Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
This long-awaited volume is published on the occasion of the centennial of John Steuart Curry (1897-1946), celebrated by a retrospective exhibition at the Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison. It stunningly revives the reputation of one of the most important and controversial artists of the first half of the twentieth century, whose paintings of farm life in his native Kansas (including baptisms and tornados), of the circus, and of the American scene in general were dramatically eclipsed by the ascendancy of postwar abstraction.
This comprehensive volume includes essays by leading authorities on every aspect of Curry's life and work, annotated chronology, and Thomas Hart Benton's tribute.
Synopsis
John Steuart Curry: Inventing the Middle West is the first comprehensive study in more than fifty years of this member of the great triumvirate of American Regionalists: Thomas Hart Benton, Curry, and Grant Wood. It revives the reputation of one of the most important and controversial artists of the first half of the twentieth century, whose paintings of farm life in his native Kansas (including baptisms and tornados), of the circus, of American history, and of the American scene in general were dramatically eclipsed by the ascendancy of abstract art and the New York School at midcentury.