| Born Hugo Grünbaum in Budapest, Hungary, Hugo Gellert (1892–1985) became an extraordinarily influential figure in American art of the early twentieth century. Graphic artist, muralist, and painter, Gellert not only produced a vital, socially engaged body of work, but he also founded and occupied crucial positions in many of the important artists' organizations, which propelled American artists to a less isolated place in society during the Depression years. His most significant contribution to the development of art in America was his conviction that artists should organize and work together, not only for their ideals, but also for their own survival.; Gellert was perhaps the most active, outspoken and unapologetic American Communist artist of the twentieth century. His unrepentant, orthodox devotion to the Communist Party is one reason his reputation has suffered. Since Marxism is a product of modernist thought, the intersection of radical political theory and modern art should not be disjoined, but rather, examined as an important aspect of the twentieth century intellectual condition. Perhaps more than any other American artist of his generation Gellert is suited for this analysis. He himself strongly disavowed any distinction between his art and his life declaring, “being an artist and being a Communist are but two cheeks of the same face, and I fail to see how I can be one without also being the other one.”1 This dissertation analyzes Gellert's artistic production in relationship to Communist Party policies.; “The Art and Activism of Hugo Gellert: Embracing the Specter of Communism,” is the first monograph of this central, yet long neglected early twentieth century American artist. It traces the development of Gellert's artistic and political concerns from the 1910s through the 1940s. Because his life and art interfaced with so many significant developments in the social, political, and intellectual histories of this country, this study places Gellert in context of these related disciplines.; 1Hugo Gellert, “The Role of the Communist Artist,” draft of a speech, c. 1942–44. Gellert papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, box 3. |
