The history of art … according to Steve Martin
Two little-known American artists from the early 20th century are being championed by the comedian and film star in a new BBC radio series
Steve Martin, the comedian and film star, is using the force of his colourful personality this autumn to champion a vivid but little-known art movement founded by two young American artists who met in Paris in the early years of the 20th century.
Martin, 74, a fan of modern art, has joined forces with BBC radio to promote a neglected creative movement known as synchromism. Stanton MacDonald-Wright and Morgan Russell were students who had travelled separately to the French capital to learn from European avant-garde theories. They soon began to believe that colour was just as important as music to people, and that a painting should simply celebrate this, without straining to represent real life.