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Carl Flick at his
easel in his home in West Amana, photographed July 18,
1937, by Paul Kellenberger
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Platt Fine Art is pleased to
present:
The Paintings of Carl Flick (1904-1976): An Amana Artist
Transformed by Grant Wood.
The works will be on view at the gallery
from November 1 - 30, 2001.
The following is an excerpt
from Peter Hoehnle's recent article, Carl Flick and Grant
Wood: A Regionalist Friendship in Amana, printed in the
Spring 2001 issue of Iowa Heritage Illustrated, published
by the State Historical Society of Iowa. For a copy of the
entire essay please contact Platt Fine Art.
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'Carl Flick and Grant Wood did
not meet immediately, although the Cedar Rapids artist often ate
at the Amana communal kitchens and frequently set up his easel outside
to paint quick, impressionistic, plein air oil sketches. In these,
Wood celebrated the rich color of Amana sandstone and the lush foliage
of Amana gardens. The presence of an artist with an easel was an
event in Amana, especially for young children who curiously observed
the friendly man in a fedora from a safe distance. Then a child,
Marie Stuck Selzer watched Wood as he painted a sketch of her grandfather's
house: "He wanted to wipe his brushes," she later recalled," and
since he had no rag, he just tore off a piece of his undershirt
and used that."
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Still recovering from facial
paralysis, Carl Flick heard about this Cedar Rapids artist
painting in the colonies. Anxious for some expert advice,
Flick wrote him a letter asking about brushes and paints.
In reply, Wood appeared one day on the young man's doorstep.
Wood quickly recognized that Flick had tremendous natural
ability and began to take him along on sketching trips in
the Amana area, during which the two men sketched side by
side.
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In this self portrait,
painted in 1932 for the Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs
in Des Moines, Carl Flick stands on a hill with the
town of West Amana in the background. It is believed
to be the only portrait painted by Flick whose usual
subject matter consisted of portions of Amana homes,
buildings and the landscape of the region.
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Thus began first a mentorship and
then a friendship between Grant Wood and Carl Flick. Today, in the
annals of Iowa art, Wood remains Iowa's best known artist whereas
Flick is relatively forgotten. Yet during the 1930s, Flick was a
visible and prolific member of the school of Iowa regionalists established
by Grant Wood. . ..'
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The author is a Ph.D. candidate
in the agricultural history and rural studies program at Iowa State
University. His article "Community in Transition: Amana's Great
Change, 1931-1933" appeared in the Winter 2001 Annals of Iowa.
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