Will Barnet’s paintings and drawings have appeared in museums around the world, including Metropolitan Museum and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.  He lives and works in New York.

Robert C. Morgan, an international critic, artist, curator, and lecturer, lives and works in New York City. In addition to his many books and essays (with translations in 16 languages), he has curated over 60 exhibitions.

Will Barnet: A Sketchbook, 1932-1934
Introduction by Robert C. Morgan

Hardcover, 90 pages

ISBN 13: 978-0807615973
$49.95 (Can $57.00)

These intimate drawings, executed en plein air in Central Park during the Great Depression,  have never been exhibited or published—until now. They have been stored in Will Barnet’s studio for decades, always serving as a reference and source of inspiration for his projects (such as the lithographs included here), but never coming to light as an independent body of work. They stand, however, as fascinating glimpses into Barnet’s development as an artist, his first experiences in New York City, and his desire to pursue something new. Most importantly, they reveal his talent for portraying the people around him—ordinary people seeking refuge from their daily lives.

These drawings celebrate the subtle human interactions that take place within the Central Park ‘oasis’. Every figure is in motion—sailors and young women, mothers, fathers and children embrace or pull apart, and fix gazes on one another, communicating silently. As Robert C. Morgan writes, “[Barnet] captures the intimate moments of life that are both challenging and precious, and gives them a form that communicates well being. He pays exquisite attention to the subtleties of form that enrich the human spirit.”