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Beyond Madness, Beyond Madness, 0803222076, 0-8032-2207-6, 978-0-8032-2207-6, 9780803222076, Norman A. Geske
Foreword by Peter H. Hassrick
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Beyond Madness
Norman A. Geske Foreword by Peter H. Hassrick
hardcover
2007.
227 pp.
Annotated bibliography, chronology, 38 color illus., 101 b/w illus., appendix, index
978-0-8032-2207-6
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 This book, featuring the life and works of Ralph Blakelock, situates him in the context of American art. Representing over twenty years of study and the examination of several thousand works attributed to him, Beyond Madness reveals the unusual nature of Blakelock’s life story as it offers clear parallels to his painting. Largely self-taught and supported by few patrons, Blakelock regularly struggled with the financial pressures of supporting his nine children and pursuing his art. Called both brilliant and doomed, and institutionalized on and off for the last decade of his life, he nonetheless created some of the most beloved—and some of the most frequently forged—paintings in the American canon. As in the author’s own time, modern assessments of his work are often colored by notions of Blakelock the man, leading to a paradoxical legacy of suffering and hope, obscurity and prominence. Taking Blakelock’s art on its merits, Beyond Madness stands as a testament to the indefatigable spirit of art scholarship as well as a tribute to the artist and his enduring passion for the creative process. It finally casts new light on the life and character of Blakelock and on the nature of the incomparable art he contributed to the American tradition.
 Norman A. Geske was involved in the creation of the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and served as its director until his retirement in 1983. He was instrumental in creating the Museum of Nebraska Art at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and the Interstate 80 Bicentennial Sculpture Project.
“A major contribution to the literature on Blakelock, who has been one of the most mysterious and misunderstood artists in America’s history. . . . [Geske] helps readers see that Blakelock was a groundbreaking artist in many areas. Geske presents the artist as a forerunner of modernism, and a big influence on 20th-century artists such as Franz Kline. After reading this book, one can no longer think of Blakelock as just an isolated, late-19th-century romantic landscape painter! . . . Highly recommended.”—CHOICE 
The publication of this volume was made possible by generous gifts from the following individuals: John C. & Catherine S. Angle; Richard W. Bailey; Ellen W. Baldwin; Harley D. & Marcia A. Bergmeyer; Jack & Sally Campbell; Diane A. Devriendt; Michael L. & Tanya J. Hare; Richard S. Hay; Joyce Holtmeier; John & Karen Janovy, Jr.; Terry R. Nygren; Christian M. Petersen; Gary L. & Allison D. Petersen; Charles A. & Kathryn J. Piper; Richard H. & Bonnie Quinn; Wallace A. & Martha C. Richardson; Albert H. & Lisa A. Schmitt; James C. & Rhonda Seacrest; Art & Carol Thompson; Richard J. & Karen J. Vierk; Patricia S. & Walter Blakelock Wilson; Audie J. & Suzanne M. Wise; Avery Woods; Marjorie Woods; Donna Woods; and Dan M. Worth & Laurie J. Richards.
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