GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Charles Demuth dynamically combines two ways of seeing: the shifting planes of cubism, represented by the diagonal lines incising the surface of the canvas, and the recognizable world of the silos, water towers, and smokestacks of his hometown, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The painting's tactile, worked surface also contrasts vividly with Demuth's precise draftsmanship. It is one of the later examples in a series of tempera paintings of buildings in Lancaster that the artist began in 1919.
Excerpt from
William Keyse Rudolph, DMA label text, 2005
NOTES
Created in 1930-31
Object File reviewed
Note: The painting is in it's original silver leaf frame, measuring one inch wide and one inch thick, with a red-bole liner 1/8-inch wide. The silver leaf was applied on top of a red bole and was coated with now-yellowed varnish or glaze. (Details from: Claire Barry, in "Chimneys and Towers: Charles Demuth's Late Paintings of Lancaster." Exhibition Catalogue (2007), p. 176.
"Demuth presented Buildings as a gift to Muriel Draper, a luminary of artistic and literary circles in both New York and Paris who had been immortalized in a poem by Gertrude Stein, but the exact date of the transfer has not thus far been discovered." Recent Acquisition Steven Nash Charles Demuth's Buidings: Industrialism Refined "And So. To Change So. (A Fantasty on Three Careers): Muriel Draper, Yvonne Davidson, Beatrice Locher"
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Demuth, Charles (American, 1883-1935)
Cultures
Geography
Depicted location: Lancaster (Pennsylvania/United States): TGN: 7013866
Process/materials
Tempera and plumbago on composition board
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
By 1935: Muriel Draper (1886-1952), New York, from the artist (1883-1935)
Before 1943: her son, Raimund Sanders Draper (1913-1943), New York, by inheritance
After 1943: his widow, Marcia Ann Tucker (Draper) Bagley, New York [1]
n.d.: her niece, Pamela Draper, New York
1976: Sotheby Parke Bernet, (October 28, 1976) [2]
By 1978: Audrey S. Rather, Chicago [3]
From 1988: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase Fund, Deaccession Funds/City of Dallas (by exchange) in honor of Dr. Steven A. Nash
[1] Raiumund Sanders Draper married Marcia Ann Myers Tucker in 1934. They divorced, but date is unknown.
[2] Purchased at auction. Specific details unavailable.
[3] Acquisition and period of ownership unclear.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Demuth Museum~Learn more about Charles Demuth at the Demuth Museum website.
- Amon Carter Museum of American Art~Check out another painting of the same location as Buildings.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1988.21
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General Description
Charles Demuth dynamically combines two ways of seeing: the shifting planes of cubism, represented by the diagonal lines incising the surface of the canvas, and the recognizable world of the silos, water towers, and smokestacks of his hometown, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The painting's tactile, worked surface also contrasts vividly with Demuth's precise draftsmanship. It is one of the later examples in a series of tempera paintings of buildings in Lancaster that the artist began in 1919.
Excerpt from
William Keyse Rudolph, DMA label text, 2005
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Demuth Museum~Learn more about Charles Demuth at the Demuth Museum website.
- Amon Carter Museum of American Art~Check out another painting of the same location as Buildings.
Notes
Created in 1930-31
Object File reviewed
Note: The painting is in it's original silver leaf frame, measuring one inch wide and one inch thick, with a red-bole liner 1/8-inch wide. The silver leaf was applied on top of a red bole and was coated with now-yellowed varnish or glaze. (Details from: Claire Barry, in "Chimneys and Towers: Charles Demuth's Late Paintings of Lancaster." Exhibition Catalogue (2007), p. 176.
"Demuth presented Buildings as a gift to Muriel Draper, a luminary of artistic and literary circles in both New York and Paris who had been immortalized in a poem by Gertrude Stein, but the exact date of the transfer has not thus far been discovered." Recent Acquisition Steven Nash Charles Demuth's Buidings: Industrialism Refined "And So. To Change So. (A Fantasty on Three Careers): Muriel Draper, Yvonne Davidson, Beatrice Locher"
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Demuth, Charles (American, 1883-1935)
Cultures
Geography
Depicted location: Lancaster (Pennsylvania/United States): TGN: 7013866
Process/materials
Tempera and plumbago on composition board
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
By 1935: Muriel Draper (1886-1952), New York, from the artist (1883-1935)
Before 1943: her son, Raimund Sanders Draper (1913-1943), New York, by inheritance
After 1943: his widow, Marcia Ann Tucker (Draper) Bagley, New York [1]
n.d.: her niece, Pamela Draper, New York
1976: Sotheby Parke Bernet, (October 28, 1976) [2]
By 1978: Audrey S. Rather, Chicago [3]
From 1988: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase Fund, Deaccession Funds/City of Dallas (by exchange) in honor of Dr. Steven A. Nash
[1] Raiumund Sanders Draper married Marcia Ann Myers Tucker in 1934. They divorced, but date is unknown.
[2] Purchased at auction. Specific details unavailable.
[3] Acquisition and period of ownership unclear.
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