A.E. Backus Art Museum Critique
Jerry Beasley
Martin Davis
FINA-180-01A
March 22, 2015

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A.E. Backus Art Museum Critique
I. A general description of the museum visit
The museum is set in a small town in the Treasure Coast area of Florida. It is set on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean which the artist used as his muse in several of his paintings. The first thing that the patrons see when coming into the museum is the collection of art from Backus as a small boy. The patrons are sent into an eye opening wonder of amazement how detailed the paintings were from such a small child.
Once you have moved through the small portion of his youth paintings you come to the custodian who handles the admission. She was very nice and polite. She greeted my entire family with a smile and was very helpful when figuring out what we were to be charged for entry. The museum gives very good discounts for those whom are students and those that are on “Art Field Trips”. Even though this trip was designed for my education I decided since my wife and I home school our children we would make the trip an entire learning experience for all involved. The custodian gave all of us a card that gave the background of the artist. Then she pointed us in the right direction to gain all the knowledge we could take in.
While touring we found an exhibit by Dorothy Binney Upton whom was married to Edwin Binney the creator of the Crayola Crayon Company. She was a very close friend to Backus and he regularly displayed her work for all to see. She had several astonishing paintings in water color, oil on canvas, and she even had a couple that was crayon on paper. Her art was very eloquent and refined.
II. Introduction
A.E. Backus was born and raised in Fort Pierce, Florida where his fat was a boat maker. His father’s shop was located on the beach of the Atlantic just a few blocks south of his first studio. Backus became well known as a national artist when his artwork was hung in President Lyndon B. Johnson’s library in Texas, and the Senate offices in Washington D.C.
The artist used his entire surroundings in Florida to create his paintings. He was never formally trained but loved to paint for fun. In the beginning he never thought that his paintings were not worth money but just his thoughts on a canvas. He would sketch out what he wanted to portray first so that he scaled everything out and it all was in the right place on the canvas or paper.
The painting that I found to be the most interesting was a story of the children in the neighborhood. It was during the time of great segregation of races. The little town of Fort Pierce was broken up into sections. Most of the city was sectioned out for the whites and the blacks were left with a small few blocks to reside in. Backus lived and worked out of his studio right across the street from Colored Town. This was the section of town that was sectioned out for the Blacks to live. He noticed the children in this part of town were always out in the street playing even when their lifestyles were hindered by the segregation of races. He decided to put this happy time down so he could remember their happiness.
III. Development
He used oil on canvas to capture this awesome sight. His color use really made the painting come to life. The boys playing marbles were so life like even though the boys did not have any facial features because it was his view from a distance. The lines of the picture were fine depicting the buildings up and down the street. If you look at the picture and then look out the window next to where it is set in the museum the picture looks just like it in real life today. The only thing missing is the boys and people walking up and down the street. The buildings are the same color and still in place today. The painting is very three dimensional and the texture is so fine that the scene comes right out to the viewer and if feels like you were there in person.
IV. Aesthetic Value
The reason that this paint caught my eye was the fact that it looked so real and how the artist really felt about it. He painted his feelings and never thought of selling the paintings for profit. He was so caught up in the fact that these kids were just enjoying life even when they were not given any of the pleasantness as the white kids in the neighborhoods next to them. After many years one of the boy’s fathers saw the painting and offered Backus a sum of money for it. He declined payment and elected to paint a print for him free of charge instead. He would have rather taken the time to do the print instead of selling his memories. This artist also had very hard times happen to him and he could relate to how these small children handled it. He used their childhood behavior to help him persevere through his own struggles.