Artwork
Spring Shower (Western Kansas Landscape)
Spring Shower (Western Kansas Landscape) is an oil painting by the Regionalist artist John Steuart Curry. It dates from 1931 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The depiction of weather, clouds and rain, functions symbolically, representing both the promise of growth and the transient character of frontier life.
The work shows a modest farmhouse set within a broad Western Kansas landscape, rendered in an oil painting that captures a sudden spring shower. Clouds gather and rain falls, a combination that the artist uses to suggest the cleansing and fertile renewal associated with the season. By locating the scene in the Great Plains, Curry links the domestic structure to the surrounding agrarian environment, evoking themes of rural stability and the cyclical rhythms of nature.
The depiction of weather, clouds and rain, functions symbolically, representing both the promise of growth and the transient character of frontier life. Executed in 1931 and held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the painting exemplifies Curry’s regionalist focus on everyday American scenes.
Technique & Style
Spring Shower (Western Kansas Landscape) is an oil painting executed on canvas by John Steuart Curry in 1931. The work measures 75.9 cm in height and 111.4 cm in width. As a landscape painting, the composition depicts a rural house set against a backdrop of clouds and rain, characteristic of the Western Kansas setting.
The artist utilized oil paint to render the atmospheric conditions and topographical elements of the scene. The painting is currently part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The medium and support are consistent with the artist's practice during this period, focusing on the depiction of regional life and weather patterns through traditional oil techniques.
History & Provenance
Spring Shower (Western Kansas Landscape) was created by John Steuart Curry in 1931, executed in oil paint on canvas. The work entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is held today. The painting measures 75.9 by 111.4 centimeters and depicts a landscape scene featuring a house, clouds, and rain. No further details regarding commission, intermediate ownership, or transfer history are documented in the available sources.
John Steuart Curry's 1931 oil painting Spring Shower (Western Kansas Landscape) is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work, measuring 75.9 cm in height and 111.4 cm in width, depicts a rural scene featuring a house, clouds, and rain. While the specific inventory or accession number is not detailed in the available records, the piece is cataloged within the museum's holdings as a significant example of American landscape painting.
The provided sources do not list specific exhibition history or past display dates for this artwork, limiting the historical record to its current institutional location and physical description.
Overview
John Steuart Curry's Spring Shower (Western Kansas Landscape), painted in oil in 1931, captures a dynamic moment in the American heartland. This work exemplifies Curry's commitment to portraying the rural character of his native Kansas, a central theme for him and his fellow Regionalist artists. The painting is now part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection.
Context
As a key proponent of American Regionalism, John Steuart Curry dedicated his artistic practice to documenting the everyday life and landscapes of rural Kansas. Created during a period when artists like Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood also championed American subjects, Spring Shower reflects the movement's broader aim to create art rooted in specific regional identities, often in contrast to European modernism.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
John Steuart Curry (November 14, 1897 – August 29, 1946) was an American painter whose career spanned the years from 1924 until his death.
