Portrait.

%C2%A9 Estate of Walt Kuhn %2F Courtesy D C Moore Gallery%2C New York

Sandy, 1946

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The John R. Van Derlip Fundexpand_more  61.6

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Walt Kuhn’s works exhibit a realism that was dramatically new in the early years of the 1900s, and which continued to be a major stylistic characteristic for the artist throughout the thirties and forties. Kuhn designed costumes for circuses and theatrical productions and chose subjects from the people he met there. Sandy portrays a clown in his costume and Pierrot hat. All background is eliminated, emphasizing the bright, simple colors, bold brushstrokes, and the subject’s revealing posture. The clown was a favorite motif of 20th-century painting, an expression of tragedy and man’s lost dignity hidden behind a mask of makeup. Kuhn clarified the significant meaning behind the seemingly simplistic clown with his artist statement: “If all those who go to my show see nothing but the subject, then my whole endeavor as an artist is in vain.”

Details
Title
Sandy
Artist Life
1877 - 1949
Role
Artist
Accession Number
61.6
Curator Approved

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Portrait.

© Estate of Walt Kuhn / Courtesy D C Moore Gallery, New York

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