Object Details
Artist
Oscar Bluemner, born Prenzlau, Germany 1867-died South Braintree, MA 1938
Gallery Label
Evening Tones abstracts a landscape along the Hudson River into a vibrant range of colors. Bluemner came to the United States to escape Germany's conservatism, hoping to find the freedom to try new ideas. After years of struggling in his architectural practice, he turned to painting, throwing himself into the exciting theories of modern art that were making their way across the Atlantic from Europe. But in the climate of World War I, foreign painters and foreign ideas were suspect. A critic reviewing Bluemner's work in 1915 avowed that his art was "utterly alien to the American idea of democracy."
Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006
Publication Label
Evening Tones abstracts a landscape along the Hudson River into a vibrant range of colors. Oscar Bluemner came to the United States to escape Germany's conservatism, hoping to find the freedom to try new ideas. After years of struggling in his architectural practice, he turned to painting, throwing himself into the exciting theories of modern art that were making their way across the Atlantic from Europe.
Smithsonian American Art Museum: Commemorative Guide. Nashville, TN: Beckon Books, 2015.
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of James F. Dicke II and museum purchase made possible by the American Art Forum, the Julia D. Strong Endowment and the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Date
1911-1917
Object number
2002.24
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
15 1/4 x 20 in. (38.7 x 50.8 cm)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Abstract
Landscape\time\evening
Cityscape\river\Bronx River
Architecture Exterior\domestic\house
Cityscape\New York\Mount Vernon
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_2002.24