totally random garbage: State Origins of American Artists

Just the other day, I was reading about Andy Warhol. It always strikes me that he’s from Pittsburgh. I mean, it’s a great city (I spent my teen years there), but it’s very blue collar, and not exactly known as an artistic mecca.

And isn’t Jackson Pollock from Montana or Wyoming or someplace out there? And isn’t Jasper Johns from South Carolina? I do know Robert Indiana is from – surprise! – Indiana.

Though they all seem to end up in New York City, I do wonder where they all got their start.

Methodology

Identify the top 50 American artists using Google
Figure out what state they were born in
Add ‘em all up

NOTE: This includes artists and sculptors, but not photographers.

Results

There are more than a few from New York, as well as from another northeast state, Massachusetts. But would you believe that the #1 state is Pennsylvania?

But look at all those one-offs – Rhode Island, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wyoming … Here’s how they all shake out pie-chart-wise.

Interestingly, the one-offs make up almost half. Note, though, that the top 3 do make up more than half. Not sure what that all means. Maybe talent can start anywhere. As for those northeastern states, they may simply have more history (and people).

Details

So, here they are, state by state:

Pennsylvania (mostly from Philly) – Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Jeff Koons (York), Maxfield Parrish (Quaker), Alexander Calder (grandfather did statue of William Penn on Philly’s city hall), Andrew Wyeth, Mary Cassat (another Pittsburgher), Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky), Thomas Eakins, Stuart Davis, John Sloan (Lock Haven), Benjamin West

New York – Edward Hopper, Jean-Michel Basquiat (father was Haitian), Roy Lichtenstein (tho Ohio State grad), Joseph Cornell, Milton Avery (Altmar, in upstate NY, but which no longer exists), Alex Katz, Ellsworth Kelly (Newburgh), Barnett Newman

Guess the artist

Massachusetts – James McNeill Whistler (Lowell), Winslow Homer, Childe Hassam (family name originally Horsham), Frank Stella (parents born in Italy), Carl Andre (Quincy), Will Barnet (passed away at age 101), John Singleton Copley (ditched Mass for the UK at age 24, never to return)