Welcome to the May/June issue of American Fine Art Magazine, perhaps my favorite of the year. I’ve been asking myself why that is. I know it’s because it contains our annual special section, the Modernist Perspective, but why does modernism appeal to me on such a visceral level?

It is different than saying you favor impressionism or the Hudson River School painters or Abstract Expressionism because, unlike these genres, which likely conjure up similar images of style and subject in all our minds’ eyes, modernism is not cohesive in terms of either. 

It encompasses realism and abstraction, and took on unique expressions based on region, race, class and gender. As you will see and learn about in these pages, the form modernist artworks took splintered into directions as manifold as the artists’ experiences of the world around them.

Modernism does not have a tidy historical timeline either. It is often said that the 1913 Armory Show marked the dawn of modernism in America (that might be the most concrete fact for us to hold onto) but when, precisely, did it end? If one vague definition, that modernism was a reaction to 20th-century America, holds up, aren’t artists continuing that tradition in the 21st century? 

I know why I’m drawn to artwork categorized as modernist. Visually, I particularly love the abstract styles that emerged from the 1930s, works like the one on our cover by Charles Walther (1879-1937), not a household name, but maybe one day he will be. Conceptually, I love that it obstinately resists definition; and poses more questions—and opportunity for discourse—than answers all wrapped up with a bow. But most of all, and maybe we’re getting somewhere here, I’m drawn to the genre because of its inclusivity. I hope we provide a picture of that in this issue. Join us on Page 49, where we will continue to explore—and celebrate—this delightfully nebulous genre we call modernism.

Sarah Gianelli
Managing Editor
sgianelli@americanartcollector.com

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