George Tooker | Narrative & Magic Realism Painter
A scene of a curious child by Tooker is created with egg tempera now to join the collection at Minneapolis Institute of Art.
This work is a painting of hand-mixed egg tempera by George Tooker, an artist who made some of the most unforgettable images in American art while part of a broad queer community in 1950s New York. The painting shows a mysterious young girl peeking out from behind a bush. Her expression and Tooker’s use of light make the scene seem magical and otherworldly. Tooker’s output of only about 100 paintings was relatively small, exploring Cold War-era themes of anxiety and uncertainty as well as transcendence—the revelatory experiences one can have in nature. The latter is masterfully depicted in The Artist’s Daughter (1955). This is the first work by Tooker to enter Mia’s collection, expanding its holdings of historically underrepresented artists in the museum.
“We are excited by this riveting acquisition which is the first from this artist to join the collection. It offers a gripping scene to get lost in: a peek into the uncertainty and distrust of George Tooker’s mystical child subject,” said Katie Luber, Nivin and Duncan MacMillan Director and President of Mia. “There is something more to discover at each glance.”
George Tooker is among the most important American figure and narrative painters of the twentieth century. After a brief stint in the Marines, he became part of a broad circle of queer artists, writers, musicians, photographers, dancers, and curators in New York. This subject and its specific treatment are unique in Tooker’s career: a young girl peers out with large curious eyes from behind a thriving plant. Who is she? Not the artist’s daughter, as the title claims. Tooker did not have any children and the title was teasingly suggested by a friend due to a vague resemblance to the artist himself.
His work often captures the anxiety of the Cold War climate, but he also depicted a wide range of subjects with care and empathy. Born in Brooklyn, he took art lessons with a professional artist family friend, Malcolm Fraser. He went to Phillips Academy at Andover, Harvard, spent time in the Marines, and enrolled at the Arts Student League, studying with Reginald Marsh and becoming a teaching assistant. Falling in with the artists Paul Cadmus and Jared French, he found a supportive circle of queer artists, writers, musicians, photographers, dancers, and curators in New York.
Tooker was committed to painting slowly, thoughtfully, and methodically using his own handmade mixture of egg tempera paint on prepared boards. He created approximately 100 paintings, around 200 drawings, and several editions of prints. The newly acquired painting— titled The Artist’s Daughter (1955), though he had no children—is the only one of this format and subject. Tooker said that there were few subjects he found personally meaningful and that he had explored in a complete manner; this, he noted, is one of them. The child’s bright blue eyes peer out from behind a branch, at once spooky and lively.
He began exhibiting his work at the Edwin Hewitt Gallery in New York and was included in many museum exhibitions starting in 1946 with Fourteen Americans at the Museum of Modern Art. In 1949 he met his partner, William Christopher, an artist and cabinetmaker. They were committed to social justice issues throughout their lives and marched with Dr. King in Montgomery and Selma in 1965. After Christopher’s death, Tooker became involved in the Catholic Church in Windsor, Vermont, completing several commissions for the church of Saint Francis of Assisi, a shrine, and a retreat center. In 2007, Tooker received the national medal of honor and in 2008–09 had a major retrospective at the National Academy of Design in New York, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio, which was co-curated by Mia’s Patrick and Aimee Butler Curator of Paintings, Robert Cozzolino. He died in 2011.
He began exhibiting his work at the Edwin Hewitt Gallery in New York and was included in many museum exhibitions starting in 1946 with Fourteen Americans at the Museum of Modern Art. In 1949 he met his partner, William Christopher, an artist and cabinetmaker. They were committed to social justice issues throughout their lives and marched with Dr. King in Montgomery and Selma in 1965. After Christopher’s death, Tooker became involved in the Catholic Church in Windsor, Vermont, completing several commissions for the church of Saint Francis of Assisi, a shrine, and a retreat center. In 2007, Tooker received the national medal of honor and in 2008–09 had a major retrospective at the National Academy of Design in New York, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio, which was co-curated by Mia’s Patrick and Aimee Butler Curator of Paintings, Robert Cozzolino. He died in 2011.
His work is in major museum collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
For more information please feel free to connect with The Minneapolis Institute of Art website.
About the Minneapolis Institute of Art Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) inspires wonder, spurs creativity, and nourishes the imagination. With extraordinary exhibitions and one of the finest art collections in the country—from all corners of the globe, and from ancient to contemporary—Mia links the past to the present, enables global conversations, and offers an exceptional setting for inspiration. General admission to Mia is always free. Some special exhibitions have a nominal admission fee.
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