Tahitian Journal

Minneapolis Mn: University Of Minnesota Press, 1968. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. Photographs, Plates. 207 Pp. Illustrated Pink And Red Cloth. First Printing. Inscribed By The Author To Social Artist William Gropper And His Wife "With Warm Regards" And Dated In 1968; They Were The Author's Neighbors In Croton-On-Hudson Ny. Book Fine, No Wear Or Damage. Dust Jacket Lightly Used But With Chipping Around The Flap Folds. George Biddle (1885 -1973) Was An American Painter, Muralist And Lithographer, Best Known For His Social Realism And Combat Art. A Childhood Friend Of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, He Played A Major Role In Establishing The Federal Art Project (1935-43), Which Employed Artists Under The Works Progress Administration.Born To An Established Philadelphia Family, Biddle Attended The Elite Groton School (Where He Was A Classmate Of Franklin D. Roosevelt). He Completed His Undergraduate Studies And Later Earned A Law Degree From Harvard (1908 And 1911, Respectively). He Passed His Bar Examination In Philadelphia. Biddle's Legal Career Was Short-Lived, However, And By The End Of 1911 He Had Left The United States To Study At The Académie Julian In Paris. In The Next Two Years He Studied At The Pennsylvania Academy Of The Fine Arts. Returning To Europe In 1914, Biddle Spent Time In Munich And Madrid, Studying Printmaking In The Spanish Capital, Before Trying His Hand At Impressionism In France. In 1917 Biddle Enlisted In The Army. In The Early Interwar Period Biddle Continued His Studies In Far-Flung Locations Such As Tahiti, Returned To France In 1924, And. Prior To His Mexican Travels, Biddle Had Returned To The United States In 1927 And Established A Printing Shop In New York, Where He "Began To Explore The Variety And Richness Of Technique And Expressionism Possible In Lithography", A Medium Which He Hoped Would "Popularize American Art By Making It Better Known To The American Public". He Was A Member Of The Society Of American Graphic Artists. In 1928 Went On A Sketching Trip Through Mexico With Diego Rivera. In The 1930S, Biddle Became A Champion Of Social Art And Strongly Advocated Government Funding For Artistic Endeavors. His Correspondence With His Former Classmate (And Recently Elected President) Franklin Roosevelt Contributed To The Establishment Of The Federal Art Project, An Arm Of The Works Progress Administration That Produced Several Hundred Thousand Pieces Of Publicly Funded Art. Biddle Himself Completed A Mural Titled The Tenement For The Justice Department Building In Washington, D.C. And Made Sketches Of The Opera Porgy And Bess During Its Late 1930S Tour (He Had Already Done The Illustrations For The Libretto In 1930). His Works Were Exhibited At The 1939 New York World's Fair. During These Years Biddle Also Wrote Several Books And Taught At The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Biddle Was Hired In 1940, Along With Eight Other Prominent American Artists, To Document Dramatic Scenes And Characters During The Production Of The Film The Long Voyage Home, A Cinematic Adaptation Of Eugene O'neill's Plays. He Served As President Of The National Society Of Mural Painters From 1935 To 1936. During World War Ii, Biddle Was Appointed Chairman Of The United States Department Of War's Art Advisory Committee And Served To Recruit Artists To That Body. Biddle Himself Traveled Through Algeria, Tunisia, Sicily, And Italy With The 3Rd Infantry Division And Produced Works Documenting That Unit's Activities. He Wrote A Book On His War Travels: Artist At War Tunisia-Sicily-Italy, Viking Press, 1944. When The Art Advisory Committee Was Disbanded, He Produced Combat Art For Life Magazine.[In 1950, Biddle Was Appointed To The U.S. Commission Of Fine Arts, Serving Until 1951 And Again From 1953 To 1955. Biddle's Best Known Work Is In The Mural Society Freed Through Justice, Five Fresco Panels In Fifth-Floor Stairway Of The Robert F. Kennedy Department Of Justice Building In Washington, D.C., Produced Under The U.S. Treasury Department's Section Of Painting And Sculpture.