John Bradford: By Land And By Sea

at Anna Zorina Gallery, NYC (through 25 April — view this exhibition online at annazorinagallery.com)
Reviewed by Arabella Hutter von Arx

“For there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men.” — Herman Melville, from Moby Dick

The latest John Bradford exhibit at Zorina Gallery shows works in a style, history painting, that’s been out of favor with the art establishment for many decades. All the paintings’ subjects come from the 19th century or before, and relate to momentous events relating to the USA and the Americas: arrival of the Mayflower, of Columbus, Washington’s revolution, Lincoln’s wars. Bradford’s technique, thick impasto, is mostly found nowadays on paintings for sale in the streets: think view of Paris at sunset. What is a blueblood painter, if ever there was one — he is a descendant of William Bradford, the English Puritan separatist who escaped persecution from King James I on the Mayflower and became the longstanding Governor of the Plymouth Colony, who came to be known as the Pilgrim Fathers — doing producing low art?

The dichotomy between low art and high art can be characterized with different vocabularies and concepts: folk art vs court art, popular art vs fine art, naïve vs erudite. The audience differs, too: the first less moneyed, and less educated, and the same can be said of its artists. Before the Romantic era, categories were defined along lines of class: folk art and court art. Historical paintings…