Plein Air Heritage
The Pennsylvania artist Alfred Bendiner created drawings and prints that made fun of society, prominent individuals, and his fellow artists from the 1930s through the 1950s. He was a social realist with a great sense of humor who observed the lighter side of life during a time of rapid change and widespread anxiety. In this lithograph, Bendiner pokes fun at plein air painters and Modernists by showing a nude, middle-aged faun posing in a field while an artist paints a Mondrian-style, abstract impression of her body. A shocked and critical bull looks on, perhaps representing Bendiner’s own sense of puzzlement about the increasing dominance of Modern art after World War II. In addition to being a printmaker, Bendiner was an architect, archeologist, and plein air artist. In 1937, he served as…
