Horace Pippin, "The Getaway"

 

   Horace Pippin (1888-1946) is a truly American artist who became very successful, all on his own merits. It took all the tough experiences of youth and service in World War I, to push out of him a wide and amazing oeuvre of remarkable images.   He returned from France after the war wounded in his right shoulder so he took up art to help rehabilitate himself.   He received no art training, he was entirely self taught.   But, living in Pennsylvania he was aware of the works of Winslow Homer, who did provide some influence.   On the surface this painting seems pretty tame but most other Pippin works deal with the Black experience or images from his war experience.    

     The Getaway is full of drama.  A wild fox has caught a bird and is running away.  Is it morning with the sun just beginning to peak from the horizon?  Half the painting is  the black sky stratified with a multitude of white/grey/yellow clouds while the lower half is white snow crossed with a grey stream.  No lighted windows or smoke comes from the buildings suggesting human presence, but maybe it is  to early in the day.   It seems our fox has won, captured his breakfast and is off to find safe shelter to enjoy and live.    
    Horace Pippin created this painting in 1939, a time when he was becoming very successful.  A year before he was included in a traveling exhibit organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York titled, Masters of Popular Painting.  So by 1939, Pippin must have been feeling a little confident in his art and abilities; his popularity and fame were beginning to grow.  Could that be why the fox has won?  I want to think so.
    The Getaway also has been titled, The Fox, (The Get-a-way).   It is an oil on canvas measuring 28"x 39".  It is part of the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Pennsylvania.  
   Make Art a part of your life, it's a beautiful thing to do.      

Comments

  1. Char HarguthMarch 23, 2021 at 2:10 PM

    This is such a pure, still, and cold setting, except for the stealthy movement of the fox. I love the clouds and the simplicity of the setting. I enjoyed looking up Pippin and seeing his many works of everyday life and family activities. He didn't let the slavery issues of his time keep him from seeing life positively. His war activities must have had a great impact on him. Religion evidently influenced his paintings of Christ. Painting John Brown on his way to his hanging must have been a horrendous experience. He lived through so much, and painted with such care, the reality of his time. Amazing artist. Yes, I think he has won, just like the fox!!

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