Niles Spencer, "The Green Table"

 

  Some of my readers are painters, but many are simply appreciators of the Art.  Often the big question for the artist is "what shall I paint today". Landscapes, portraits, seascapes, still lifes, self portraits - the list seems endless, however, often the quandary is a listlessness where little provides energy and excitement.  So our subject for today is on the surface a reasonably sedate and odd collection.  What made the artist chose this as his subject?

    Our painter is Niles Spencer (1893-1952).  He was an American who grew up in Rhode Island and is considered an artist of the Precisionist School.  He created this work in 1930.  

   So let's say your problem for today is to create a self portrait where no image of you is in the work.  Sounds impossible, but I think Spencer did just that.  What do we know about him by examining this painting?    

   It seems Spencer collected a few telling objects and assembled in a very precise order.  If we stopped in to visit, he probably would have his hat off, and hopefully he would make us his favorite concoction which seems to include plenty of lemon and liquor.  If we could see the actual painting, maybe we could read the title of the book to know its importance to him.  

   Except for the table objects the whole structure is overlapping geometric shapes.  The color harmony is basic complementary, green and orange/red/brown, with the exception of the yellow almost dead center marking the primary center of interest.  Light source comes from behind us, and the shadows are there, but not strong, and often only to create another rectangle or shape.  

   I love this painting.  I love the order of it, the precision and the balance of color.  Look at that true green panel in the lower left....what's that doing there....what is it?  No clue, but it beautifully brightens and balances that lower corner.   I think if we made that visit to Spencer's home we could find this table, and this corner, but possibly not together as we see here.  My guess is that he assembled the whole arrangement in this exact place before painting.  

   The Green Table is part of the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.  It is an oil on canvas measuring 50 x 40 inches, and was painted in 1930.

Make Art a part of your life, it's a beautiful thing to do.

Comments

  1. Char HarguthOctober 5, 2020 at 1:15 PM

    This is a painting I can relate to, and I like your description. The diagonal lines, especially the floor, draw us into his "little corner". Looking down on the table gives us a full view of all the objects. The tape/hinge (?) on the upper right door draws our attention. In fact the lines in that door leaves me with a few questions. The perspective, with the corner of the room almost in the center, makes the painting more interesting. I must think about my "self portrait"!! Hmmmm.

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