ampampquotAs a painter and as one interested in education in relation to painting and drawing the writer has become personally interested in the problem of subject matter in art. Since there is controversy in regards to this tendency in painting research directed toward the source of ideas involved in the work it is felt will help to make clear the intention of the artists. This research will deal with the attitudes of these artists toward their own work and their relation to tradition as they express it.ampampquot Robert Goodnough 1950.The absence of traditional subject matter was a primary issue for painters in midtwentiethcentury America whose imagery lacked representational references it was also a problem for those struggling to understand modern art.