November Scene

PattersonClaudeA - November Scene.jpg

Dublin Core

Title

Description

The center of this landscape is a tree with gold and yellow leaves, a few just turning to orange. Nearby bushes already have dropped their leaves, allowing for views across a pond or river to the other shore, and mountains in the far distance. Everything except the foreground is painted in hues of blue, white, and green—the better to set off the blaze of color in front of us.

About the Artist: Born in Monmouth, IL, Patterson’s practice of art required entrepreneurship throughout his life. The son of a printer, he financed his study at Monmouth College by working summers on the railroad in nearby Des Moines, then in 1913 teaching art lessons (Des Moines Register 15 July 1913: 9). He went on to receive further training at the Cummings School of Art (University of Iowa), the Philadelphia School of Design, and a masters in fine arts at Harvard University. At the same time, however, he continued to teach at far-flung locations: the Cummings School (Iowa), Northern State Teachers College (South Dakota), Tulane University, and at the Universities of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin (Des Moines Register 13 Sept. 1925: 10). His professional life, in other words, was contingent; alongside notices of his teaching posts are mentions of threatened cuts to art programs. His NDG paintings most likely date to a period when he lived in New York for about a decade, perhaps teaching at Columbia University. For most of his life Patterson’s horizon remained regional; he often won prizes at the Iowa Art Salon—where he exhibited for 25 consecutive years—and the Des Moines Womens Club exhibitions.

Creator

Patterson, Claude A[llan], 1887-1973

Publisher

Date

Contributor

Source

Format

Type

Identifier

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Oil painting

Physical Dimensions

23.5 x 19.5 in.
Condition: slightly cracked canvas

Geolocation