Storm Over Stone City

Name/Title

Storm Over Stone City

Entry/Object ID

90-33-1023

Type of Print

Lithograph

Made/Created

Artist

Curry, John Steuart

Date made

1933

Dimensions

Height

11-1/2 in

Width

17 in

Interpretative Labels

Label

Label located in file for 2013 exhibit, but may have been written earlier: Like the other Regionalists, Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry returned again and again to the midwest landscape for inspiration. Unlike Benton and Wood, who typically manipulated the landscape for their own expressive purposes, Curry seldom exaggerated a landscape's appearance. Curry's landscapes may not have been any closer to existing topography than Wood's or Benton's, but they seemed more authentic to many viewers. Curry's Storm over Stone City was executed in July of 1933 while Curry was visiting Grant Wood at the Stone City Art Colony. The print may have served as a demonstration piece for students since only 15 or fewer prints were pulled. The handwritten notations in the bottom margin of these prints were evidently written from memory because the number of the edition varies from 10 to 15.

Label

2024 post: Throughout 2024, we're looking back at the 100 year history of art at the Mulvane. "Storm Over Stone City" was made by noted Kansas artist John Steuart Curry in 1933. At the time, he was a member of the Stone City Art Colony in Iowa with other renowned artists like Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood. A few years after he completed this print, Curry was commissioned to create a series of murals for the Kansas State Capitol; however, he only completed two due to negative public reactions. Today, his murals and other works are considered masterpieces of American Regionalism.