Fay’s Christmas Painting, 1958
John Altoon (American, 1925-1969)
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde famously ends his preface with the line, “All art is quite useless.” At first glance, this may suggest that art has no place in practical life. After all, it’s food and water we survive on. But art is not about surviving at all, it’s about being alive.
This sentiment has been echoed by artists across generations. When Nicole Kidman won an Oscar – for her leading role as Virginia Woolf in the celebrated film adaption of Michael Cunningham’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Hours, she used her acceptance speech to plainly state, “Art is important.” Kidman might be better remembered for playing the courtesan, Satine, in Moulin Rouge!, but it was her artistic portrayal of Woolf’s psychological depth – enhanced, in part, by a prosthetic nose – that earned her both an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
Over a decade later, Viola Davis earned an Oscar for her supporting role in the critically acclaimed film version of August Wilson’s stage play Fences. In her speech, Davis made a great point about how everyone will eventually gather together in the graveyard. She expressed gratitude for her award while also encouraging viewers to “exhume” the bodies of the people that had dearly departed, in order to preserve their stories and memories. Davis memorably mentioned the reason she became an artist in the first place, and that is because creative individuals are “the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life.”
Oscar Wilde may remain a controversial writer, better known to some today as an LGBT icon, but his commentary on art continues to invite discussion. At the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, John Altoon’s Fay’s Christmas Painting offers a vivid counterpoint to Wilde’s statement. This American artwork, a compelling blend of Christian holiday with vibrant colors against a pale backdrop, suggests that anyone could spread joy, love, and happiness no matter who they are. The contrast between the vibrant oils and the muted backdrop makes a quiet argument: art beautifies the world and gives it meaning.
Art may not sustain the body, but it nourishes the soul. And in that, it is far from useless.
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