Rainbow Trout

Artist Leonard Koscianski (American, b. 1952)

Date1988

MediumPastel on paper

DimensionsOverall: 29 x 41 1/2 in. (73.7 x 105.4 cm)

ClassificationsContemporary art

Credit LineGift of the family of Joel B. Cooper, in memory of Mary and Dudley Cooper

Object number2004.12.1

On View

Not on view

DescriptionPastel drawing of a forest scene; water flows over moss covered while a red hawk flys overhead holding a fish.

Label TextLeonard Koscianski American, b. 1952 Rainbow Trout, 1988 Pastel on paper Leonard Koscianski's detailed study of nature is a preparatory drawing for one of his large paintings made on location in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Rainbow Stream. This work is reminiscent of nineteenth-century American landscape painting in which artists depicted the divine in nature; however, Koscianski's work also implies that nature has a darker side. Moss grows on the rocks, making the route quite slippery for hikers. Just above the brook soars a predatory bird grasping a fish in its claws. Even in this bucolic environment, one discovers death through natural selection and survival of the fittest. Gift of the family of Joel B. Cooper, in memory of Mary and Dudley Cooper 2004.12.1