however, there’s something about Cooper that simply refuses to fade into the background. His canvases are too compelling, too replete with good humor and wild imagination to be ignored.”
While not ignoring his reputation as a drinker and bohemian, Ronan re-situated Cooper as “arguably the most well-known and financially successful painter in California” at the time; beginning in 1890 his works were on tour throughout the country, on display to crowds at locations such as department stores, and fetching more-than-respectable prices. Ronan argues that he was particularly celebrated for his ability to paint illusion, and delighted in “toying with the viewer’s perception.”
Ronan had little idea of the quantity of Cooper artwork in our collection when she came to our Collection Center to view a few of his paintings as part of her research; when she discovered that we hold over 100 of his sketches, some from his childhood, she was able to broaden her scope exponentially. Thanks to several avid Cooper collectors in the Bay Area, in addition to History San José, who loaned paintings to the exhibit, the true variety of Cooper’s work as well as its intriguing relationship to “Mrs. Stanford’s Jewels” is available for inquiring and/or appreciative visitors.
Astley D. M. Cooper and Mrs. Stanford’s Jewels
Through November 16, 2015
Lynn Krywick Gibbons Gallery, Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts
http://museum.stanford.edu/index.html
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