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Catalog Data

Artist:
Yasuo Kuniyoshi, born Okayama, Japan 1889-died New York City 1953  Search this
Medium:
oil on canvas
Dimensions:
57 1/4 x 44 7/8 in. (145.4 x 114.0 cm.)
Type:
Painting
Date:
1925
Exhibition Label:
Kuniyoshi's paintings often encoded his experience as a Japanese immigrant in the United States, where, in the 1920s, anti-Asian discrimination was pervasive and restrictive immigration laws prevented him from becoming a citizen. (His wife, Katherine Schmidt, was disowned by her wealthy family when they married.) He painted Strong Woman and Child while in Paris, where the liberal environment and friendships with other artists, among them Alexander Calder, provided a sense of freedom and emotional support. The strong woman of the title is a circus performer who stands on a stage, French flags entwined at the backdrop. The mother figure, who may be a stand-in for Katherine, affirms her protective relationship with the child, who seems perhaps a symbolic portrayal of the artist himself.
Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014
Topic:
Landscape  Search this
Figure group\female and child  Search this
Performing arts\circus  Search this
Object\other\flag  Search this
Object\other\flag  Search this
Credit Line:
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Object number:
1986.6.50
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department:
Painting and Sculpture
On View:
Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1st Floor, North Wing
Data Source:
Smithsonian American Art Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7419f324d-42f6-4eeb-a112-1b50e73d9cd4
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:saam_1986.6.50