The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 16, 2024

The Pool (recto)

The Pool (recto)

c. 1916–19
(American, 1867–1949)
America, Ohio, Cleveland
oil on panel
Framed: 99.7 x 79.4 x 6.4 cm (39 1/4 x 31 1/4 x 2 1/2 in.); Unframed: 80.7 x 60 cm (31 3/4 x 23 5/8 in.)
Silver Jubilee Treasure Fund 1945.46.a
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

In 1945, Sommer submitted this painting to an exhibition showcasing newly created art, despite making it decades earlier.

Description

In 1914, Sommer moved to Brandywine—located halfway between Cleveland and Akron—where he converted an abandoned schoolhouse into a studio that became an important meeting place for modern artists, poets, and musicians. This rural community provided inspirational subject matter for much of his subsequent work, including The Pool, which also reveals his stylistic debt to French avant-garde art. Seeking freedom from convention by immersing himself in nature, Sommer explained, “I believe art should be as spontaneous as the song of a bird.”
  • William Sommer Entry Card to 1945 May Show. Cleveland Museum of Art May Show Records, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 56
    Kraynak, Scott, Henry Adams, Douglas Max Utter, William G. Scheele, R. A. Washington, and Mike Hudson. The Heart of Cleveland. Shaker Hts, OH: Red Giant Books, 2018. Reproduced: P. 21, fig. 12
  • Against the Grain: Modernism in the Midwest. Massillon Museum, Massillon, OH (organizer) (May 15-September 12, 2010); Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH (November 4, 2010-January 9, 2011); Southern Ohio Museum, Portsmouth, OH (March 5-May 29, 2011).
    Massillon Museum (5/15/2010 - 9/12/2010), Riffe Gallery (11/4/2010 - 1/9/2011), and Southern Ohio Museum (3/5/2011 - 5/29/2011): "Against the Grain: Modernism in the Midwest", ex. cat. no. 59, p. 97.
    Vienna, Austria, The American Embassy, 1978- : Art in Embassies Program, Department of State.
    Exhibition of Ohio Painters. The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH (organizer) (April 4-30, 1967).
    The May Show: 27th Annual Exhibition of Works by Cleveland Artists and Craftsmen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 1-June 10, 1945).
  • {{cite web|title=The Pool (recto)|url=false|author=William Sommer|year=c. 1916–19|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1945.46.a