Before modern art arrived in industrial cities like Boston, Chicago and Detroit, the popularity of post-impressionistic art forms surfaced in Cleveland. Henry Adams, professor of American art, explains why modern art’s coming of age occurred in Cleveland rather than other industrial centers in his new book, Painting in Pure Color: Modern Art in Cleveland before the Armory Show, 1908-1913.
Adams will discuss the leading figures of modernist art in Cleveland and sign his book at Wolfs Gallery (12736 Larchmere Blvd.) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25. The event, free and open to the public, also offers an opportunity to view some of the early 20th-century art that Adams references.
The book evolved from last summer’s exhibit, “Pioneering Modernism: Post-Impressionism in Cleveland, 1908-1913,” at the Cleveland Artists Foundation in Lakewood. The event featured work by early 20th-century art pioneers August Biehle, Henry Keller, Abel Warshawsky, Frank Wilcox and Marguerite and William Zorach.
For information about the talk and book signing, contact Adams at henry.adams@case.edu. Books can be purchased at the signing for $25 or at the Cleveland Museum of Art gift shop.