%C2%A9 Estate of Walt Kuhn %2F Courtesy D C Moore Gallery%2C New York
Sandy, 1946
Walt Kuhnexpand_more
Oil on canvasexpand_more
The John R. Van Derlip Fundexpand_more 61.6
Not on Viewexpand_more
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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© Estate of Walt Kuhn / Courtesy D C Moore Gallery, New York