James Daugherty: The Forgotten Modernist Who Did It All

James Henry Daugherty (1887–1974) was an influential American artist known for his diverse styles, including realism, post-impressionism, futurism, synchromism, and abstraction, though his contributions have largely been overlooked. Following his experience at the 1913 Armory Show in New York, he embraced modernism, delving into color theory under the guidance of Henri Matisse and Robert and Sonia Delaunay. Daugherty produced vibrant Futurist illustrations for the Herald and The Evening Sun and exhibited at the Société Anonyme, established by Katherine Dreier and Marcel Duchamp. He also painted camouflage for U.S. Navy ships, created murals for Loews theaters, and designed covers for The New Yorker as Jimmie the Ink. A winner of the Newbery Medal in 1940 for Daniel Boone and a Caldecott Honor in 1938 for Andy and the Lion, he studied at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. His legacy was highlighted by William C. Agee in the 1968 MoMA exhibition "Synchromism and Color Principles in American Painting 1910–1930," and today, his works are maintained by the Friends of James Daugherty Foundation.