Mary’s Little Lamb

Description

Born near Edinburgh, Scotland, John Kane immigrated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1879. During his life, Kane worked in a variety of occupations, including as a steel worker, bricklayer and coal miner. He did not have formal art instruction, but he did have a youthful interest in art, which continued throughout his adult life. In 1927, Kane submitted a painting to the Carnegie Institute of Art and was accepted at the insistence of American painter Andrew Dasburg. This recognition led to exhibitions in Chicago, Cincinnati, and New York City.
Kane’s art deals with contemporary issues such as prejudice and industrialization. In the communication of controversial subjects, Kane uses traditional devices, like perspective. In Mary’s Little Lamb, the combination of the unusual subject and the realistic rendering of the landscape makes a personal statement on the loss of innocence following the industrial age. The subject of a nursery rhyme adds to the feeling of lost childhood innocence.
Lindsay Meehan
Modern and Contemporary Art Intern
2002