The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 18, 2024
The Cleveland Indian (After Eakins)
1995–1998
(American, 1932–2007)
Unframed: 182.9 x 61 cm (72 x 24 in.)
Gift of Agnes Gund 1998.179
© Marlborough Gallery, New York
Location: not on view
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.- Cleveland Museum of Art, “New Cleveland Indian Arrives at the CMA,” November 27, 1998, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
- "How to Reach 67 in Jewish Art: 100 Pictures," Marlborough Madrid (Sept. 12 - Oct. 14, 2000), Marlborough New York (Oct. 31 - Dec. 2, 2000).
- {{cite web|title=The Cleveland Indian (After Eakins)|url=false|author=R. B. Kitaj|year=1995–1998|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1998.179