Thirty-six years ago I met Will Barnet when I became assistant director of the Harmon Gallery. The gallery had been representing him already for three years and his first show in Naples was featured at the gallery in 1970. I had an immediate respect for Barnet and was intrigued by the amount of work and thought he put forth into each painting.

Over the ensuing years we have created many shows for Barnet, in Naples and elsewhere in museums, e ach with its own special cache. This exhibition is no different. It offers an insight into the first thoughts an artist like Barnet has in the development of a painting. This significant collection of initial sketches shows t he artist at the very inception of an idea for a possible painting. Some, such as Golden Apple, would later end up as large paintings in the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Two of the studies are larger final studies for important paintings, Summer Idyll and Cat and Canary. A few oils are also included in the exhibition as comparison but the real focus is on the “study”. Barnet does dozens of studies in various stages of development in pencil or mixed media, before ever taking up the brush. That way the final oil is a culmination of all the design and composition details worked out to perfection.

I am honored to have been a part of Barnet’s life all of these years and cherish the opportunity I have had to see all of the works he has created. He is truly a modern master who has witnessed and led many movements in American art from “Social Realism” of the 1930s, to “Cubism” of the 1940s, “Iconic Abstraction” of the 1950s; and into “New figurative painting” from 1961 to present. Nearly eight decades of painting, drawing, and fine printmaking – will there ever be another artist like him?

We hope you enjoy this exhibition as part of this season’s scheduled exhibitions. As always, works by any of our artists are available for show by request or appointment. Please call or stop by.

Sincerely,

J. William Meek III
Owner-Director