Artwork Details
57-1/2 x 33 in. 63 x 40 in. (framed)
Accession NumberGift of Booth Tarkington
CopyrightAmerican Painting and Sculpture 1800-1945
Color PaletteBooth Tarkington, Kennebunkport, Maine; given to the John Herron Art Institute now the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Indianapolis, Indiana in 1941.
A portly man, with a gaping smile and lit cigarette, sits on a delicate bench in an elegant interior. The painter, Tarkington’s friend, explained that the sitter was an out-of-work Austrian actor who had stranded himself in Paris.
The author clearly appreciated the contrast between the unemployed performer depicted in stylish surroundings and the deft application of paint, which can be seen in the superbly foreshortened hands and the reflections in the eyeglasses. Tarkington so enjoyed this portrait that he hung it in his study, proclaiming it “the best of [his] 20th-century pictures.” It was the first gift that Tarkington offered to the John Herron Art Institute, the forerunner of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Exhibition Name
Venue
Dates
In Contemporary Rhythm: The Art of Ernest L. Blumenschein
Phoenix Art Museum
March 15, 2009 - June 15, 2009
In Contemporary Rhythm: The Art of Ernest L. Blumenschein
Denver Art Museum
November 8, 2008 - February 8, 2009
In Contemporary Rhythm: The Art of Ernest L. Blumenschein
Albuquerque Museum of Art and History
June 8, 2008 - September 7, 2008
More Than Red, White and Blue: American Paintings from the Collection
Indianapolis Museum of Art
July 2, 1989 - August 20, 1989
Ernest L. Blumenschein
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
March 5, 1978 - April 16, 1978
Arts Festival Exhibition
DePauw University
April 8, 1962 - May 9, 1962
An Art Exhibition
Purdue University
Dates Unknown
Spring Exhibition of the National Academy
National Academy Museum & School of Fine Arts
Dates Unknown
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