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Morris Graves (1910 to present?)

© Jennifer Hollowell

"Morris has an important influence on the artworld, however, how Graves' legacy will play out is the $64,000 question." -- Tony Topin, Oak Harbor artist

Finding biographical information and examples of this artist's work has proven to be very challenging. What I have been able to dig up, however, really is quite interesting. I have very specific taste when it comes to my enjoyment and appreciation for art. I crave sharp attention to detail, structured works with slight focuses on a mixture of what is real and what is surreal. After viewing his work for the first time, I learned how he achieved all that through oil painting and sculpture.

Born in 1910 in Fox Valley, Lynn County, Oregon, this mostly self taught artist gathered most of his inspiration from Asian influences and philosophies. With Japan being his primary influence, he adopted certain motifs such as birds, pine tress and waves. His work often contains delicatly created spidery lines much like Islamic caligraphy. You will notice he typically creates a line design on a dark background. A dramatic change occurred in his work from modernist explorations in the 1930's to exquisitly superb still-life's in the 1980's. Success as an artist was not achieved "over night," he struggled for what was over a decade or more.

Graves' historian, Theodore Wolfe, wrote it was his spirituality which set him apart from 20th century modernists creating a "prophet in a culturally foreign land. But it has not, luckily, prevented him from finding fertile ground or from causing others to love his work and respond to it." (You'll have to fogive me, but I can't remember the magazine I found this quote in in order to reference it properly. If I am not mistaken, it may have been ArtsMag.)

This Northwest painter's goal was to show the continuity of all things between art and nature and between artist and universe. He does not imitate nature, rather expresses it's existance. Some of his honors include the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1946 and the Duke and Duchess of Winsor International Art Award ~ he was the first recipient of this award ~ in 1954. Graves became a part of the "Northwest School of Painters" and it presently the only surviving member. Life Magazine named him as one of the "Northwest School of Mystic Painters" along with Anderson, Mark Tobey and Kenneth Callahan in 1953 -- further solidifying his career.