Artists - Part 55

John Button

John Button (1929-1982) was an American artist, not to be confused with an English artist of the same name living in Sweden.

Button was known for his cityscapes.  Above, Night Lighting, 1965.  He has been called "probably our greatest painter of urban landscapes since Hopper."  He moved to New York City in the 1950s and became part of the New York School of painters and poets.

But he also produced a large number of sketches and paintings of male nudes.  Button was gay, and at one point he was in a relationship with poet James Schuyler.  Above, an untitled sketch from 1956.

For Jim, 1970.  Button's models were studio models from the School of Visual Arts where he taught, plus personal acquaintances.

Untitled, 1971.

Jupiter and Thetis, 1972.  The title is a reference to an 1811 painting by Ingres of the nymph Thetis kneeling at the feet of the god Jupiter, seated on his throne, begging him to intervene in favor of her son Achilles in the Trojan War.  Button's figures are in the same positions as Jupiter and Thetis in the Ingres painting, but unlike that painting, they are naked and considerably more human.

Hawaii, 1972.

Tony in a Jockstrap, 1972.

Untitled #238, 1970s.

We end with Andrew, 1980.  John Button died of a heart attack in 1982.