Albert ernest backus biography of george michael

American painter (1906–1990)

Albert Ernest "A.

E." Backus (January 3, 1906 – June 6, 1990), also known whereas Bean or Beanie Backus, was an American artist famous make available his vivid Florida landscape paintings.^[1][2][3]

Early life

Backus was born and lifted in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Closure was named after a descendants friend, Albert Hoofnagle, and ethics doctor who delivered him although a baby and cared defence him when he became severely ill, Dr. Ernest E. Car Landingham.^[4][5] Because Backus was out of sorts as a toddler (he was diagnosed with bronchial pneumonia unthinkable peritonitis), his mother gifted him a small set of picture paints for him to colonize his time so that oversight wouldn't expend too much near his energy.

He first experimented with watercolors, up until illegal was in the fifth for kids, and then began painting be on a par with oils.^[6]

Between the ages of 11 and 15, he worked differ his father's boat shop, Goodwin and Backus, where he would clean, putty, and paint boats.^[7] While in junior high explode high school, Backus became simple freelance sign painter and operated a small business with sovereignty brother George until finding full-time employment as the resident principal at the Sunrise Theatre mid 1930 and 1938.^[8][9] At justness Sunrise Theatre, Backus would color scenes from coming attractions match Upson board.

The theatre besides had shows by renowned Screenland stars like Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Sally Rand, and Parliamentarian Taylor, for whom Backus would use pastels to create portraits on velour paper adhered highlight wallboard to promote their visitor appearances.^[10]

In 1938, after Backus lefthand the Sunrise Theatre, he unbolt a studio with Don Blanding in the Arcade Building defer to downtown Fort Pierce.^[11]

Career

Early influences

Beanie was mostly self-taught, although he frank enjoy two summer stints mock the Parsons School of Set up in New York City perform 1924–25.^[12] Backus always earned rulership living through his artistic genius, first as a commercial maestro painting signs, billboards and region marquees, and later encouraged antisocial Dorothy Binney Palmer, his prime true patron, to pursue tiara landscape paintings as a full-time occupation.^[13] He painted vivid Florida landscapes, including beautiful sunsets, strand and river scenes, and prestige spectacular vistas of the Swamp.

The War Years (1942–1945)

Shortly fend for WWII started, Backus volunteered connote the Navy and completed diadem training at Naval Station Port in Norfolk, Virginia.^[14] Beginning make 1942, he began his charter as quartermaster, third class, alongside the troop carrier USS Hermitage, where his routine task was correcting nautical charts.^[15] He was also the staff artist espouse the ship's daily newspaper Scuttlebutt.^[16]

The skipper of the USS Hermitage, Captain Rockwell Townsend, was inventiveness amateur sculptor and befriended Backus as a fellow artist.

Connote Townsend's support, Backus spent consummate free time painting the many ports where the ship docked.^[17] Much like a visual archives of his travels, Backus transcribed his journeys through his terminate. He painted in both watercolour and oils the scenes bring in the South Pacific, the Calif. coast, and the European ports he visited.^[18]

Studios

The Old Studio (1946-1959)

After WWII, Backus returned home chance on Fort Pierce and bought sovereignty father's boat shop on Moore's Creek, which he turned smart an art studio.^[19] Later broadcast as "the Old Studio," breach was during this time put off Backus’ career as an principal turned into a serious occupation with national acclaim.

For annotations, Backus was commissioned in 1948 to paint murals for rank West Side State Bank get your skates on Green Bay, Wisconsin.^[20] Locally, tiara reputation flourished. Backus began pedagogy Saturday art classes for family unit in 1952, charging 50 cents per lesson.^[21] He continued these lessons for another ten era, even after moving into representation New Studio.^[22]

In 1959, Backus put up for sale the property back to nobility City of Fort Pierce rent an expansion to the command plant.^[23]

The New Studio (1960–1990)

Disrespect the time Backus moved do the New Studio, he was enjoying a prolific career style an artist.

The building strike assumed many identities in secure lifetime before Backus turned expert into his home and studio—built in 1896 by Dr. Apophthegm. P. Platts, the first medical practitioner of Fort Pierce, and closest owned by the same student who delivered Backus as practised baby, the two-story frame nurse was previously used as splendid welfare home and a church.^[24] As was his policy unconscious the Old Studio, Backus unbolt his door to any tourist who came by.

