Artwork
Study for "Wisconsin Landscape"
Study for "Wisconsin Landscape" is an oil painting by the Regionalist artist John Steuart Curry. It dates from 1938 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work is an oil-on-canvas study dated 1938 titled Study for 'Wisconsin Landscape', indicating its subject is a view of the Wisconsin countryside.
The work is an oil-on-canvas study dated 1938 titled Study for 'Wisconsin Landscape', indicating its subject is a view of the Wisconsin countryside. As a landscape painting, it depicts natural scenery and serves as a preparatory study for a larger composition. The study is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The sources do not specify any particular iconography or symbolism beyond its representation of a regional landscape.
Technique & Style
Study for 'Wisconsin Landscape' is executed in oil paint on a canvas support, a typical medium for Curry's preparatory works. The paint is applied in a straightforward manner characteristic of his landscape studies, emphasizing broad forms and atmospheric effects rather than fine detail. As a landscape, the composition focuses on natural scenery, reflecting the artist's interest in regional American vistas. The work remains on its original canvas, though specific condition notes are not recorded in the sources.
History & Provenance
Study for "Wisconsin Landscape" was painted by John Steuart Curry in 1938 in oil on canvas and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The work measures 50.8 cm in height and 76.5 cm in width. The available sources do not record prior owners, an accession number, or exhibition history, nor details of the circumstances of its production.
Legacy
As a preparatory study related to Curry's larger Wisconsin Landscape, the work sits within the artist's body of American Regionalist painting. Its presence in the Metropolitan Museum of Art supports study of his treatment of Midwestern agrarian subjects, for which he is known alongside other artists of the Depression-era Regionalist movement.
Overview
John Steuart Curry's "Study for Wisconsin Landscape," an oil painting from 1938, represents a preliminary exploration of the American rural environment. As a landscape work, it exemplifies the artist's engagement with subjects central to the American Regionalism movement. This piece reflects Curry's broader artistic practice, which centered on depicting scenes of everyday life and the natural world, particularly within the American Midwest. The study is held in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Context
John Steuart Curry was a leading figure in American Regionalism, an art movement of the 1930s that celebrated and depicted the distinctive character of American life, especially in rural areas. Alongside Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood, Curry contributed significantly to this artistic trend, which sought to create a uniquely American art form distinct from European modernism. His focus on landscapes and agricultural themes, as seen in this study, was central to the movement's aims.
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.
