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Press Release Checklist Morton Bartlett "The Sweethearts of Mr. Bartlett" June 29 - August 17, 2007 Summer hours: Monday - Friday, 11-5:30 and by appointment The Julie Saul Gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of photographs, sculptures and drawings by the self-taught Bostonian artist Morton Bartlett (1903-1992). For those familiar with the work of Bartlett this exhibition enriches our knowledge with the addition of a number of modern color photographs made from original Kodachrome slides c.1955, as well as new archival material including self portraits by Bartlett. For those unfamiliar with Bartlett's world it will be a revelation. Bartlett was born in 1903, orphaned at eight, attended Harvard for two years and lived alone in Cambridge working at a variety of design and graphics jobs. The title for this show comes from an article published on Morton Bartlett in Yankee Magazine in April 1962- the only information every published on him and really the only exposure which Bartlett's passion ever received during his lifetime. The author describes how Bartlett began working with clay in 1936, and began to sculpt "dolls", anatomically perfect sculptures of children at about ½ life size. For the next 25 years, slowly and with obsessive attention to detail and verisimilitude , he sculpted around one figure a year. He then clothed these figures in clothing, sweaters, shoes all made by him, and finally photographed them in tableaux, seen individually and in groups. Bartlett's legacy -15 sculptures, over 200 vintage black and white photographs, a small number of drawings and a great deal of clothing- was discovered by art dealer Marion Harris who first exhibited the work at the Outsider Art Fair in New York in 1995 and published a monograph entitled Family Found: The Lifetime Obsession of Morton Bartlett in 1994. The discovery of an additional archive of Bartlett material by a Los Angeles collector has helped to enlarge our understanding of Bartlett's production. A group of 17 Kodachrome slides depict the dolls in a similar fashion as the black and white prints. Seeing the lifelike dolls dressed in vividly colored clothing in tonalities reminiscent of the 1950s brings a new dimension to the work. The exhibition will include work from both archives, and is the first show to bring all of this material together. This show furthers our ability to see the aesthetic of both the sculptures and photographs as fully entrenched in the popular visual culture of that time. MORTON BARTLETT THE SWEETHEARTS OF MORTON BARTLETT JUNE 29- AUGUST 17, 2007 Entrance: Girl in Yellow Sunsuit, 1955/2006 modern chromogenic print 28 1/4 x 20" edition of 10 Group Portrait, 1955/2006 pigment ink print 21 1/2 x 17” edition of 10 Untitled, 1955 (p52 lower left, babydoll dress) graphite on paper 16 1/2 x 13 1/4” unframed Untitled, 1955 (girl in bow dress) graphite on paper 16 1/2 x 13 1/4” unframed Untitled, 1955 (p43 upper right, girl holding hat) graphite on paper 16 1/2 x 13 1/4” unframed Main Gallery East Wall Girl Licking Lips, 1955/2006 modern chromogenic print 28 1/4 x 20" edition of 10 Hula Girl, 1955/2006 modern chromogenic print 28 1/4 x 20" edition of 10 Girl Reading, 1955/2006 modern chromogenic print 28 1/4 x 20" edition of 10 North Wall Boy with Red Hat, 1955/2006 modern chromogenic print 28 1/4 x 20" edition of 10 Girl Crying, 1955/2006 modern chromogenic print 28 1/4 x 20" edition of 10 Waving Girl, 1955/2006 modern chromogenic print 28 1/4 x 20" edition of 10 Girl with Locket, 1955/2006 modern chromogenic print 28 1/4 x 20" edition of 10 Girl with Pool Cue, 1955/2006 modern chromogenic print 28 1/4 x 20" edition of 10 Girl in Shorts, 1955/2006 modern chromogenic print 28 1/4 x 20" edition of 10 West Wall Untitled , c. 1953 (seated young girl) sculpted and painted plaster and wig, clothed 14 1/2” Untitled , c. 1960 (standing adolescent girl) sculpted and painted plaster and wig, clothed 36” Untitled , c. 1960 (seated boy) sculpted and painted plaster and wig, clothed 27” South Wall Untitled, 1955 (p. 51, nude teenager) vintage gelatin silver print 7 x 3 1/4” Untitled, 1955 (p. 24, girl with flowers & broach) vintage gelatin silver print 3 1/2 x 3” Untitled, 1955 (p. 28/29, hula skirt) vintage gelatin silver print 4 1/2 x 3 1/2” Untitled, 1955 (p. 27, two girls outside) vintage gelatin silver print 3 x 2” Untitled, 1955 (p. 51, teenager in flower skirt) vintage gelatin silver print 4 1/2 x 3” Untitled, 1955 (p. 33, teenager in dress) vintage gelatin silver print 4 1/2 x 3 1/4” Untitled, 1955 (p. 8, girl in fur hat) vintage gelatin silver print 4 1/4 x 3” Untitled, 1955 (p. 26, organza dress) vintage gelatin silver print 4 3/4 x 3 1/2” Untitled, 1955 (p. 51, girl with straw hat) vintage gelatin silver print 4 1/2 x 3” Untitled, 1955 (p. 48, girl crying) vintage gelatin silver print 4 1/4 x 3” Untitled, 1955 (frontis, girl waving) vintage gelatin silver print 4 1/2 x 2 1/4” Untitled, 1955 (p. 17, boy in chair) vintage gelatin silver print 4 1/2 x 3 1/2” Untitled, 1955 (self portrait #5) vintage gelatin silver print 7 3/4 x 9 3/4” top For additional information contact the gallery back |
   
 
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