Cyclamen 3
Artist
Walter Mruk
(American, 1883 - 1941)
Date1927
Mediumwatercolor on paper
DimensionsSupport: 19 1/2 × 14 in. (49.5 × 35.6 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineBequest of Linda Marts, in honor of her step-father, Will Shuster, 2016
Object number2016.23.1
DescriptionRed Cyclamen flowers with 8 blossoms growing from green foliage. The majority of the composition is weighted towards the bottom of the portrait oriented paper with includes three of the blossoms, two or three large green leaves and a jagged pattern around the base of the plant that suggests a planter. Five blossoms grow up from the foliage at staggered heights and are generally justified to the right side of the paper. The composition is painted inform of a blank background.eMuseum Notes
Though
Mruk is best known for his southwestern landscapes, this painting is an
excellent example of his still life work and displays a keen interest in modernist
explorations of form.
Prior to leaving Santa Fe for his birthplace of Buffalo, New York, Walter Mruk painted a series of floral still lifes, including Cyclamen 3. Mruk relied on the plant's natural structure to create an asymmetrical composition with a sinuous flow line. Floral still lifes had become fashionable in the 1920s, spurred by modernists such as Charles Demuth and Georgia O'Keeffe.
On View
Not on viewTerms
- flowers (plants)
- still lifes
