Jester

Byron Browne, Jester, 1952, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Harris J. Klein, 1966.85
Byron Browne, Jester, 1952, oil on canvas, 2824 18 in. (71.161.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Harris J. Klein, 1966.85

Artwork Details

Title
Jester
Artist
Date
1952
Dimensions
2824 18 in. (71.161.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Harris J. Klein
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Performing arts — circus — clown
  • Figure — bust
  • Abstract
Object Number
1966.85

Artwork Description

Several of Byron Browne’s paintings show brightly colored images of jesters, clowns, circus performers, and dancers. Here, the expressive brushstrokes create a sense of movement in the peaks and bells of the jester’s hat, which wave in all directions. Browne abstracted the details of the jester’s profile to create a colorful jumble of shapes, from the zigzags of his eyelashes to the curved form of his cheekbone. The artist was an early proponent of abstract art in the 1930s, but when he painted Jester, in 1952, a younger crowd of “action painters” commanded the critics’ attention. The foolish character in this painting might symbolize Browne himself, whose work seemed dated by comparison. Or, the painter may have compared the dominance of abstract expressionism to the jester’s absurd rule of the court.

Works by this artist (23 items)

Claggett Wilson, Salad--A Cleaned-Up Machine--Gun Nest, Bois de Belleau, ca. 1919, watercolor and pencil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1981.163.8
Salad – A Cleaned-Up Machine – Gun Nest, Bois de Belleau
Dateca. 1919
watercolor and pencil on paperboard
Not on view
Claggett Wilson, Bacchus Survivor--In the Ruined Garden of an Old Chateau in the Champagne Country There Remains, Triumphant, the Statue of Bacchus, Chipped and Scarred but Still Laughing as He Squeezes the Stone Grapes into the Stone Cup, ca. 1919, watercolor and pencil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1981.163.22
Bacchus Survivor – In the Ruined Garden of an Old Chateau in…
Dateca. 1919
watercolor and pencil on paperboard
Not on view
Claggett Wilson, Early June Morning, Bois de Belleau--Sniper Who Had Been Potted During the Night, ca. 1919, watercolor and pencil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1981.163.7
Early June Morning, Bois de Belleau – Sniper Who Had Been…
Dateca. 1919
watercolor and pencil on paperboard
Not on view
Claggett Wilson, Stragglers--French Wounded in the Retreat of Chateau-Thierry, ca. 1919, watercolor and pencil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1981.163.3
Stragglers – French Wounded in the Retreat of Chateau-Thierry
Dateca. 1919
watercolor and pencil on paperboard
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Henry Gasser, Winter Parking, ca. 1935-1945, watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Paul W. Doll Jr., 1979.120.1
Winter Parking
Dateca. 1935-1945
watercolor and pencil on paper
Not on view
Cass Gilbert, Chateau de l'Houblouniere, 1924, watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Emily Finch Gilbert through Julia Post Bastedo, executor, 1962.13.52
Chateau de l’Houblouniere
Date1924
watercolor and pencil on paper
Not on view
Cass Gilbert, Carcassonne, 1926, watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Emily Finch Gilbert through Julia Post Bastedo, executor, 1962.13.55
Carcassonne
Date1926
watercolor and pencil on paper
Not on view
Man Ray, Untitled--Hollywood, 1942, watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Juliet Man Ray, 1983.105.10
Untitled – Hollywood
Artist
Date1942
watercolor and pencil on paper
Not on view