Joseph Allworthy
| Joseph Allworthy | |
|---|---|
| Born |
19 September 1892 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Died | 17 August 1991 (aged 98) Chicago, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | Realism, Tonalism, Representational |
Joseph Allworthy (September 19, 1892 – August 17, 1991) was a prominent mid-twentieth-century American representational, tonal-realist painter based in Chicago, known for his still life compositions and portraits. He also did notable work in the field of commercial art and advertisements.
Joseph Allworthy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 19, 1892, to parents of German descent. He came from a family of artists. His grandfather and granduncles painted murals and frescoes in Catholic Churches after the American Civil War. His father was a decorator and illustrator who assisted in the adorning of the walls and ceilings of the Congressional Library at Washington. Joseph Allworthy got his initial training under his father and at the age of 14 worked as an errand-boy in the art department of RR Donnelley. He began his formal artistic studies at the Art Institute of Chicago, but never graduated and went on to study at the ‘Grand Central’ in New York. Like all aspiring American artists of the time he headed to Europe, but had to leave with the outbreak of the First World War.
It was in Madrid at el Museo del Prado that Joseph Allworthy had an epiphanic experience that left an indelible mark on him as a painter– he discovered Diego Velázquez, whom he viewed as 'natural and eternal as nature itself'. After the War, Joseph Allworthy returned to Paris wanting to study under the late-Impressionist painter Jean-Paul Laurens, who was then a Professor at the École des Beaux-Arts and Académie Julian. It is uncertain how long or for that matter whether he ever studied under Laurens, as Laurens died in March 1921. Duriung his visit in 1926-27 he said "I was fortunate enough to study with a man who by means not revealed to me inherited the thinking that was Chardin's, Corot's and Manet's. From that time on, my work went steadily forward in goodness and quality. Today there is no one that I know of anywhere in our world who is interested in this great heritage." This was the Australian painter Max Meldrum later known for his "tonal style" of painting. He studied under Meldrum and adopted his techniques and theory of art.
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