Mr. Duffy
Artist
Barbara Greene Mann
(American, 1948 - 2018)
Date1981
MediumWatercolor
DimensionsImage Size: 13 1/4 × 19 1/4 in. (33.7 × 48.9 cm)
Frame Size: 21 1/4 × 27 1/4 in. (54 × 69.2 cm)
ClassificationsDrawing
Credit LineGift of James Pearson Duffy, 1992
Object numberUAC1326
DescriptionAfter spending the better part of a decade cultivating a reputation for acutely observed portraiture of various Cass Corridor personalities and their architectural surroundings, Barbara Greene was commissioned by respected local collector and patron of the arts James F. Duffy Jr. His proposed goal was to capture his tubing and pipe warehouse, Edward W. Duffy and Co., and the abundance of his collection housed within; a tall order considering the breadth of the work within the albeit logical labyrinth of a factory setting. Much to Duffy's delight, Greene managed to convey the range of his collection and the feel of the warehouse itself over the course of the three works in her series: “Edward G. Duffy's”, “Duffy's”, and the enigmatic portrait of a man surrounded by both his vocational and artistic pursuits, “Mr. Duffy” (above).By bending the laws of perspective to her will, Greene fans out the space of Duffy's office which he describes as “very small”, to enable it to be seen from an unnatural number of vantage points. This periscoping of the office space allows for the inclusion of a bountiful number of works in Duffy's warehouse collection, many of which would have been recognized contemporaneously and continue to be identifiable, allowing the work to function as a veritable I-Spy for the Cass Corridor artistic community as well as a documentary portrait. Ellen Phelen's “Untitled”(1972) and Robert Sestok's “One by Two”(1972), “Radio Wheels”(1972) and “It Landed in Seattle”(1974) are fairly easily read among the many pieces pictured in the office and enveloping space. Other works depicted, especially those in the corners, reduced semi-vague lines, shapes, and colors may remain a mystery to those not “in the know” of Cass Corridor art and the Duffy Warehouse collection as little photographic documentation of the space in its dual warehouse-gallery form exist.
Wrapped in an air of self-assurance and pride in his work and station within the artistic community, the depiction of Duffy himself has a friendly, quirky quality. His dapper, professional attire hints at his investment in the creative, utilizing a bold mix of plaids Greene illuminates the complexities of his seemingly juxtaposed character: a bohemian in the trappings of a businessman.
In “Up From the Streets”, Cass Corridor artists attempt to unravel the complexities of Mr. Duffy through recounting memories from the movement's heyday much as Greene attempts to capture him through her watercolor, a fittingly flexible medium for such a seemingly delphic figure. Artist John Egner says of Duffy:
“He threw himself into the synergistic artist/patron relationship with such abandon and shared so many of the artist's habits, traits, and attitudes, that I cannot help but think of him of an artist in his own right.”
This inclusiveness in the artist's community is hinted at by Greene's inclusion of three background figures, all of whom are outwardly sporting the attire of a 1980s creative collective. They appear to be looking in on Duffy with the anticipation of children waiting on a friend to come out to play. This lively spirit of expectancy, echoed in the colorful recreations of the Warehouse collection's works, makes Greene's painting vibrate with an energy reflective of the creative potential of the time, propelled by the collaborative efforts of artists like Greene as well as Duffy himself.
Detroit native Barbara Greene, now Barbara Greene Mann graduated with a B.A. in 1972 and subsequent M.A. from Wayne State University in 1974 (other sources cite her graduation date as 1973). She continued to create and show her work in the Detroit area into the 1980s when she moved to Philadelphia, enrolling the Occupational Therapy program at Thomas Jefferson University. Barbara pursed her OT career in both Florida and Canada into the early 2000s. She is currently living in Toronto, continuing to create her characteristically whimsical works.
Written by Kat Goffnett
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