Dublin Core
Title
Description
Two horses run along an earthen path through what appears to be a stockaded chute, but upon examination the vertical columns turn out to be strata of rock, and four more horses are joining the pair from atop a stylized landform. Through a crack a blossoming tree has pushed its way into daylight; along the base of rocks grow unlikely floweres. In the distance can be seen grassy hills that might be expected in a valley, or “dale.” Lebduska gives his incongruous elements a dreamlike coherence: the similar expression upon each horse’s face; the way brown coats of hair transform into otherworldly colors upon joining the chase.
About the Artist: Born in Baltimore to Czech parents, Lebduska trained to be a stained glass artist like his father, before immigrating to the US in 1912. Initially he worked as a painter of interior murals but by the late 1920s was exhibiting his own paintings. The label of Lebkuska as as a “primitive” akin to Henri Rousseau initially gained him attention during the 1930s and early 1940s; reportedly his paintings inspired Abby Aldrich Rockefeller to begin assembling her large collection of folk art. But as a 1941 “Modern Primitives” show at MoMA illustrates, it was a constrictive rubric: “All share the common denominator of Western culture at its most democratic level and all express the straightforward, innocent and convincing vision of the common man, ignorant of art or unaffected by it” (Barr). With a change in art world fashions Lebduska’s work fell out of favor during the later 1940s and ‘50s, and he descended into poverty and alcoholism. In the 1960s an art dealer named Eva Lee, impressed by one of his paintings, sought out Lebduska and helped him recover his health. He resumed painting until his death in 1966 with renewed public appreciation. 2 works at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. 1 work at Albright-Knox Art Gallery. 3 works at Wadsworth Atheneum. 9 more images at FAP.
About the Artist: Born in Baltimore to Czech parents, Lebduska trained to be a stained glass artist like his father, before immigrating to the US in 1912. Initially he worked as a painter of interior murals but by the late 1920s was exhibiting his own paintings. The label of Lebkuska as as a “primitive” akin to Henri Rousseau initially gained him attention during the 1930s and early 1940s; reportedly his paintings inspired Abby Aldrich Rockefeller to begin assembling her large collection of folk art. But as a 1941 “Modern Primitives” show at MoMA illustrates, it was a constrictive rubric: “All share the common denominator of Western culture at its most democratic level and all express the straightforward, innocent and convincing vision of the common man, ignorant of art or unaffected by it” (Barr). With a change in art world fashions Lebduska’s work fell out of favor during the later 1940s and ‘50s, and he descended into poverty and alcoholism. In the 1960s an art dealer named Eva Lee, impressed by one of his paintings, sought out Lebduska and helped him recover his health. He resumed painting until his death in 1966 with renewed public appreciation. 2 works at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. 1 work at Albright-Knox Art Gallery. 3 works at Wadsworth Atheneum. 9 more images at FAP.
Creator
Lebduska, Lawrence Henry, 1894-1966
Publisher
Date
Contributor
Source
Format
Type
Identifier
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Oil painting
Physical Dimensions
24 x 30 in.
Condition: surface dirt, crayon marks