September Issue 2000
Remembering Ed Sept. 21 on South Carolina Educational TV
Ed Lewandowski (1914-1998)
said his art captured "the beauty of man-made objects and
the energy of American industry on canvas."
The son of Polish immigrants and industrial
workers, Lewandowski was strongly influenced by his early years
spent in an industrial environment in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The strong sense of visual order and precision of design in Lewandowski's
works belongs to an artistic movement known as Precisionism, an
American style of painting in which industrial scenes and architectural
motifs, devoid of human reference, are depicted in a simple, clear,
almost abstract manner. Popular during the 1920s and '30s, the
movement also includes painters Georgia O'Keefe, Charles Demuth
and Charles Sheeler.
Lewandowski's art was recognized nationally as early as the 1930s.
He worked with the Works Progress Administration during the Depression
and completed murals throughout the midwest. He was also a major
mosaic artist, his best known public work being the War Memorial
in Milwaukee, the largest outdoor mosaic ever produced in America.
He has often been considered the last artist of this distinctly
American artistic movement known as Precisionism.
As an educator, Lewandowski served as chair of the department
of art at Florida State University in the early 1950s. In 1954
he returned to Milwaukee to become president of the Layton School
of Art, a position he held for 18 years. From 1973 to 1984, Lewandowski
was chair of the department of art at Winthrop College. Until
his death on Sept. 7, 1998, Lewandowski was a mentor, community
activist and artist who was respected and beloved by the Rock
Hill, SC, community.
As a tribute to Lewandowski and his contributions, a documentary
about the artist has been co-produced by Winthrop University and
WNSC-TV, a regional station of South Carolina ETV. Scheduled to
air statewide on Sept. 21, the half-hour piece entitled Remembering
Ed: The Last Precisionist includes interviews of former students,
his New York gallery dealer, civic leaders, friends, and representatives
of the arts community. Images from Lewandowski's personal archives
as well as his own artwork help place the documentary in context.
Central to Remembering Ed is an interview with Dolores
Lewandowski, his wife of 59 years. Throughout the piece, the video
returns to Mrs. Lewandowski as she looks though a scrapbook that
was assembled by her husband, and she recalls their life together.
Winthrop University Galleries director Tom Stanley who worked
on the production with WNSC's Steve Warren says, "This is
one of the most rewarding projects I have had the good fortune
of being involved with. The people we interviewed created a compelling
story that goes far beyond Ed's artistic achievements. I can't
imagine anyone who will not be able to identify with what this
production has to say."
For further information call Tom Stanley at 803/323-2493 and e-mail at (stanleyt@winthrop.edu).
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