165:. He has also painted interiors of a panoramic scale similar to his landscapes. Downes' paintings are characterized by their vastness of scope as much as their attention to detail: "they are composed of a fused sequence of visual observations, their horizontal lines 'bending' so as to acknowledge the Earth's curvature and the limitations of two-point
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and urban scenes such as his series of four paintings, entitled "Four Spots Along a Razor-Wire Fence", Downes has traveled widely, creating a significant number of
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in 1964, where he began drawing the landscape, thus changing direction from the non-representational manner of his student work. In 1965 Downes moved to
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in painting in 1964. Originally an abstract painter, in 1966 Downes changed course and began working in the realist, plein-air style he is known for.
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sessions, depictions of industry and the environment, and elongated compositions with complex perspective.
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513:- Information on Downes' current exhibition at the Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, North Carolina
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200:'s writing. Downes' own writing has been published in two small paperbacks:
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Though he is primarily based in New York City, where he has painted numerous
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In
Relation to the Whole: Three Essays from Three Decades - 1973, 1981, 1996
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Under the
Gowanus and Razor-Wire Journal: The making of two paintings
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are notable for their meticulous detail accumulated during months of
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in
English literature. Back in the United States, he studied at the
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Downes' friendship with
Welliver led to the purchase of a farm in
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as an
Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1994.
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wrote that Downes "paints beautiful pictures of ugly places."
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470:"Under the J Line At Alabama Avenue" by Rackstraw Downes in
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from 1957 to 1958. He then returned to
England and attended
313:. 5.9.99 - 11.15.99. New York, Turning the Head Press, 2000
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Schwartz, Sanford; Storr, Robert, and Downes, Rackstraw.
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Downes' work is held in public collections including the
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Members of the
American Academy of Arts and Letters
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Art In Its Own Terms: Selected
Criticism, 1935–1975
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227:'genius award'. In 1982 he was elected into the
390:"RACKSTRAW DOWNES: Onsite Paintings, 1972–2008"
122:. Over the next several years he taught at the
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353:Schwartz, Sanford, et al., 2005, page 175.
132:Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
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344:. Princeton University Press, April 2005.
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307:. Princeton University Press, April 2005
206:Under The Gowanus and Razor-Wire Journal
16:British-born realist painter and author
572:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
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221:American Academy of Arts and Letters
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587:21st-century English male artists
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319:. New York, Edgewise Press, 2000
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278:Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
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542:21st-century English painters
532:20th-century English painters
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287:2011 Weatherspoon Art Museum
52:Rodney Harry Rackstraw Downes
364:"RACKSTRAW DOWNES: In Focus"
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503:- interactive slideshow by
484:The Betty Cuningham Gallery
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292:Greensboro, North Carolina
229:National Academy of Design
124:University of Pennsylvania
577:Yale School of Art alumni
527:British Realist painters
202:In Relation to the Whole
128:Parsons School of Design
567:Hotchkiss School alumni
494:The Wall Street Journal
282:Ridgefield, Connecticut
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72:Lakeville, Connecticut
537:English male painters
491:Richard B. Woodward,
271:Southampton, New York
217:Guggenheim Fellowship
479:Museum of Modern Art
251:Museum of Modern Art
225:MacArthur Fellowship
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68:The Hotchkiss School
557:People from Pembury
176:He has written for
143:landscape paintings
104:Master of Fine Arts
506:The New York Times
419:, The New York Sun
267:Parrish Art Museum
215:Downes received a
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178:The New York Times
88:Yale School of Art
78:, where he was at
62:, he moved to the
562:MacArthur Fellows
501:Beautifully Bleak
394:The Brooklyn Rail
368:The Brooklyn Rail
190:The New Criterion
80:St John's College
22:(born 1939) is a
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552:1939 births
400:20 November
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261:Exhibitions
245:Collections
239:Ken Johnson
237:art critic
167:perspective
159:Donald Judd
145:on site in
521:Categories
324:References
171:wide-angle
139:cityscapes
100:Alex Katz
46:Education
40:plein-air
253:and the
186:Art News
173:views."
157:and the
96:Al Held
56:Pembury
34:. His
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32:author
26:-born
276:2010
265:2010
151:Texas
147:Maine
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