American Modernism does have a unique vein in a few of the proponents. One could cite Edward Hopper, Georgia O'Keeffe and above all Maynard Dixon as painters attempting and succeeding in being unique and modern in their approach. In the case of Dixon, he was accused as being a western painter and compared to a couple of illustrators of the west. In reality he is a modernist painter in the west that has gradually emerged through several forms of a modern approach, namely tonalism, pointalism, impressionism and finally cubist realism. By 1930 he achieved his own powerful style, simplistic yet powerful compositions that have a strong message for the viewer about the western landscape.
Modernism does not mean abstraction in the strictest sense, however, real artists and not copyists can make a strong statement without answering to the academics. Remember, those who can't paint, teach.
Sometimes though, those who can paint/draw teach anyway... Burne Hogarth knew the human form, produced some excellent books on the subject, and taught in art school for decades.
.......Remember, those who can’t paint, teach....
I have a different take..... those who like eating regular teach.
There are lots of MFA’s who can’t sell enough to make ends meet. The refuge is the school. They aggregate with others promoting the school and the party line while churning out MFA’s for which there is no hope.
The work can be quite good but the return on the time is inadequate to buy groceries. I once heard the department head ask “What’s the difference between an artist and a Domino’s large pizza? The pizza can feed a family of 4 “