American Beauty
Artist
Walt Kuhn
(American, 1877 - 1949)
CultureAmerican
Date1934
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 33 1/4 x 65 1/2 in. (84.5 x 166.4 cm)
Overall, Frame: 44 3/4 x 79 5/8 x 3 in. (113.7 x 202.2 x 7.6 cm)
Overall, Frame: 44 3/4 x 79 5/8 x 3 in. (113.7 x 202.2 x 7.6 cm)
InscribedSigned and dated lower right: ;
Walt Kuhn;
1934
Credit LineBequest of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number89.62
Collections
On View
On viewLabel TextWalt Kuhn American, 1877–1949 American Beauty, 1934 Oil on canvas Intense colors complement the bold stare of this young dancer, suggesting the music and energy of a vaudeville show. Painter Walt Kuhn also worked as a theater producer and often used dancers, clowns, mimes, and acrobats as his artistic subjects. The heavy make-up on this woman’s face may tell a darker story about the worlds of art and show business: her body is a canvas, and, while dancing on stage to earn a living, our anonymous American Beauty hides her true identity beneath layers of bright cosmetic paint. Bequest of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 89.62 ProvenanceEstate of the Artist; Kennedy Galleries, New York; Coe Kerr Galleries, New York, 1974; Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.; Bequest of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. to the Chrysler Museum, 1989. Exhibition History"Walt Kuhn/1877-1959," Kennedy Galleries, New York, N.Y., October 10 - November 7, 1967. (Exh. cat. no. 10, fig. 10) "Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum," Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Va., March 1 - July 4, 1976. "American Painting 1930-1980," Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany, November 14, 1981 - January 30, 1982. (Exh. cat. no. 146) "Walt Kuhn: The Entertainers," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y., January 21 - April 5, 1987. "Behind the Seen: The Chrysler's Hidden Museum," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 21, 2005 - February 19, 2006. "American Treasures at the Willoughby-Baylor House," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, January 2 - December 1, 2013. Published ReferencesJohn R. Thornton, "Legendary Painter's Work in New York Show," Portland, Maine _Evening Press_ (October 18, 1967): 44. Dennis R. Anderson, "New Paintings by Kuhn, Frieseke, Davis, Sheeler, and O'Keefe," Chrysler Museum _Bulletin_ 3, no. 7 (July 1974): cover. Dennis R. Anderson, _Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum_, exh. cat., Norfolk, Va., 1975, 196. Mahonri Sharp Young, "Primitive to Pop," _Apollo_ 107 (April 1978): 46-51. Philip R. Adams, _Walt Kuhn, Painter: His Life and Work_ (Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1978), 156, 162, 261, no. 313. ISBN: 0814202586 Tom Armstrong, _Amerikanische Malerei, 1930-1980_, exh. cat., Haus der Kunst, München, Germany, 1981, 140. ISBN: 3791305727 _Walt Kuhn: The Entertainers_, exhib. brochure, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y., 1987, not paged. "Museum Benefits From Chrysler Trust," _The Chrysler Museum Bulletin_ 18, no. 11 (December 1988): 1-2. Bennard B. Perlman, "Innocence in Greasepaint," _Art & Antiques_ (February 1990): 64-69, 102-103. Martha N. Hagood and Jefferson C. Harrison, _American Art at the Chrysler Museum: Selected Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings_ (Norfolk, Va.: Chrysler Museum of Art, 2005), 188-189, no. 118. ISBN: 0-940744-71-6 Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 74, fig. 83. ISBN: 978-0-940744-72-1
