The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

The Blue Feather

The Blue Feather

1917
(American, 1868–1966)
Framed: 107.3 x 112.4 x 5.8 cm (42 1/4 x 44 1/4 x 2 5/16 in.); Unframed: 70.5 x 75.6 cm (27 3/4 x 29 3/4 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

Throughout his long career, Edmondson stubbornly resisted modernist styles and proudly proclaimed himself a traditionalist. He felt that artists should paint what they see, and once declared, "When painting a portrait, I do not indulge in this ‘painting of the soul’ stuff. When some artists fail to get a likeness of a person they say they have not tried to paint him, but have painted his soul." The sitter in The Blue Feather was Edmondson's student, Caroline Mytinger, who often modeled for him. Later a portraitist in her own right, she traveled to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands to record its indigenous people.
  • "Accessions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 4, no. 4 (1917): 64-67. Mentioned: p. 64 www.jstor.org
    "Recent Changes in the Painting Galleries." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 5, no. 2/3 (1918): 22-27. Mentioned: p. 27 25136174
  • Columbus, OH, Columbus Museum of Art, Februrary 6-May 15, 1994: "Triumph of Color and Light: Ohio's Impressionists and Post Impressionists," p. 55, pl. 16, p. 145. Also to: Springfield, OH, Springfield Art Museum, August 28-October 30, 1994; Youngstown, OH, Butler Institute of American Art, March 12-April 30, 1995
    Cleveland, OH, Cleveland Health Sciences Library, CWRU, 1981: "Cleveland Artists'
    The Homage Show. Cleveland Society of Artists, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 9-November 9, 1962).
    Cleveland, OH, The Cleveland Society of Artists: The Homage Show, October 9-November 9, 1962.
    Library Art Gallery, June 1-September 1, 1960: "Changing Styles: Cleveland Paintings and Ceramics."
  • {{cite web|title=The Blue Feather|url=false|author=William J. Edmondson|year=1917|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1917.400