With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Arnold Blanch
Painting/Drawing
1896 – 1968
A Modernist artist, Blanch created a WPA mural for the Belden Avenue Post Office in Norwalk.
- Biography/Description of Work
Arnold Blanch hailed from Minnesota, but moved to New York City after World War I to study at the Art Students League. From John Sloan, Robert Henri, Kenneth Hayes Miller and Boardman Robinson he learned and imbued his work with a social realist style. By 1923 he had moved to Woodstock, New York, where there was a nascent art colony. Though Blanch apparently did not live in Connecticut, he worked on various WPA mural projects in the 1930s, including in Norwalk.
- Sources view
- Uconn database, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Blanch, http://www.askart.com/askart/b/arnold_a_blanch/arnold_a_blanch.aspx, http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/arnold-blanch-papers-6760, http://www.gf.org/fellows/1362-arnold-blanch, http://dwigmore.com/blanch.html, https://livingnewdeal.berkeley.edu/projects/post-office-mural-norwalk-ct/, http://adamtamskyfineart.com/?page_id=2315, http://www.dwigmore.com/blanch.html Arnold Blanch Article - New York Times - 1932-4-9, Arnold Blanch Article - New York Times - 1954-5-11, Arnold Blanch Obituary - New York Times - 1968-10-24
- Associated Resource(s)