Crossing the Junction
Object number2013.112.1
Artist
John Kane
(1860 - 1934)
Date1934
MediumOil on canvas
Credit LineGift of H.J. Heinz Company
DescriptionFramed multicolored oil painting on canvas featuring green hills covered with houses and buildings. In center is a bridge connecting two hillsides together. Trains with tracks on lower half of painting. Blue sky with white clouds. Set in wooden frame, painted gold.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth: 37 × 49 × 1.75 in. (94 × 124.5 × 4.4 cm)Signednone
InscriptionsTag: "252" ; opposite side: "USX 60 / Zone 3 / (8, 18)"
Reverse has label in top right corner: "THE GALERIE ST. ETIENNE / 24 WEST 57th ST. NEW YORK, N.Y.10019 / John Kane Traveling Exhibition / March 1985-March 1986 / 48. Crossing the Junction / 1933-34. 35 1/2" x 47 1/2". (Arkus 124; Catalogue / no. 23). H.J. Heinz Company."
To the left of the label in the top right corner are two title cards from the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA:
Top card has text “REG. NO 42 CASE NO / CARNEGIE INSTITUTE, PITTSBURGH, PA., 15213 / EXHIITION PGH. CORPORATIONS COLLECT / DATE Oct. 29, 1975 – Jan. 4, 1976 / ARTIST KANE, John / TITLE 42. “Crossing the Junction” 1933-34 / OWNER H. J. Heinz Co. / ADDRESS”;
Bottom card has text “MUSEUM OF ART, CARNEGIE INSTITUTE / PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA 15213 / To / THREE PENNSYLVANIA SELF-TAUGHT ARTISTS: / EDWARD HICKS, JOHN KANE, HORACE PIPPIN / Carnegie Institute Oct. 21-Dec. 4, ’66 / Corcoran Gallery of Art Jan. 6-Feb. 19, ’67 / …”
Historical NotesOil painting by John Kane titled “Crossing the Junction” which depicts the Bloomfield Bridge, surrounding hillsides, and the railroad running underneath, painted around 1933-1934. This was the last painting completed by John Kane before he passed away. It is often claimed that Kane was the first self-taught American painter in the 20th century to be recognized by a museum after the Carnegie International of 1927 admitted one of his paintings, now his work is in many of the major art museums in the country. When he was admitted to the Carnegie it caused major publicity and many people believed it to be a joke. Kane immigrated to the area in 1879 when he was 19 years old from West Calder, Scotland. He worked for the B&O Railroad, the National Tube Company in McKeesport, and later in the Connellsville coke ovens. In 1891, he was struck by a train leading to injuries that severed his left leg, after that point he worked as a watchman for B&O and then as a painter for Pressed Steel Car, this job instilled in him a love of painting. While at Pressed Car he would paint scenes on the cars before having to paint over them. He married in 1897, but the loss of a child in 1904 led him into a depression and separation from his family. By the end of World War I, Kane was again in Pittsburgh, where he spent the remainder of his life. Kane continued to paint his primitive landscapes and self-portraits and had his first New York one-man show in 1931. He died of tuberculosis on August 10, 1934 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery.
Terms
On View
On viewCollections
John Anderson
