Column: Talent can hide in hard places
The painting features the upper torso of a man, bare-chested and fit from a life of physical labor. A prominent vein ripples down his right bicep and across a sinewy forearm to scarred hands with short, strong fingers that are loosely clenched and touching.
His uncompromising eyes look straight ahead, observant and measuring. Over his head are three bold, arched, concentric bars, framing the top of the painting.
More than likely, the bars were an artistic accent rather than symbolism, for while “John Kane Self-Portrait 1929” is a renowned work of art, the artist himself certainly was no saint. Nor would he have made such a claim.
Kane was born in 1860 of Irish parents in Scotland and immigrated to Braddock in 1880. He spent the remaining 54 years of his life living and working around Pittsburgh, mostly as a semi-skilled laborer.
He was described as hard-working, hard-drinking and hard-fighting — not unlike many of his peers in the mills, mines and railroad yards of late-19th century Pittsburgh. After losing a leg in a railroad accident in 1891, Kane became a painter of railroad cars, houses and other buildings.
But unlike many of his peers, John Kane had an artist’s soul. He carried around a tin whistle and flute upon which he played Scottish tunes, and a decade or so after the turn of the century, Kane started applying paint to canvases as well as houses.
As an artist, Kane was self-taught, but he had a natural sense of composition and brought years of experience in mixing colors and observing details to his artwork. Many of his creations were inspired by his Scottish heritage; he painted landscapes — many of them around Pittsburgh — portraits and historically-themed pieces.
For years he created his art during his spare time while continuing his arduous day jobs. But Kane refused to relegate his artistry to a pastime. His artistic vision was uncompromising.
On his third try in 1927, John Kane’s painting, “Scene from the Scottish Highlands” was accepted to the Carnegie Institute’s annual international exhibition. It was a controversial selection, since it marked the first time a piece of “primitive art” had been accepted for display in a major exhibition.
The painting features two young kilted boys, dancing the Highland fling, on a small wooden stage as an older bagpiper stands in the grass behind them piping. One boy looks at the other, more confident lad in an effort to emulate him.
Meticulous detailing in the garments; shades of green in the clothing, grassy hillocks, trees, and even the cumulus-crossed sky; draw attention away from noticeably undersized hands and feet.
Kane’s controversial selection drew attention and enabled him to break through into the established art world at the age of 67. Seven years later, at the age of 74, he died.
But by that time, this workman’s art had become widely accepted. Today, John Kane pieces are in the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the American Folk Art Museum, all in New York City; Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the Phillips Collection, both in Washington, D.C.; the Detroit Institute of Arts, and, of course, the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.
Now you can see 37 works of art by Kane at the Senator John Heinz History Center at its newly opened exhibition, “Pittsburgh’s John Kane: The Life & Art of an American Workman.” HeinzHistoryCenter.org.
In addition to his art, people can learn about the event-filled, inspirational life story of this hard-living yet artistic immigrant — in many ways as common as a next-door neighbor or uncle yet talented enough to become one of the most-highly regarded self-taught artists in American art.
Visit the exhibition and you’ll leave knowing that John Kane was no saint. But after looking at his self-portrait, you’ll also leave knowing you looked into the eyes of a true artist.
To respond to this column — or read other columns by Dave Hurst — visit www.hurstmediaworks.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Dave Hurst column about the artist John Kane
