Screen painting
{{Short description|Early 20th century art form}}
{{distinguish|screen printing}}
{{For|the distinct screen painting with folding screens|Folding screen}}
File:Baltimore vernacular art - screen painting.jpg
Screen painting is painting on window screens. It is a folk art form originating in immigrant working-class neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland, in the early 20th century.
The wire screen section of a screen door is typically painted with bucolic landscapes, still lifes, or other subjects of interest. The artist paints the scene directly onto the screen, making sure to remove excess paint from the screen's holes so the screen retains its ability to ventilate. The scene painted on the screen prevents the eye from focusing past the image, giving residents privacy without limiting their ability to look outside. While screen painting is now mostly regarded as urban kitsch,
authentic examples can still be seen in Baltimore neighborhoods such as Hampden or Highlandtown.
History
Screen painting was invented by the Czech immigrant William Oktavec to restrict the sunlight entering his produce store. He had studied commercial art and drawing before opening his Baltimore shop. The technique was later taken up in other neighborhoods by other artists.
It is estimated that as many as 100,000 painted screens in Baltimore once adorned the rowhouses.{{cite web|title = Screen Painting - History| url = http://members.tripod.com/~Ruski88/| accessdate =2008-08-12}}{{cite web| last = Lipka| first = Tom| title = Baltimore Window Screen Painting - History Of Screen Painting| url = http://mysite.verizon.net/screenpainter/id1.html| accessdate =2008-08-12}}{{cite web| last = Lipka| first = Tom| title = Baltimore's Painted Window Screens| url=
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/screenpainter/| accessdate=2008-08-12}}{{cite web| title = The Busy Brush Decorative Art - The History of Screen Painting| date = 2005| url = http://www.busybrushart.com/historyofscreenpainting.htm| accessdate=2008-08-12}} As of 2014 there were only 1,000 screen paintings left.{{cite news|url=http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/travel/28439879-502/keeping-baltimores-painted-window-screens-alive.html#.VEC6DPldVu4 |title=Keeping Baltimore's painted window screens alive |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times |accessdate=2014-10-17}}
The American Visionary Art Museum features a permanent exhibition on screen paintings, including a re-creation of a row house and a documentary titled "The Screen Painters" made by folklorist Elaine Eff.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR2008043003849.html |title=It's Not Just a Screen, Hon; A Window on Baltimore Tradition |newspaper=The Washington Post |accessdate=2014-10-17}}
See also
- Johnny Eck, a screen painter
- William Oktavec, the inventor of screen painting
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- Camp, Charles; Baltimore City Hall Rotunda; Towson State University, University Union Gallery. Baltimore's Painted Screens, Towson State University, 1982.
- Eff, Elaine. Looking Pretty: Baltimore's Painted Screens, San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum, 1991.
- Eff, Elaine. The Painted Screens of Baltimore: An Urban Folk Art Revealed, Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2013.
- Eff, Elaine. The Painted Screens of Baltimore, Maryland: Decorative, Folk Art, Past and Present, University of Pennsylvania, 1984.
- Eff, Elaine. The Screen Painters, Painted Screen Society of Baltimore, 1988.
- Herget, Dee; Painted Screen Society of Baltimore, Inc. How to Paint a Baltimore Screen, Painted Screen Society, 1997.
External links
- {{cite web |url= http://www.mdhs.org/kids/pscreens.html |publisher= Maryland Historical Society |title= Baltimore Painted Screens |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515102649/http://www.mdhs.org/kids/pscreens.html |archivedate= 2009-05-15 }}
- [http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/baltimores-painted-screens/ Baltimore's painted screens], CBS News
- [http://paintedscreens.org/calendarclasses.html The Painted Screen Society of Baltimore]
Category:African-American history in Baltimore
Category:Czech-American culture in Baltimore