The Bee's Knees--The Era of American Modernism: Regionalism takes Art Forms

Regionalism was a popular modern art movement during the early twentieth century. The movement originated from the Mid-west, with each paintings representing different regions and cultures of America. Artists of this era focused on recreation of rural simple life to understand daily occurrences and disliked life in metropolitan areas and the rapid growth of technology. There were two groups of Artists pertaining to this movement. One group was the Social Realisms who captured the problems and hardships faced by the lower class citizens in urban areas and often advocated for implement of socialist ideals. The other group was the Regionalists who hoped to revive America out of the Great Depression by giving America hope about its future through painting more positive topics. The most often painted subjects are scenes of farm work, transportation, family, community and the American Experience during the Great Depression. The compositions of this movement became a stress reliever for the American public during the Depression because the art works recreated scenes of the American Spirit. Because Regionalists portrayed the American Spirit of hard work and enterprise, Regionalists often received support from conservatives, especially when conservatives along with much of the American public despised Socialistic ideals.