Biographies

He came to Paris in 1907 to study at the Sorbonne University and at the Julian art academy. There he met Morgan Russell with whom he founded the «Synchronism» movement five years later. Both tried to reject bounds with other existing artists or artistic movements though they were much influenced by Cezanne's approach of colour and distance, hot tones seeming to be nearer the eye than cold ones.

Their works were also reminiscent of those of Francis Picabia, Robert Delaunay and Frantisek Kupka. MacDonald-Wright and Morgan Russell also developed a style akin to that of the German Expressionist artists.

MacDonald-Wright exhibited his works in Germany in 1913 and in the Salon des Indépendants in Paris the same year and in 1914.

Before World War One, the «Synchronism» movement received much acclaim in France and in Germany and was well represented at the Armory Show in New York.

In Paris, MacDonald-Wright and Russell invited Delaunay to take part in their exhibition but the First World War brought an end to Fauvism and many other movements and hampered the development of Cubism as well.

MacDonald-Wright went back to the U.S in 1916 and found himself completely isolated after failing to meet success in a New York exhibition in 1917.

Somewhat dejected by the attitude of the American public, he returned to figurative painting in 1919 and settled in California. He then became much interested in Bhuddist art and the Zen philosophy which also attracted many painters like Mark Tobey in particular.

MacDonald-Wright visited Japan in 1937 and visited that country in 1952 and 1953 before deciding to make frequent trips there.

It was only in 1950 that «Synchronism» met success in the U.S following an exhibition in New York of works by MacDonald-Wright, Patrick Henry Bruce and Morgan Russell. From then on, America manifested its pride regarding these pioneers of modern abstract painting.

From 1953 MacDonald-Wright became a kind of legend and gave up figurative painting to resume his «Synchronism» production in a style much close to that of his early days.

He had waited forty years to be hailed as a great master while Patrick Henry Bruce had quickly given up painting and destroyed most of his works whereas Morgan Russell had rejected his early convictions and withdrawn until 1946 in a Burgundy village where he painted figurative works similar to those produced by modest painters of the School of Paris.