Paintings
{Most of Jim's art has not yet been professionally photographed, but we're working on it.}
James E. Brewton. "Patatarget." 1964-65, oils and mixed media on canvas, 34" diameter. Private collection.
James E. Brewton. "To Vera." n.d., mixed media on canvas, painted over "Tunnel Under the English Channel," 24" x 36". Private collection.
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James E. Brewton. "Tunnel Under the English Channel." n.d., mixed media on canvas, 24" x 36". Painted over by Brewton to create "To Vera."
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James E. Brewton. Untitled. (Portrait of Charles Baudelaire), n.d., private collection.
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James E. Brewton. "Une Saison en Enfer" (portrait of Arthur Rimbaud). ca. 1959, private collection.
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James Brewton. Untitled (portrait of Edgar Allan Poe). n.d., oils on canvas, 19.5" x 24". (Detail) private collection.
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James Brewton. "Homage to Modi." n.d., oils or tempera on panel, 25" x 25.5". (Detail) private collection.
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James E. Brewton. "X." 1966, mixed media on canvas, 24.5" x 24.5". Collection of Jason Brewton Broede, California.
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James E. Brewton. "An Egg Carton for the Wall." 1966, mixed media on canvas, 22" x 12". Collection of Jason Brewton Broede, California.
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James E. Brewton. Untitled (self-portrait). n.d., oils on panel, 17" x 21". Private collection.
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James E. Brewton. "Self portrait - An aspect of myself." 1962, oils on canvas, 16" x 18". Private collection.
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James E. Brewton. "Julie Gibson." n.d., oils on canvas. Private collection. With its nod to Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's "La Goulue" poster, Brewton's "Julie Gibson" portrays the aspiring actress performing her famous strip show, "Dance of the Bashful Bride." Gibson's burlesque act was often booked at a Philadelphia bar, The Wedge.
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James E. Brewton. "The American Dream-Girl." n.d., oils on canvas. Private collection.
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James E. Brewton. "The Bombardment of Kobenhavn by Vice Admiral Lord Nelson in 1801: The Mad Laughter of Courage." 1966-67, mixed media on canvas, 49" x 86" (detail). Brewton considered this work his masterpiece.
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Picasso (1881-1973) to Jorn (1914-1973) to Brewton (1930-1967): Guernica, Stalingrad, and Kobenhavn Recent research uncovered a direct artist-to-artist link among Brewton, Asger Jorn, and Pablo Picasso. Discussing his Stalingrad, le non-lieu ou le fou-rire du courage (1957-1960, 1967, 1972; collection Museum Jorn, Silkeborg, DK), Jorn stated the painting was a response to first-hand stories of the World War II battle, as told by his friend Umberto Gambetta. Yet Stalingrad also echoes Picasso's Guernica (1937; collection Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid).
Jorn was studying with Fernand Léger in Paris when Picasso was painting Guernica, and Jorn helped Le Corbusier with his "Temps Nouveaux" pavilion for the World Expo, where Guernica was displayed at the Spanish Pavilion. Jorn visited Picasso in Antibes in 1946; both men were both fiercely anti-fascist and surely discussed war, politics and art-making. In 1962-63 and 1965, Brewton spent time with Jorn in Denmark, and the idea for Brewton's Bombardment of Kobenhavn was sparked. All three paintings convey the chaos of battle through the artists' use of angular design driving the eye in many directions within allover paintings, and their monochromatic tones emphasize the indiscriminate death-machines that are used in modern warfare. Each artist expresses a palpable horror of war. In Stalingrad, Jorn's aggressive, whiteish overpainting seems to obliterate everything, yet hints of violence intrude from beneath the snowy-looking miasma. Brewton's Kobenhavn, directly referencing Stalingrad and Guernica, incorporates graffiti, found objects, and battle diagrams to tell the story of the naval battle between England and a Danish-Norwegian alliance. The light bulb, seen at the top left-center of Guernica is an actual working light bulb at the top right-center of Kobenhavn, mottled with grey paint in homage to the series of lightbulb drawings, prints and sculptures by Jasper Johns (b. 1930). The rubble-strewn landscapes of Guernica, Stalingrad and Kobenhavn set the stage for contemporary artworks by Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945) and William Kentridge (b. 1955). --Emily Brewton Schilling
December 2019 |
James E. Brewton. "Saga Lulu." 1967, mixed media, 32" x 24", private collection.
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James E. Brewton. "Asger Jorn, pour tous les hommes." 1964, oils on canvas, 50" x 30", private collection.
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James E. Brewton. "The Game for Children." ca. 1964, oils on canvas, 41.5" x 61.5" (including frame). Private collection.
James E. Brewton. Untitled ("Lenny" written on front). ca. 1964, oils and mixed media on illustration board, 30" x 40" (32" x 42" including frame). Private collection. Photo: Elena Bouvier.
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James E. Brewton. Untitled ("Bombardment of Kobenhavn 1801" written on front). ca. 1964, oils on illustration board, 43" x 33" (including frame). Photo: Elena Bouvier.
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