"The Art Spirit" was first published in 1923 by renowned artist and teacher Robert Henri. Despite its free-form nature, it has become a significant inspiration to the artistic community for both students and practicing professionals and an influential guide to aspiring artists for one hundred years.
He came to art after the family moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey. Henri studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, the Académie Julian in Paris, and the École des Beaux-Arts but returned to America to teach. He was a dynamic teacher, first at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women in 1892 and later at other schools. At The Art Students League, Henri was an increasingly popular and inspirational teacher in New York, attracting many followers. They enjoyed meeting with him to discuss art, culture, and many other subjects of the day. Henri became a leader of the Social Realist movement called initially The Eight, and what came to be known as the 'Ashcan School.'
He drove his students to claim their creative freedom to create new, more realistic art which directly expresses their lives and experiences. His only book is a random collection of his letters, articles, and essays. Here, he posited his many words of wisdom and views on the artist's place in the quickly changing American art arena. It was bound to engage and excite anyone who enjoyed and appreciates art not only of that day but all art, including modern and contemporary art, in all its diverse evolving forms.
