Artwork Page for Two Heads

Details / Information for Two Heads

Two Heads

c. 1931

Alfred Maurer

(American, 1868–1932)
Culture
America
Medium
gouache with brown/black ink and oil paint
Support
Paper board
Measurements
Overall: 52.9 x 44.7 cm (20 13/16 x 17 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Tommy and Gill LiPuma in loving memory of Sam and Rose LiPuma 2003.54
Copyright
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Maurer was among the first American artists to experiment with collage, a technique of creating art from non-traditional artist materials, as in the piece of wood glued onto the surface of this painting. This wooden stick, painted black and white, forms part of one face that dramatically confronts another. Historians interpret the two figures as Maurer and his father. Following the artist’s return to America in 1914, he lived with his father, a Currier and Ives illustrator who hated avant-garde art and never approved of his son’s paintings. The two heads in this composition may refer to the life-long, unbridgeable gulf that poisoned the painter’s relationship with his father. In 1932, the year after Maurer painted this work, his father turned 100 years old and received lavish praise for his artistic achievements, far in excess of any attention his son ever received. Perhaps seeing this as a final defeat, two weeks later, the son committed suicide by hanging.

Two Heads

c. 1931

Alfred Maurer

(American, 1868–1932)
America

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Contact Us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.