stallion and donkey, both on their rear legs, pushing each other; stallion at left, donkey at right; figure with pitchfork at left; sketchy tree and right; sketchy, with ink details

Study for "Stallion and Jack Fighting", c. 1932-1943

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John Steuart Curry was a leading figure among the Regionalists, artists who sought inspiration in rural America as an alternative to the urban centers of Europe. As part of his populist orientation, Curry often reiterated his painted subjects in lithographs printed in large editions and priced for middle-class consumption. In 1932, he painted Stallion and Jack Fighting, in which a powerful glistening horse tangles with a rawboned mule. At some point he decided that this subject would have wide appeal; so he set about reducing and refining the image, as we see in his drawing executed on tracing paper. He started with erasable pencil and then finalized his thoughts with ink. In 1943, he elaborated the image once again, drawing with a greasy crayon on a lithographic stone. The stone was then used to print the image, reversing the composition.

Details
Title
Study for "Stallion and Jack Fighting"
Artist Life
1897 - 1946
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2009.48.1
Provenance
The artist; his widow Kathleen, 1946; her granddaughter, Sarah "Sunshine" Schuster, 2001; sold by her through Kiechel Fine Art , Lincoln, Neb., to the MIA, 2009
Curator Approved

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stallion and donkey, both on their rear legs, pushing each other; stallion at left, donkey at right; figure with pitchfork at left; sketchy tree and right; sketchy, with ink details