Object Details
Artist
John Kane
Date
ca. 1927–30
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
21 1/2 x 25 1/2 inches (54.6 x 64.8 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Richard Netter, Class of 1939, JD 1941, and Alice K. Netter in memory of William and Francis Netter
Object
Number
79.084
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.
