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American Regionalism: Visions from the Heartland

John Steuart Curry

American, 1898–1946

Born in Dunavant, Kansas, the artist John Steuart Curry remained tied to his Midwestern roots throughout his life. He is celebrated for his ability to represent the dramatic aspects of rural life in images of natural disasters, animal fights, religious revivals, and other events.

  

John Brown

In 1937, Curry painted a mural for the Kansas State Capitol building in Topeka, Kansas, featuring an image of Kansas abolitionist John Brown in front of a crowd of people and a tornado. Curry simplified this composition in his 1939 painting, John Brown, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. In the same year, he reproduced the image in this lithograph, published by Associated American Artists.

John Brown’s armed raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859 helped precipitate the American Civil War and resulted in the abolitionist’s execution for murder. Curry used the tornado as a symbol of Brown’s righteous anger. The abolitionist’s violent passion is likened to the fury of the twister, while the small sunflower in the bottom right corner serves as an emblem of Kansas, the Sunflower State.

 John Brown
John Steuart Curry
American (1898–1946)
John Brown
1939
Lithograph
(93.15)
Gift of Mrs. D.A. Ross

Summer Afternoon

Summer Afternoon is one of Curry’s more pastoral representations of rural America. Adult horses stand in a pasture as colts and/or fillies frolic nearby. A large, billowing cloud looms overhead, mimicking the shapes of the lush deciduous trees in the background. The artist pictures a fertile, Midwestern landscape, alive with activity during the summer months.

 

 

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Summer Afternoon
John Steuart Curry
American (1897–1946)
Summer Afternoon
1939
Lithograph
(81.39)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. D.A. Ross