Date of Award

1-1-2022

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of History

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Dan S. White

Committee Members

Rakhee Balaram, Gerald Zahavi

Keywords

American History, Social History, World War 2

Subject Categories

History

Abstract

This dissertation examines within the context of his life and times the work of the Second Generation artist Richard Stankiewicz (1922-83). It demonstrates at various stages his shifting modes of work as conditions of his geographical location, financial security, and the availability of materials changed. It expands and augments what has become the canonical view of the artist’s life and work, correcting critical misunderstandings and placing them coincident with pre-and post-World War II (the 1950s through the early 1980s) American and European history. It shows how the social, political, and geographic context of an artist’s life and the larger world around him motivated him. This study emphasizes key biographical events in the artist’s life: his schooling in Detroit, serving in the CCC and the United States Navy, studying art at the Hans Hofmann School, in the ateliers of Zadkine and Léger in Paris, organizing the Hansa Gallery cooperative in New York City, and making a living as draftsman, lecturer, teacher, and professor. It also explores Stankiewicz’s artistic engagement with such subjects as birds, flora, fauna, fish, family and human figures, sailing and astronomy, as well as the impact of political and military events in pre-and post-World War II United States and Europe on the artist, including involvement in international exhibitions and U. S. "soft diplomacy." Stankiewicz’s engagement with various artistic movements such as Abstract Expressionism, New Realism, Dada, Neo-Dada and “junk” art also play a part in this narrative. Primary historical interviews reveal firsthand knowledge of Second Generation artists and their world particularly in New York City. This work provides further evidence of Stankiewicz’s stature and importance in the evolution of American art.

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