WPA Art Collection -- Illinois State Museum

ISM System :WPA Art Collection

Paintings

The Blacksmith
Leon Garland (1896 - 1941)
oil on canvas
29 x 35 inches

Leon Garland was a native of Borbruisk, Russia who immigrated to Chicago in 1913. He attended the Art Institute and Hull House (where he taught until his death) and became known for his modern town landscapes and scenes of his early life. Garland also worked in textile design, batik, and stained glass. He created forty paintings for the WPA. His work lies in the collections of many museums in the United States and several in Israel.

This painting of a blacksmith (Garland's father and grandfather were blacksmiths), shows Modernist influences that Garland championed at a time when they were unpopular. The surface planes are broken into geometric shapes.

Collection of the Illinois State Museum
photograph by Gary Andrashko
ISM Accession #: 1943.16/910.13

<i>The Blacksmith</i><br>Leon Garland (1896 - 1941)

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