Rackstraw Downes facts for kids

Rackstraw Downes (born 1939) is a talented British-born artist who paints real-life scenes. He is known for his amazing oil paintings that show lots of tiny details. He often spends months painting outdoors, a style called plein-air. His art often features factories, nature, and city views. His paintings are also special because they are often long and wide, using clever ways to show depth and space.

Rackstraw Downes' Early Life and Learning

Rackstraw Downes was born in a place called Pembury, Kent, England, in 1939. When he was a teenager, he moved to the United States. From 1957 to 1958, he studied painting as an exchange student at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut.

After that, he went back to England to study at Cambridge University. He attended St John's College and earned a degree in English literature. He then returned to the United States. He studied art at the Yale School of Art and earned a special degree in painting in 1964.

When he first started, Rackstraw Downes painted in an abstract style, which means his art didn't show real objects. But in 1966, he changed his mind. He decided to focus on painting real-life scenes, often outdoors, which is the style he is famous for today.

What Kind of Art Does Rackstraw Downes Create?

Rackstraw Downes is known for his detailed and wide-angle paintings of landscapes and city scenes. He often paints what he sees right in front of him, even if it takes a long time.

Painting Outdoors: The Plein-Air Style

Rackstraw Downes became good friends with another artist named Neil Welliver. This friendship led Downes to buy a farm in Maine in 1964. There, he started drawing the outdoor scenery. This was a big change from his earlier abstract art. In 1965, Downes moved to New York City. Over the next few years, he taught art at different schools, like the University of Pennsylvania and Parsons School of Design.

Capturing Cities and Landscapes

Even though he lives mostly in New York City, Rackstraw Downes travels a lot to find new things to paint. He has created many cityscapes (paintings of cities) and landscape paintings (paintings of nature). For example, he painted a series of four pictures called "Four Spots Along a Razor-Wire Fence" in the city. He has also painted beautiful scenes in Maine, like the harbor in Portland, Maine. He even painted the unique buildings made by artist Donald Judd in Marfa, Texas.

Downes also paints the inside of buildings, making them look as big and wide as his outdoor scenes. His paintings are special because they show a huge area but also include tiny details. He often bends the horizontal lines in his paintings. This helps to show how the Earth curves and how our eyes see wide views.

Rackstraw Downes as a Writer

Besides painting, Rackstraw Downes is also a writer. He has written for famous newspapers and art magazines like The New York Times and Art in America. He also helped put together a book of writings by another artist, Fairfield Porter. Downes has written his own books too, including In Relation to the Whole and Under The Gowanus and Razor-Wire Journal, which talks about how he creates his paintings.

Awards and Recognition

Rackstraw Downes has received many important awards for his art.

• In 1998, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship, which is a special grant for artists.
• In 1999, he became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a group that honors great artists.
• In 2009, he won a MacArthur Fellowship, sometimes called a 'genius award', which is a very prestigious honor.
• He was also elected to the National Academy of Design in 1982 and became a full member in 1994.

A famous art critic from The New York Times, Ken Johnson, once said that Downes "paints beautiful pictures of ugly places." This means Downes can find beauty in everyday or industrial scenes that others might not notice.

Where to See Rackstraw Downes' Art

You can find Rackstraw Downes' paintings in many public art collections. Some of these include the Museum of Modern Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. His art is also shown at the Betty Cuningham Gallery in New York.

Past Exhibitions

Rackstraw Downes' art has been shown in several important exhibitions:

• 2010: Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, New York.
• 2010: Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut.
• 2011: Weatherspoon Art Museum [1], Greensboro, North Carolina.