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Bright Light at Russell's Corners
1946 George Ault Born: Cleveland, Ohio 1891 Died: Woodstock, New York 1948 oil on canvas 19 5/8 x 25 in. (49.9 x 63.4 cm) Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Lawrence 1976.121 Not currently on view
George Ault made a series of paintings of Russell's Corners in Woodstock, New York. These images of lonely farm buildings symbolized traditional farm life and reflected Ault's desire to isolate himself from others (Louise Ault, Artist in Woodstock, 1978). He often incorporated religious imagery into his works, and here, a single bright light marks the center of a cross formed by the power lines (Lubowsky, George Ault, 1988). But the bleak landscape and vast expanse of darkness threaten to overwhelm, and this painting perhaps reflects the artist's depressed state of mind.
For more information about this work visit the Luce Foundation Center.
Keywords
Architecture Exterior - domestic - house
Architecture Exterior - farm - barn
Architecture Exterior - science - power lines
Cityscape - street - Russell's Corners
Cityscape - time - night
Landscape - phenomenon - light
painting
paint - oil
fabric - canvas
About George Ault
Born: Cleveland, Ohio 1891 Died: Woodstock, New York 1948
More works in the collection by
George Ault
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