‘Deft movement’ within culture

“California Beach Scene” (oil on canvas), by Carl Sprinchorn, in the show “Carl Sprinchorn: All the World Is a Painting,’’ at the Ogunquit (Maine) Museum of American Art, through Nov. 15.

— Courtesy Jay DeMartine

— Photo by Luc Demers

The museum says the show is “a major exhibition devoted to an underrecognized voice in American modernism. Born in Sweden and arriving in New York in 1903 to study with Robert Henri, Sprinchorn (1887–1971) developed a wide-ranging practice informed by global travel and deep artistic community. His friendships with figures such as Marsden Hartley, Charles Demuth, Marguerite and William Zorach, B.J.O. Nordfeldt, and Florine Stettheimer placed him within the vibrant artistic networks that shaped early 20th Century American art. 

“Although long associated with Maine—where he produced some of his most compelling images—Sprinchorn’s career reflects a much broader cultural and aesthetic landscape. The exhibition highlights his deft movement between working-class subjects and scenes of leisure, between intimate portraits and energetic compositions of lumberjacks, hunters, dancers, and swimmers.”