Go West, Young Man

By Millie Hanson
Arts Editor

Drawn to the West: The Life & Art of William Perl, now showing at the Rourke Museum, 521 Main Ave. in Moorhead. This exhibition runs from April 24, 2011 through September 2011.

This will be one of the first shows not curated by James O’Rourke, founding director of the Rourke Art Museum. Since his passing in March of this year, the staff is now rising to the challenge of taking on tasks that previously fell to Rourke.

Ashley Dedin is a first time curator but has spent two years working at the museum under Jim Rourke and drew on that knowledge to plan and organize the show. A transplant from Chicago, she is also an artist who has worked in a wide range of mediums and loves how accessible the art community is in the F-M area.

This comprehensive artistic survey of William Perl shows his influences and evolution as a prolific young artist. Nearly all the art in the show was created from 1938 to 1946, with his artistic output seeming to stop after World War II. It is not known why, but he never picked up a brush or pencil again.

William Perl grew up in St. Paul, MN, and graduated from Central High School in 1939. His first published work was in Central’s literary paper The World and examples of this work are part of the show. It’s a treat for the public to see his actual linoleum blocks as well as the prints themselves – most exhibits don’t show the process behind the making the art being shown.

There is also Perl’s album of Fred Harmon ‘s Bronc Peeler comics. One can see how Harman’s fictional cowboy adventures helped foster Perl’s love of depicting the American West.

He attended advertising school at Mills College in St. Paul, where he trained to be a commercial artist. There are examples of his advertisements for companies such as Champion Spark Plugs and Brockway Trucks. His art was influenced by this training, which is evident in his later work.

In 1941, Perl journeyed to Glacier National Park where he worked as a livestock driver and licensed guide at the Park Saddle Horse Company. In 1944, at the age of 24, he was drafted and fought in WWII’s Pacific theater. It was during this time, in Glacier and during the war, that he completed 20 watercolor/pen and ink drawings and his signature envelopes which he sent to his family.

“Man with Bronc in Corral” shows the influence of Harman’s Bronc Peeler, and Perl’s clean, commercial, illustrative style is evident in “Calf Roper.” He shows his understanding of horse temperament in the humorous piece “Looking For Trouble.” His work made use of many mediums that ranged from graphite and colored pencil to linoleum prints, guache and watercolor.

Perl’s line quality and style of rendering is similar to that of another illustrator with advertising training, Peter Spier, who is famous for illustrating children’s books from the late 1950s until the mid 1990s (The Fox Went Out On a Chilly Night, Tin Lizzie and Noah’s Ark to name a few). This clarity and underlying structure of line keeps the viewer from becoming distracted by color and detail, letting them concentrate on the story being told and actions unfolding.

The highlight of the show is the envelopes, used for mail that he sent to his family. Small works of art cover the envelopes with the same kinds of scenes as Charles Russell and Frederick Remington, but in miniature. These small, unexpected gems show landscapes with breathtaking views in which men, horses and cows interact. Like Russel and Remington, this cast of characters is typically engaged in either placidly going about their day, or frenetically reacting to some unexpected action that just happened the moment before.

This exhibition was possible thanks to William Perl’s sister, Marguerite, who collected his works and saved them during his lifetime. Upon his death in 1998, she donated his work to the Rourke.

There is a book for sale that accompanies the exhibit that shows Perl’s art and has thoughts about the artist including Trygve Olson, the editorial cartoonist for the Fargo Forum.

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IF YOU GO:
What: Drawn to the West: The Life & Art of William Perl
When: The exhibit runs from April 24, 2011, through September 2011.
Where: The Rourke Art Museum, 521 Main Avenue. Moorhead, MN 56560.
Cost: Admission rates are adults ($5), students ($2), and children, 4 & under (free).
The Rourke Art Museum hours: 1 to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday & Sunday with Wednesday & Thursday by appointment. Please call 218.236.8861.