James Guy: A Surreal Commentator

Abstract

During the decade prior to World War II, James Guy (1910–1983) achieved a substantial reputation in the New York art world. He was one of the earliest American exponents of surrealism, adopting it years before the abstract expressionists responded to the aesthetic. Guy used surrealism as a vehicle for social criticism, creating some of the most pungent attacks on the societal ills of his day. The Depression was a period when many American artists became socially and politically concerned and viewed their art as an instrument of change. Most of these artists have been labeled social realists. While recent literature on socially conscious artists of the 1930s has expanded the term to include artists who do not exactly fit the definition of social realists, no reference to Guy has been given in any of these surveys.