Wisconsin

1936

Walt Kuhn

Painter, American, 1877 - 1949

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In addition to his depictions of circus performers, Walt Kuhn completed several paintings representing the quality of American ruggedness during the 1930s. These were intended to be character studies rather than portraits of specific individuals. Kuhn portrayed the model for Wisconsin, actor George Fitzgerald, in two other guises: The Man from Eden (1930, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York) and The Camp Cook (1931, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, New York). The title of the former references Fitzgerald’s birthplace of Eden, Wisconsin.

Kuhn’s records report that Wisconsin was the “biggest all around success” when it was first exhibited at the Marie Harriman Gallery in 1937. A critic commented that it captured “a deeper characterization and a much more sweeping rhythm” than some of his circus subjects.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Brenda Kuhn

  • Dimensions

    overall: 50.9 x 40.8 cm (20 1/16 x 16 1/16 in.)
    framed: 70.5 x 61 x 6 cm (27 3/4 x 24 x 2 3/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1968.25.1

More About this Artwork

This nearly square painting shows an industrial area with buildings, storage silos, a smokestack, and railroad tracks. A mound of brown dirt or other material is in shadow in the lower left corner of the painting. Next to the mound, railroad tracks extend diagonally from the lower center of the painting into the distance to our right. The tracks end at a white building with staggered gray rooflines to our right in the distance. A tall terracotta-red smokestack rises high beyond the white building, smoke pouring out of its top and blending into the clouds above. Just beyond the mound of dirt, piles of white material, perhaps in unseen bins, line the railroad track to our left and lead back to a row ten interconnected, coral-orange silos. The horizon comes about halfway up the painting, and it is lined with a row of long white and gray warehouses. The artist signed and dated the work with brown paint in the lower right corner: “Sheeler 31.”

Scholarly Series:  American Paintings, 1900–1945

Scholarly Article:  American Paintings, 1900–1945: Wisconsin, 1936

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist [1877-1949]; his daughter, Brenda Kuhn [1911-1993], Cape Neddick, Maine; gift 1968 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1937

  • Walt Kuhn, Marie Harriman Gallery, New York, 1937, no. 11.

1960

  • Walt Kuhn 1877-1949: A Memorial Exhibition, Cincinnati Art Museum, 1960, no. 68.

1964

  • Walt Kuhn: Paintings, Drawings, Carvings, Nasson College, Springvale, Maine, 1964, no. 10.

1966

  • Painter of Vision: A Retrospective Exhibition of Oils, Watercolors and Drawings by Walt Kuhn, 1877-1949, The University of Arizona Art Gallery, Tucson, 1966: no. 81, repro.

1967

  • Walt Kuhn 1877-1949, Kennedy Galleries, Inc., New York, 1967, no. 17, repro.

1974

  • Selected American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, University Center Gallery, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, 1974, no cat.

1978

  • Walt Kuhn: A Classic Revival, Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth: Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha; Wichita Art Museum; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 1978-1979, no. 30.

2008

  • Face Forward: American Portraits from Sargent to the Present, Vero Beach Museum of Art, 2008, no catalogue.

Bibliography

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 76, repro.

1978

  • Adams, Philip Rhys. Walt Kuhn, Painter: His Life and Work. Columbus, OH, 1978: 264, no. 350.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 191, repro.

1981

  • Williams, William James. A Heritage of American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1981: 225, repro. 228.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 223, repro.

Inscriptions

lower right: Walt Kuhn / 1936

Wikidata ID

Q20193076

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