My Covid Classic – #19

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

Last month, The Wandering Art Historian book club met to discuss Modern Art by Evelyn Toynton.

I really enjoyed this book despite it being a sort of 20th century Greek tragedy. There are a bunch of tragic men and tragic women and they are all suffering and it is mostly due to their own life choices. Actions have consequences and sometimes those consequences can haunt a person for the rest of their lives.

While this book is entirely a work of fiction, the characters are drawn directly from real life events. The main character is an aging painter who was married to a so-called “genius” Abstract Expressionist artist with an alcohol addiction who died in a terrible car crash.

Sound familiar?

The author does a wonderful job at retelling these well-known art historical events by shifting the focus away from the Jackson Pollock-esque character and making the Lee Krasner-like character the driving force (no pun intended) of the story. By doing this, the author offers a woman’s perspective on art, marriage, suffering and legacy from the woman who actually lived it… sort of.

Preparing for this book club discussion also gave me so much joy because I was able revisit the actual genius that is Lee Krasner. I spent a lot of time looking at old photographs of her and thinking to myself, “She must have been one of the toughest women of the 20th century.”

It was the old photographs of Lee Krasner that inspired my most recent #CovidClassic…

Left: Lee Krasner in her New York studio, ca. 1939, photograph by Maurice Berezov

Right: Adrienne H. Lee in her Florida studio, 2021, photograph by Shawn Michael Lee

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I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.