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Showing posts from January 7, 2018

Harry Deitch, Philadelphia Precisionism - 20th Century Artist

Harry Deitch rose to regional prominence in the late 1930s.  By 1940 his works had been exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Chicago Art Institute, and had an art show at Warwick Galleries in Philadelphia.  He was designing dust jackets for the literary trade while serving as a graphic artist. He attended the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art where he was recognized for his drawing skills in 1927, and graduated in 1930.  This school was established in 1876 and today is known as the University of the Arts, and the museum is now the Philadelphia Museum of Art. While there is limited information on Deitch, his preferred medium was watercolor.  Clearly during his years in school he was greatly influenced by the precisionist art movements used by Joseph Stella and Charles Sheeler, both prominent artists in the mid to late 20's.  Photography was also a growing medium during this period, which influenced American art.  It was a stark contrast to the