Examines how and why religion matters in the history of modern American art. Andy Warhol is one of the best-known American artists of the twentieth century. He was also an observant Catholic who carried a rosary, went to mass regularly, kept a Bible by his bedside, and depicted religious subjects throughout his career. Warhol was a spiritual modern: a modern artist who appropriated religious images, beliefs, and practices to create a distinctive style of American art. Spiritual Moderns centers on four American artists who were both modern and religious. Joseph Cornell, who showed with the Surrealists, was a member of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Mark Tobey created pioneering works of Abstract Expressionism and was a follower of the Bahá’í Faith. Agnes Pelton was a Symbolist painter who embraced metaphysical movements including New Thought, Theosophy, and Agni Yoga. And Warhol, a leading figure in Pop art, was a lifelong Catholic. Working with biographical materials, social history, affect theory, and the tools of art history, Doss traces the linked subjects of art and religion and proposes a revised interpretation of American modernism.

Spiritual Despots by historian of religion J. Barton Scott zeroes in on the quaint term "priestcraft" to track anticlerical polemics in Britain and South Asia during the colonial period. Scott's aim is to show how anticlerical rhetoric spread through the colonies alongside ideas about modern secular subjectivity. Through close readings of texts in English, Hindi, and Gujarati, he shows in compelling detail how the critique of priestly conspiracy gave rise to a new ideal of the self-disciplining subject and a vision of modern Hinduism that was based on unmediated personal experience and self-regulation rather than priestly tutelary power. Spiritual Despots offers a new perspective on what some scholars have called "Protestant Hinduism," and, more broadly, contributes to the emerging field of "post-secular" studies by shedding light on the colonial genealogy of secular subjectivity.

This text explores the major new or unconventional religions and spiritual movements in America that exist outside the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Essays document the co-occurrence of mood disorders and creativity in artists and their families and the profound spiritual convictions held by many of the leading artists of the twentieth century--Jacket.

“This book constitutes a very welcome contribution to the public appreciation and scholarly study of Henry Ossawa Tanner, a painter of considerable significance in both Europe and America, and one whose religious imagery merits careful consideration. These well-researched essays by an international team of scholars offer substantial reflections on complex issues of race and religion, and situate the artist’s work and career within the context of his life and times. This is a robust framing of Tanner as a cultural phenomenon and one that readers will find quite rewarding.”—David Morgan, Professor of Religion at Duke University and author of The Embodied Eye: Religious Visual Culture and the Social Life of Feeling “Henry Ossawa Tanner has finally been recognized as an important artist in the last twenty years, and is now firmly part of the American canon as the first major African American painter to emerge from the academy. This book enriches our understanding of Tanner’s historic place in American art by considering his work as an early modernist religious artist—a status entwined with his race, but not defined by it. These essays, by an impressive collection of scholars, are full of substantially new material, and succeed in broadening our conception of Tanner’s life and work.”—Bruce Robertson, Professor of Art and Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

This book demonstrates that numerous prominent artists in every period of the modern era were expressing spiritual interests when they created celebrated works of art. This magisterial overview insightfully reveals the centrality of an often denied and misunderstood element in the cultural history of modern art.

The work of Chippewa artist George Morrison (1919–2000) has enjoyed widespread critical acclaim. His paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures have been displayed in numerous public and private exhibitions, and he is one of Minnesota’s most cherished artists. Yet because Morrison’s artwork typically does not include overt references to his Indian heritage, it has stirred debate about what it means to be a Native American artist. This stunning catalogue, featuring 130 color and black-and-white images, showcases Morrison’s work across a spectrum of genres and media, while also exploring the artist’s identity as a modernist within the broader context of twentieth-century American and Native American art. Born and raised near the Grand Portage Indian Reservation in Minnesota, Morrison graduated from the Minnesota School of Art and the Art Students League in New York City. He spent his early career mainly on the East Coast, becoming one of the first Native American artists to exhibit his work extensively in New York. Best known for his landscape paintings and wood collages, he employed a variety of media—paint, wood, ink and metal, paper, and canvas—and developed a unique style that combined elements of cubism, surrealism, and abstract expressionism. In her foreword to Modern Spirit, Cherokee artist Kay WalkingStick describes her personal association with Morrison and admiration for his authentic artistic vision. Kristin Makholm, in her introduction to the volume, explores Morrison’s ties to Minnesota and his legacy within the history of Minnesota art and culture. Then, drawing on extensive primary research and Morrison’s own writings, W. Jackson Rushing III offers an in-depth analysis of Morrison’s artistic evolution against the backdrop of evolving definitions of “Indianness.” By expanding our understanding of Morrison’s singular vision, Modern Spirit invites readers to appreciate more deeply the beauty and complexity of his art.