Remembering George Tooker: The American painter whose photo-like artworks reflect societal anxiety and pangs

George Clair Tooker, Jr., better known as George Tooker, an acclaimed American figurative painter, was born on this day, 5th August, 1920. He was raised in Brooklyn till the age of seven, after which he and his family moved to Bellport, Long Island. Tooker began taking painting lessons at age seven under professional artist Malcolm Fraser, who was a family friend. He attended Harvard University in 1938, where he graduated with a degree in English in 1942. While he did not take any art classes in college, Tooker spent much of his time at the Fogg Art Museum, where he studied Medieval and Renaissance painting. This exposure was to significantly influence his art practice.

Tooker’s works are associated with Magic Realism, Social Realism, Photorealism and Surrealism, and took on the themes of desire, death, religion, and grief. However, he did not agree with the association of his work with Magic Realism or Surrealism, and said, \”I am after painting reality impressed on the mind so hard that it returns as a dream, but I am not after painting dreams as such, or fantasy.\”

As a queer artist working in the 1950s, Tooker used his art to tell pertinent stories of the time and mirror realities that were otherwise brushed aside. He challenged the status quo both in life and art. Additionally, he forcefully criticized the Capitalist and bureaucratic systems and depicted the rot that they set into society through his life-like depictions of characters in the backdrop of varied concerning socio-political conditions. He documented the effects of the Great Depression in the city and saw the role of women in society and their depiction in art with especially empathetic eyes. Unlike many painters who would use women models to depict desire or beauty, he often showed their suffering upon being trapped in red tape and bureaucracy.

The 1950 painting ‘Subway’ is one of Tooker’s most acclaimed works. It depicts the central female figure visibly anxious in a crowd, mostly of men, on the subway. The scene could be said to evoke feelings of helplessness, isolation, and dissolution of identity in a fast-paced and often unsafe modern life. Another well-received painting is the 1950 work, ‘Government Bureau’, which portrays a government office and some figures waiting listlessly to get their work done. This piece is a strong representation of the artist’s angst against bureaucratic red tape and the rather anonymous and puny statures that citizens are forced to assume while navigating juggernaut government systems. Other notable works are ‘The Waiting Room’ (1959), ‘Sleepers II’ (1959), ‘Lunch’ (1964), ‘Farewell’ (1966), ‘Teller’ (1967) and ‘Voice II’ (1972).

While Tooker’s work gained widespread recognition in the late 1940s and 1950s, he sunk into relative oblivion with the rising popularity of Abstract Expressionism and continued to paint amidst little recognition. He was rediscovered in the 80s, when he began to be again acknowledged for his skill, subjects, thematic concerns, and style. Later in his career, Tooker took to spirituality and is said to have experimented significantly with symbolism. A recipient of many awards and titles in his career, Tooker was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1968 and was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Tooker was one of nine recipients of the U.S’s National Medal of Arts in 2007. He died on 11 March 2011, at the age of 90 in Hartland, Vermont.