Trees at Night

<p>One of the most prominent cartoonists of the early 20<sup>th</sup> century Art Young was noted for his scathing social commentary biting wit and progressive politics. By his mid-forties Young had become well known for his political cartoons which appeared in progressive publications such as <em>The Masses</em>. During World War I Young's incendiary work eventually landed him in court on charges of conspiracy to obstruct recruiting for which he narrowly avoided conviction. It was not until his fifties that Young's creativity found a completely new subject in the many trees surrounding his Connecticut home. Young's depiction of trees is vivid and emotional-portraying in eerie black-and-white the silhouettes of trees in various humanlike states almost like visual haiku. </p><p>These drawings were published initially in the <em>Saturday Evening Post</em>. After drawing admiration from many readers they were quickly included in magazines such as <em>Collier's</em> and <em>LIFE</em> and were eventually assembled into the remarkable <em>Trees at Night</em> published in 1927. <span style=color: rgba(38 38 38 1)>While the sensibility on display is somewhat reminiscent of Arthur Rackham's </span>memorable trees<span style=color: rgba(38 38 38 1)> no artist had done anything like this before. Upon the book's publication Brooklyn's </span><em style=color: rgba(38 38 38 1)>Daily Eagle</em><span style=color: rgba(38 38 38 1)> enthused that it places Art Young in a class by himself and Baltimore's </span><em style=color: rgba(38 38 38 1)>Evening Sun</em><span style=color: rgba(38 38 38 1)> praised him as one of the few real native talents that this country has produced in art. </span>Though <em>Trees at Night</em> has been long out of print and nearly impossible to find this Greenpoint Books reprint will make accessible once more Young's unique atmospheric work.</p>