Kenneth Stubbs
Paintings and Drawings
Summer 1984
Left Bank Art Gallery * Commercial Street * Wellfleet, Massachusetts
About the Artist...
Born in Ochlocknee, Georgia, in 1907, Kenneth Stubbs studied at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. and in Provincetown with E. Ambrose Webster, an early pioneer in modern art. After several years in advertising art, Mr. Stubbs taught painting and drawing at Corcoran and at George Washington University from 1935 until 1953--with time out for three years in the Navy and a year abroad.
He painted in oil and casein and did extensive pen drawing and water color. His interest in tradition, in form and content, and in modern art, led him to a distinctive painting style concerned with flat or semi-flat patterns where bright colors and angular, faceted forms combined to give the full work a sense of motion or action. Dry, gentle humor and wit come through in Mr. Stubbs' painting and drawing as well as in his film scripts.
From 1930 until his death in October 1967, Mr. Stubbs exhibited in Washington's major art shows, including the Corcoran Biennial, and had some 10 one-man shows. Two memorial exhibits were shown at the Paul Kessler Gallery in Provincetown. His work is in private art collections across the country.
An early proponent of modern art in Washington, Mr. Stubbs was an active member of the major local art societies. He was also proud to be a life member of the Provincetown Art Association and of the Beachcombers.
His Navy work led to a distinguished career as a free lance writer of scripts for training and technical films. He wrote, planned, and occasionally directed, over 600 films, specializing in planning animation. Many of his films received awards.
Mr. Stubbs was a leading chess tournament player. He illustrated Edward Lasker's book, Chess Secrets, with sketches of renowned chess masters and was one of the first in the Washington area to become proficient in the game of Go, teaching himself enough Japanese to master the scarce literature then available on the game.
His painting of several murals, including one on the history of the Army and its equipment, began a lifelong interest in murals, especially those of Piero della Francesca in Arezzo which he studied and filmed in 1950.
A Memorial Fund supporting an annual prize in drawing was established in his name at the Corcoran School of Art by friends, students, and family. His long association with Provincetown and its art community are memorialized by a continuing, endowed fellowship at Provincetown's Fine Arts Work Center, established by his sister, Dorothy Stubbs Neyman.
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