Musical Clown

Maker Alexander Zerdin Kruse (American, 1890 - 1972)

Collections

American Print Selections

ClassificationsPRINTS

Daten.d.

Mediumlithograph on wove paper

Dimensions14 3/4 x 8 3/8 in. (37.5 x 21.3 cm.) sheet (sheet): 15 3/4 x 11 3/8 in. (40 x 28.9 cm.)

SignedSigned in lower left of recto in plate: A Z Kruse

InscribedSigned in lower left of recto in plate: A Z Kruse Inscribed at bottom of recto in graphite: Ed-75 Musical Clown Alexander Z. Kruse Watermark: RIVES

Markingswatermark: RIVES

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of the Kruse Family Trust.

Label TextThe tuba engulfs this musician, whose wide hips and bulging cheeks suggest Kruse's sense of humor. The player is focused inward, ignoring the gaze of the conductor, who waves a baton at the foot of the stage.

Kruse often found his subject matter by wandering around Brooklyn, where he lived. He may have learned his method of "hunting" for artistic materials from teachers such as Robert Henri, John Sloan, and George Luks, who urged their students to take on scenes from daily life as their subjects. Later, Kruse was active in New York's art community as a teacher, an art critic for the Brooklyn Eagle, and a columnist for the Art Digest.

Status

Not on view

Object number96.34.10