High Summer

Wolf Kahn, High Summer, 1972, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.42
Copied Wolf Kahn, High Summer, 1972, oil on canvas, 50 x 58 5⁄8 in. (126.9 x 149.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.42

Artwork Details

Title
High Summer
Artist
Date
1972
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
50 x 58 5⁄8 in. (126.9 x 149.0 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — farm
  • Landscape — season — summer
  • Architecture Exterior — farm — barn
Object Number
1986.6.42
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.6.42

Artwork Description

Wolf Kahn sees his landscapes as meditations on the world. The intense yellow grass and the freely brushed orange barn glowing against dark trees in High Summer convey the sleepy beauty of a hot, still day at his studio in Vermont. Kahn came to understand the crucial role that light and color play in the perception of space while a student of Hans Hofmann, who taught that the optical interaction of adjacent hues generates an internal energy that establishes the emotional valence of a composition.


Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014

Exhibitions

Media - 1986.6.100 - SAAM-1986.6.100_2 - 135134
Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection
Smithsonian American Art Museum
This exhibition presents some of the most treasured paintings and sculpture from SAAM’s permanent collection, including artworks by Will Barnet, Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Edward Hopper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, George Tooker, among others.