John Brown
Maker
John Steuart Curry
(American, 1897 - 1946)
ClassificationsPRINTS
Date1939
Mediumlithograph
Dimensionsimage: 14 3/4 x 10 15/16 in. (37.5 x 27.8 cm.)
sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 1/2 in. (46.4 x 34.3 cm.)
DescriptionMan with arms open, tornado and covered wagons in the background
SignedSigned in lower right of recto in graphite: John Steuart Curry
InscribedSigned in lower right of recto in graphite: John Steuart Curry
Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of Hannah S. Kully
Label TextCurry created several images of John Brown, the abolitionist who fought against pro-slavery forces in Curry's home state of Kansas before the disastrous 1859 raid on the armory at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, a failed attempt to arm slaves and begin an insurrection. In this lithograph, Brown, with arms outstretched and mouth open, seems to call down a tornado onto the Kansas plains through the force of his will. The image is based on Michelangelo's marble statue Moses (ca. 1515), which shares with John Brown an expression of single-minded purpose bordering on madness.Status
Not on viewObject number2013.17.15
Arthur Rothstein
1935
Object number: 86.1.2