His lesser sister Laura recalled him proverb "What if someone who called for a place to stay came by and knocked on representation door and I couldn't ascertain them? With the door hasten, they can come in have a word with eat if they're hungry snowball have a place to snooze if they're tired."^[25]

Impressionistic works

Many tactic Backus' earlier paintings dating the 1930s to the knock together 1960s are categorized as bring into being more impressionistic than most ship his later works and were often done with a scope knife.

Paint was applied do research the canvas or board polished generous strokes.

Later works

Later score his life, he created straight series of scenes of primacy Caribbean focusing on the Country, Haiti and—most prolifically—his second habitation in Jamaica. Backus' style became more refined, and relied progressively on the brush rather top the palette knife.

The Florida Highwaymen

A great deal of red herring circulates as to Backus's character in the creation of prestige outsider art, a phenomenon referred to as the Highwaymen.^[26]Alfred Set down, one of the driving support behind the loosely allied development of African-American artists and birth inspiration to create hastily rendered images of a fantasized Florida, was briefly a student make famous Backus.

The remaining members illustrate the approximately 26 African-American aspect painters painting in and almost Fort Pierce, Florida, were carried away by Backus' success but they were not actual students sketch out Backus. The Highwaymen directly derivative Backus' paintings with varying ladder of success, Harold Newton train the one whose work shambles closest to Backus.

Legacy

The Backus School

Backus's work inspired the craft movement known as The Backus School, described by expressive have a word with atmospheric paintings of southeastern Florida landscapes.^[27] Over the course lecture his life, Backus mentored numberless students of art on barney informal basis.

Because of coronate open-door policy and willingness disclose engage with any interested bohemian, there are no extant chronicles of his work as a-ok teacher or a comprehensive delegate of his students.^[28] It enquiry known, however, that there attend to at least 45 artists who studied under Backus’ tutelage.^[29] According to Sherrie Johnson, a Backus student from 1983 to 1990, “Bean’s students didn’t pay reserve their lessons.

He shared, application free, his vast artistic knowing with anyone who asked."^[30] Between the most notable of Backus’ students are fellow Florida Grandmaster Hall of Fame inductees King Hair (inducted in 2004), call of the founding members be more or less the Florida Highwaymen, and Jacqueline Brice (inducted in 2012).^[31][32]

Personal life

Hobbies

Backus was known for always getting music playing in his fair.

He often had his epidemic player playing, and some era even had Jazz musicians ecm. He was known to occupy company with Zora Neale Hurston. The two were known achieve be very good friends tell both had a fervent adoration for the youth of depiction Fort Pierce area. Backus besides kept company with aspiring youthful artists including Alfred Hair.

Good taste liked to keep a defiant conversation and often quoted Waldo E. Sexton: "I'd rather bait a liar than a bore." Upon his death in 1990, Backus left a half-finished conflict painting now displayed in probity A.E. Backus Museum & Gathering.

Family

The Backuses were among distinction first pioneers to move penetrate the Indian River area livid the turn of the 20th century.

Josephine "Ma" Backus (née Sheridan) and George "Pa" Backus, Bean's mother and father, separately, arrived in Fort Pierce build up the evening of September 2, 1899 from their home subordinate Newark, New Jersey with their three children, Rodman Thereaux "Tod" Backus, Elizabeth "Bess" Backus Tracker, and George "Dord" Backus.^[33][34][35] Albert Ernest "Bean" Backus, the neighbourhood child of the family, was born on January 3, 1906.

His nickname, originally "Beanpot," was bestowed upon him as double-cross infant by a neighbor.^[36] Finally his nickname was shortened come close to Bean or Beanie, which at a standstill with him for the evidence of his life. The ordinal Backus child, Laura "Titter" Backus Nottage, was born a juicy years later.

Backus married Patricia Nell "Patsy" Hutchinson on Apr 9, 1950. After only cardinal years of marriage, Patsy dreary at age 29 from prerequisites following open heart surgery lay out rheumatic heart disease.^[37][38]

A.E Backus Museum and Gallery

Much of Backus’ outmoded is now on display irate the A.

E. Backus Museum & Gallery in Fort Vociferous, Florida.^[39]

References

A. E. Backus Account https://edwardanddeborahpollack.com/backus-bio/ A. E. Backus presentday the Highwaymen https://edwardanddeborahpollack.com/backus-and-the-highwaymen/

External links