Object Details
Artist
John Kane
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Image: 14 1/8 x 17 1/8 inches (35.9 x 43.5 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Alice K. Netter in memory of William and Francis Netter
Object
Number
74.092
With little formal education, Kane worked as a laborer for most of his life and knew hard times. Ear(…)
With little formal education, Kane worked as a laborer for most of his life and knew hard times. Earnest effort—whether paving a street or painting a landscape—mattered most to John Kane, who equated the value of such endeavors. He remarked in his autobiography:. . . a painting has a right to be as exact as a joist or a mold or any other part of building construction. I think the artist owes it to the people to make his painting as right and sound as he can make it.Kane’s breakthrough as an artist came in 1927, when a jury selected his work for the Carnegie Institute’s annual International Exhibition of Paintings. Prestigious showings in New York, London, and elsewhere soon followed. (“The Best Way to Prepare Bananas: Fruits of the Soul from the Permanent Collection,” curated by Matt Conway and presented at the Johnson Museum June 24-August 13, 2017)
