Born on this day June 14, Agnes Tait (1894-1981) was a multifaceted American painter, artist, illustrator, and muralist. Her journey was marked by unwavering perseverance, passion, and creativity, which reflected in her works throughout her career. This article delves into the life of Agnes Tait, her early years, artistic journey, and the legacy she left behind.
Early Years and Education
Born in the bustling Greenwich Village in New York City, Agnes Tait was the youngest child of Anita Innocentia McCarthy and John C. Tait. Her father, originally from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, ran a small roofing business, while her mother hailed from an Irish Catholic background and had traveled to New York from Cuba.
Agnes Tait’s passion for art led her to secretly apply to the prestigious National Academy of Design, much to her parents’ surprise. After enrolling in 1908, she completed the mandatory antique drawing class from 1908 to 1910 and the life painting class from 1910 to 1916. During this time, she attended a life drawing course taught by renowned artist Leon Kroll, which greatly influenced her artistry. Tait’s dedication to her craft earned her several awards at the academy, including the Hollgarten prizes for painting and composition, a prize for pastel drawing, and the Suydam bronze medal for life drawing.
After completing her education, she returned to Greenwich Village to care for her terminally ill father. During this time, she balanced her passion for painting and dancing, working as a painter during the day and dancing in a chorus line at night until her father’s death in 1919.
Artistic Beginnings and Exhibitions
Agnes Tait kickstarted her artistic career by exhibiting at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1915. She continued to display her works at various prestigious institutions, such as the National Academy of Design, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and the Pennsylvania Academy in the early 1930s.
In 1927, Tait traveled to Paris, where she completed a lithography course at the École des Beaux-Arts before returning to New York City. Her newfound confidence in her artistic abilities led her to approach Valentine Dudensing of the Dudensing Gallery, who was impressed with her work and organized an exhibit featuring her paintings alongside those of fellow artists Jo Cantine and Jean Paul Slusser.
After experiencing initial success, Tait decided to further her studies and enrolled in a sketch class at the Whitney Studio. In the summer of 1928, she gained representation from the Cooperstown Art Association for their first exhibition. Commissions for her work, including a print for a United Fruit Company executive, allowed her to travel to Europe, Jamaica, and Haiti.
The Great Depression and Public Works of Art Project
The onset of the Great Depression took a toll on the art market. In response, the Ferargil Gallery requested Agnes Tait to paint portraits of well-known public figures in hopes of attracting buyers. Although she received critical praise for her work, the art market would not recover for years.
In 1933, Tait and her husband, William McNulty, traveled to Europe. Upon their return, she joined the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), which commissioned drawings representing the “American Scene” for federal facilities. It was during this time that she created her most famous piece, Skating in Central Park, which combined stylistic elements from American Primitive Art and influences from Pieter Breughel the Elder’s artistic universe. The success of this work led to further employment under the Federal Art Project, where she created small lithographic editions and murals, including her mural Fruits of the Land (1941) in the post office in Laurinburg, North Carolina.
Tait’s love for travel and adventure took her to Trinidad and Dominica, where she created a series of lithographs. One of these prints, Trinidad Singers and Dominique, was exhibited in a women’s artists group show in New York’s Argent Galleries in January 1940 and featured in a review of the show in the Art Digest.
Children’s Books and New Mexico
Agnes Tait illustrated three children’s books during her career: Peter & Penny of the Island, Heide, and Paco’s Miracle. In 1941, due to her husband’s deteriorating health, the couple relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was here that Tait discovered the Fine Arts Museum and added Southwestern landscape painting to her repertoire.
In 1943, her lithograph El Cristo Rey was chosen for the First National Exhibition of Prints at the Library of Congress. Motivated by these successes, she arranged one-woman shows in New York and Santa Fe. In 1945, the Fine Art Museum of New Mexico organized an exhibition of Tait’s work, which traveled to several southwestern cities.
Later Years and Legacy
Despite facing personal challenges, including the health complications of her sister and husband, Agnes Tait continued to work on commissions for portraits and murals. She found solace in painting cats and, in her later years, focused on creating smaller works featuring cats and flowers.
After spending time in Italy, Ireland, and Florida, Tait returned to Santa Fe, where she lived until her death in 1981. Agnes Tait’s legacy as a painter, artist, illustrator, and muralist is a testament to her unwavering perseverance, passion, and creativity throughout her life.
Curated by Jennifer
