1935.8 Everett Spruce, Swollen Stream


GENERAL DESCRIPTION  
In Swollen Stream, Everett Spruce captures the violence of a Texas spring storm, using clashing angular and spiral forms and a palette of dark, lurid greens. By taking his shapes and colors beyond natural appearances, the artist expresses the emotional effect of nature in its resurgent season.

Everett Spruce was among the young Texas artists in the Allied Arts Exhibition of 1935 who demonstrated a marked independence from the prevailing dogma of American Scene painting, abstracting and personalizing their vision rather than adhering to certifiably "American" styles and narrative themes. 

Adapated from
DMA unpublished material.

NOTES
No audio or video in Piction.
Created in 1935
Checked Object File

Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, "Seventh Annual Allied Arts Exhibition," March 24-April 21, 1935

Exhibition: Lone Star Regionalism: The Dallas Nine and their Circle 1928-1945, February 3, 1985-July 10, 1988

“Another prizewinner was Everett Spruce’s painting, Swollen Stream, which was praised for its ‘vivid, dramatic sense.’” To be sure, Spruce’s style was somewhat removed from that of Dozier or Hogue, in the direction of a more expressive use of brushwork and an even greater reliance on abstract form. Both Spruce and Dozier were to become strong interpeters of nature, and Swollen Stream was a clear, original departure in that direction. Spruce was able to imbue his Texas landscape with an almost elemental quality, which carried it well beyond the colloquial.” 
Lone Star Regionalism Catalogue  P. 53

The young Texas artists in the Allied Arts Exhibition of 1935 demonstrated a marked independence form the prevailing dogma of American Scene painting, abstracting and personalizing their vision rather than adhering to certifiably "American" styles and narrative themes. In Swollen Stream, Spruce captures the violence of a Texas spring storm, using clashing angular and spiral forms in a palette of dark lurid greens. By taking his shape and colors beyond natural appearances, the artist expresses the emotional effect of nature in its resurgent season.

label from the Dallas Nine folder in the Education files/current public notes


Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Cultures

Geography 
Depicted location and place of origin: Dallas (Texas/United States): TGN: 7013503

Process/materials
Oil on Masonite

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms

RELATED OBJECTS 

PROVENANCE 
Before 1935: Everett Spruce [1]
From 1935: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Sanger Brothers Purchase Prize, Seventh Annual Dallas Allied Arts Exhibition, purchased from the artist. [2]

[1] The main source for this provenance was existing information in TMS (in Dallas Museum of Art Digital Collections Records Object Files). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

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WEB RESOURCES 

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

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Apply to objects where number equals 1935.8

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General Description
 
In Swollen Stream, Everett Spruce captures the violence of a Texas spring storm, using clashing angular and spiral forms and a palette of dark, lurid greens. By taking his shapes and colors beyond natural appearances, the artist expresses the emotional effect of nature in its resurgent season.

Everett Spruce was among the young Texas artists in the Allied Arts Exhibition of 1935 who demonstrated a marked independence from the prevailing dogma of American Scene painting, abstracting and personalizing their vision rather than adhering to certifiably "American" styles and narrative themes. 

Adapated from
DMA unpublished material.

Fun Facts

Archival Resources

Web Resources
 
Notes
No audio or video in Piction.
Created in 1935
Checked Object File

Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, "Seventh Annual Allied Arts Exhibition," March 24-April 21, 1935

Exhibition: Lone Star Regionalism: The Dallas Nine and their Circle 1928-1945, February 3, 1985-July 10, 1988

“Another prizewinner was Everett Spruce’s painting, Swollen Stream, which was praised for its ‘vivid, dramatic sense.’” To be sure, Spruce’s style was somewhat removed from that of Dozier or Hogue, in the direction of a more expressive use of brushwork and an even greater reliance on abstract form. Both Spruce and Dozier were to become strong interpeters of nature, and Swollen Stream was a clear, original departure in that direction. Spruce was able to imbue his Texas landscape with an almost elemental quality, which carried it well beyond the colloquial.” 
Lone Star Regionalism Catalogue  P. 53

The young Texas artists in the Allied Arts Exhibition of 1935 demonstrated a marked independence form the prevailing dogma of American Scene painting, abstracting and personalizing their vision rather than adhering to certifiably "American" styles and narrative themes. In Swollen Stream, Spruce captures the violence of a Texas spring storm, using clashing angular and spiral forms in a palette of dark lurid greens. By taking his shape and colors beyond natural appearances, the artist expresses the emotional effect of nature in its resurgent season.

label from the Dallas Nine folder in the Education files/current public notes


Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Cultures

Geography 
Depicted location and place of origin: Dallas (Texas/United States): TGN: 7013503

Process/materials
Oil on Masonite

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms

RELATED OBJECTS 

PROVENANCE 
Before 1935: Everett Spruce [1]
From 1935: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Sanger Brothers Purchase Prize, Seventh Annual Dallas Allied Arts Exhibition, purchased from the artist. [2]

[1] The main source for this provenance was existing information in TMS (in Dallas Museum of Art Digital Collections Records Object Files). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

AUDIO ASSETS 

VIDEO ASSETS

rules
Apply To
Objects
number
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1935.8
tags
#draft
#completed
%copyedited_Gail
Dallas (Texas/United States): TGN: 7013503
%Archived
oil paint: AAT: 300015050
landscapes (representations): AAT: 300015636
trees (plants): AAT: 300132410
Spruce_Everett Franklin: ULAN: 500041093
rock (inorganic material): AAT: 300011692
@Schiller
*American Art
sky: AAT: 300263064
Masonite (TM): AAT: 300014205
@Russell
Great Depression: DMA
The Dust Bowl: DMA
clouds: AAT: 300343840
leaves (plant components): AAT: 300400479
water: AAT: 300011772
branches (plant components): AAT: 300379798
riverbanks: AAT: 300008729
streams: AAT: 300008699
source file
object_notes_3_c-0029.xml.nores