Walt Kuhn 1880 - 1949

Estate of the artist
Kennedy Galleries, New York
Andrew Crispo, New York, 1982 (sold: Sotheby's, New York, December 3, 1997, lot 168, illustrated in color)
Acquired by the present owner at the above sale

New York, Kennedy Galleries, Walt Kuhn, October-November 1967, no. 38, illustrated
New York, Kennedy Galleries, Walt Kuhn, April-May 1977, no. 25, illustrated

Philip Rhys Adams, Walt Kuhn, Painter: His Life and Work, Columbus, Ohio, 1978, no. 505, p. 274

Very good condition, unlined. Under UV: fine
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Walt Kuhn's career is most often identified with his poignant portrayals of circus and vaudeville performers. Kuhn's intense and abiding interest in performers can be traced back to the influence of his mother, Amalia, who had always dreamed of being an actress, and often took her young son to New York City's numerous venues of public entertainment. From the late 1910s through the early 1920s, Kuhn satisfied his theatrical interests by producing grand costume galas for local social clubs where he would hire vaudeville performers to entertain the guests. As Frank Getlein noted: "It is hard to say whether he regarded himself primarily as a painter who made a little extra money dabbling in the theater or as an aspiring director-producer who had some talent in painting" (Walt Kuhn, 1877-1949, 1977, n.p.). From 1941 to 1948, the artist was granted a press pass to all of the Madison Square Garden performances of the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus. The pass permitted Kuhn to go backstage during the performances, allowing him to observe his subjects at close range while they performed in the arena and prepared behind the scenes. The experience led Kuhn to complete a series of drawings of the performers , some of which were later worked up into finished portraits in his studio.

In The White Rider, Kuhn removes his costumed subject from the dynamic spectacle of the big ring. The rider, whose public persona is based upon swift, daring movement, is presented in a fixed, frontal pose. The portrait imparts a psychological intensity as Kuhn captures the human character beneath the performer's public guise. The rider's piercing, Kohl-rimmed eyes confront the viewer with a riveting gaze. Fridolf Johnson writes, "Boldly outlined, brusquely modeled, intensely expressive, and frozen in limelight against dark backgrounds, Kuhn's portraits are unforgettable ... Most present a frontal gaze that is at once hypnotic and that were considered startling in their day. Just as Rembrandt and van Gogh allow the viewer to pierce the facades of their sitters' faces to look deeper into their beings, so Kuhn accomplishes the same thing, but in an almost eerie fashion" ("Walt Kuhn: American Master," American Artist, December 1967, p. 52).