The large retrospective exhibition of the works of Millard Sheets presents an excellent summary of the many facets of this well-known Southland artist’s work over the past thirty-odd years. Not denying the unity that appears in the expression of any mature artist, one does nevertheless experience some difficulty in attempting to define any single essential aesthetic concern that is fundamental to the artist’s creative exploits. This is not only because Sheets assumes a different aesthetic as he changes media and spheres of activity (painting, drawing, mural and architectural design) but because, within the sphere of painting alone, his style varies considerably, seemingly determined more by the locale of his work than by anything else. For example there is a definite similarity between Plant Patterns, Hawaii (1951) and Hawaiian Autumn (1961) although the latter is somewhat tighter in design and has lost some of the watercolor transparency of the earlier work. These island paintings consistently reflect the decorative patterns of Gauguin. On the other hand, Karachi Poultryman (1946), a rather forceful oil, is much more in the mood of Beckmann; Goat Herd, Armenia employs the formal design of a Grant Wood; Falcon Hunters, Arabia has the romanticism of a very early Kandinsky; south of the border, Sheets’ color becomes heavier; in Moscow, detail of architectural rendering, almost Eastern illumination, dominates—and so one experiences an account of the travels of the artist. Watercolor dominates. On the whole color intensity is high, value contrast strong. By far the most effective piece in the show is Angel’s Flight (oil, 1931) lent by the Los Angeles County Museum. Here Sheets is seen as a regionalist—youthful, honest, direct—absorbed in the Americanism of the period. The drawings exhibited are less satisfying. Reflecting Beaux Arts Academy concepts, Sheets’ mural designs, photographs of murals and architectural renderings are impressive in number.
––Constance Perkins
