Artwork Page for The Cleveland Indian (After Eakins)

Details / Information for The Cleveland Indian (After Eakins)

The Cleveland Indian (After Eakins)

1995–1998

R. B. Kitaj

(American, 1932–2007)
Culture
America
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
Unframed: 182.9 x 61 cm (72 x 24 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Agnes Gund 1998.179
Copyright
© Marlborough Gallery, New York
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Cleveland-born artist R. B. Kitaj has nurtured a lifelong infatuation with baseball. Like many Cleveland fans, he waited more than 40 years for his hometown team to win a championship. When the Indians won the American League pennant in 1995, he began to work on The Cleveland Indian,the first painting he completed after moving to Los Angeles in 1997 from London, his home for 38 years. The solitary figure is not meant to be a portrait of a specific player, but refers to the team and its players in a general way. The figure's posture was inspired by a batter depicted in a small watercolor by Thomas Eakins (Baseball Players, Practicing, in 1875). Kitaj also relied on recent numerous newspaper articles and photographs to refine his rendering, yet he kept the background ambiguous, giving free rein to his interest in abstract forms, expressive brushwork, and vivid color.

The Cleveland Indian (After Eakins)

1995–1998

R. B. Kitaj

(American, 1932–2007)
America

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