Walt Kuhn’s interest in still-life painting intensified throughout his career. During an extended stay in Paris in the summer of 1933, Kuhn proclaimed in a letter home that he would focus on still life when he returned to the United States. Once stateside, he painted Zinnias at his studio in Ogunquit, Maine. Kuhn and his wife, Vera, kept meticulous records, and they recorded that the “models” for this work were purchased in town. The brilliantly colored zinnias are painted in profile, three-quarter view, and frontally, as if Kuhn was indeed treating each as a model. The painting’s dark background allows the zinnias to stand out, their abbreviated forms shaped by thickly applied paint. Kuhn’s style has been compared to that of the Spanish 17th-century master of still life
Overview
Entry
Walt Kuhn’s interest in still-life painting intensified throughout his career. Influenced by synthetic cubism, Flower and Forms (1915) was his first floral subject and the lone still life among his many figurative paintings and landscapes of that year.
The brilliantly colored zinnias are painted in profile, three-quarter view, and frontally, as if Kuhn was indeed treating each as a model. Softly formed petals contrast with sharp, spiky green leaves. The flowers are tightly arranged with a few outliers, three orange and yellow zinnias that protrude from the group, and the small, squat pot appears ill-equipped to hold such a plentiful bouquet. The ripples of the folded cloth in the foreground of the composition mimic the organic shapes of the flowers and the undefined edge of the table or backdrop, which the artist has obscured in shadow. This dark background allows the zinnias to stand out, their abbreviated forms built up with thickly applied paint. Kuhn’s style has been compared to that of the Spanish 17th-century master of still life
Catherine Southwick, Robert Torchia
July 24, 2024
Inscription
lower right: Walt Kuhn / 1933
Provenance
The artist [1877-1949]; his estate; (Maynard Walker Gallery, New York); purchased 20 December 1957 by W. Averell [1891-1986] and Marie N. [1903-1970] Harriman, New York; W. Averell Harriman Foundation, New York; gift 1972 to NGA.
Exhibition History
- 1942
- Walt Kuhn, Willard Straight Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1942.
- 1944
- Walt Kuhn, Karl Knaths, Phillips Memorial Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1944, no. 1.
- 1948
- An American Show, Cincinnati Art Museum, 1948, no. 32.
- 1958
- Walt Kuhn, Albany Institute of History and Art, 1958, no. 9.
- 1960
- Walt Kuhn 1877-1949: A Memorial Exhibition, Cincinnati Art Museum, 1960, no. 60, repro.
- 1961
- Exhibition of the Marie and Averell Harriman Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1961, unnumbered catalogue, repro. 46.
- 1964
- Walt Kuhn: Paintings, Drawings, Carvings, Nasson College, Springvale, Maine, 1964, no. 8.
- 1978
- Walt Kuhn: A Classic Revival, Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha; Wichita Art Museum; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 1978-1979, no. 23.
- 1985
- Extended loan for use by Ambassador Stuart, U.S. Embassy residence, Oslo, Norway, 1985-1989.
- 1990
- Extended loan for use by Secretary Jack Kemp, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C., 1990-1993.
- 1993
- Extended loan for use by Secretary Henry G. Cisneros, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C., 1993-1997.
- 2009
- Extended loan for use by Vice President and Mrs. Joseph Biden, Vice President's House, Washington, D.C., 2009-2015.
Technical Summary
The painting is executed on a fine plain-weave canvas that is lined with a wax adhesive onto a more heavily woven fabric. The tacking margins are damaged, but it appears that the canvas was commercially primed with an off-white ground.
Michael Swicklik
July 24, 2024
Bibliography
- 1978
- Adams, Philip Rhys. Walt Kuhn, Painter: His Life and Work. Columbus, OH, 1978: 156, 261, no. 312, pl. 90.
- 1980
- American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 191, repro.
- 1992
- American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 223, repro.
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