The Art of Joseph W. Golinkin in "The American Sporting Scene"

The pictures by Joseph Golinkin in the book, The American Sporting Scene” are truly happy works of art. One cannot help but smile at his exuberant paintings depicting horse racing, polo, sailing, and skiing. What is even more impressive is Golinkin’s background. It turns out he was a real renaissance man. Not only was he an artist, but a patriot as well, serving in two World Wars and ending his distinguished career as Rear Admiral in the United States Navy.

Note: I apologize for the lack of descriptive captions; I do not have the book to confirm the names of the locations. However, I am sure many of you will recognize some of the places as Golinkin featured a number of locales familiar to the NSLM community!

Born in Chicago in 1896, Golinkin entered the United States Naval Academy after studying at the Art Institute of Chicago. Upon graduation from the Naval Academy, Golinkin was commissioned as an Ensign and immediately deployed to serve in World War I. In 1922, Golkin resigned from the Navy but remained in the active reserve as a Lieutenant Commander.

After leaving the Navy, Golinkin returned to art and moved to New York where he studied with Ashcan School artist, George Luks, who was teaching at the Art Students League. The Ashcan School was an artistic movement during the late 19th-century and the early 20th century that is noted for its works portraying scenes of daily life in New York, often in the city’s poorer neighborhoods. Indeed, Golinkin’s art in the book, “New York is Like This,” published in 1929, and other drawings he supplied to magazines at the time, including the “New York Times Sunday Magazine,” feature a gritty, busy, New York scene.

While the majority of Golinkin’s scenes in “The American Sporting Scene,” published in 1941, are bright and colorful, one can see the his older style of drawing and in the chapter on boxing, which feature strong, black and white lithographs depicting boxers in the ring.

When the Navy reactivated him in 1938, his artistic career was put on hold. He served with great distinction during WWII, was awarded the Bronze Star, and retired from the Navy in 1958 with the rank of Rear Admiral. His other careers include serving for twelve years as Mayor of Centre Island, New York.

His works are now part of many museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum, New York Public Library, Museum of the City of New York, Library of Congress, and the Art Institute of Chicago.