Edge of the Garden

SarkadiLeo - Edge of the Garden.JPG
SarkadiLeo - Edge of the Garden.JPG

Dublin Core

Title

Description

At least two questions are implied by this painting’s title: which edge of the garden, and what is a garden? Due to a flattened plane and Sarkadi’s composition we see a row of hollyhocks and other tall flowers at the bottom of the canvas, with no indication of what lies between them and us; nor can we see what lies between them and houses further in the distance. A dense line of forest forms a backdrop to the homes, whose intriguing colors and patterns echo those of the flowers. Overhead, a tall tree on the forest’s “other” edge and a hint of blue sky.

About the Artist
: Born in Budapest, Hungary, Sarkadi relocated first to London and then, in 1914, to the US. His artistic life began as a dramatist, writing one-act plays that spanned his time in both countries: Within Four Walls (1900), Children at Play (1907), The Line of Life (1916), The Gusher (1928), Fourflusher (1928), and The Angel (1929). One published collection of these plays, however, features illustrations that may be Sarkadi’s and would indicate a longstanding interest in the visual arts, although his painting career dates to the early 1930s. He also exhibited sculptures on more than one occasion, showing himself to be a multitalented artist. Sarkadi’s paintings were shown at the Balzac Gallery, Ainslie Galleries, and the American Artists Congress. His friend Willy Pogany, a fellow artist from Hungary, wrote how “it is strange that a man so saturated with transcendental philosophy antagonistic to matter, should take up painting as a means of expresssion...But with Sarkadi the process is different....Color attracts him just as much as form is evaded, and here we find that his instinctive choice of vehicle for the mysticism and yearning for limitless space is more than justified by the result” (New York Sun 10 May 1924: 6). 3 works at the Brooklyn Museum. 12 more images at FAP.

Creator

Sarkadi-Schuller, Leo, 1879-1947

Publisher

Date

Contributor

Source

Format

Type

Identifier

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Oil painting

Physical Dimensions

20 x 25 in.
Condition: chipped paint, surface dirt

Geolocation