BLENDON REED CAMPBELL

(1872-1969)

Blendon Reed Campbell, born in 1872, produced a body of work as divergent as a colorful oil on canvas of dancing nymphs to work as dark in color and mood as his Depression-era "Derelict, N.Y.," 1933. A line of darkly-dressed, Depression-caused derelicts sit amidst garbage along a wooden fence diagonally retreating into the painting, with buildings and newly-washed clothes drying beyond. Posters on the fence advertise fun at "Coney Island" and an automobile offering "speed" and "comfort" for $450, low to us today, but as far away as the moon for these unemployed.

Campbell painted a series of nymphs in the 1930's, in the depths of the Depression perhaps to much the same effect as escapist Shirley Temple films and other movie musicals. 

Campbell studied in Paris with Laurens and Constant at the Academie Julien and later with Whistler. He was a prize-winning artist in venues ranging from the Paris Salon in 1899 through numerous exhibitions ending in 1949. His work hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., and Museum of Modern Art in New York City. 

The long-lived artist died in 1969.

(Reprinted from the archives of AskArt)