Juan Duran

Kenneth M. Adams, Juan Duran, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.148
Kenneth M. Adams, Juan Duran, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, 40 1830 18 in. (102.076.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.148

Artwork Details

Title
Juan Duran
Date
1933-1934
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
40 1830 18 in. (102.076.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Mexican
  • New Deal — Public Works of Art Project — New Mexico
  • Portrait male — Duran, Juan — knee length
Object Number
1964.1.148

Artwork Description

Juan Duran, the New Mexican man who posed for this portrait, brings the brilliant light and vivid colors of his native desert landscape into the artist’s studio with him. In works like this one Kenneth Adams, who had left New York to join the artists' colony in Taos, adapted the bold colors and geometrically faceted forms of European modernism to painting New Mexican landscapes and people. In Adams's daring rendition, Duran's hair and mustache are shown as green rather than the gray they probably really were. The bright colors of Duran's clothing are reflected in the skin of his broad, strong hands and blunt face. Even as this powerful man sits smoking with his hands resting on his knees, the lively hues and vigorous brushwork of the painting suggest the energy he will bring to his work when he finishes his cigarette.

1934: A New Deal for Artists exhibition label

Works by this artist (3 items)

Calvin Black, Ruby Black, Untitled (Possum Trot Doll), ca. 1953-1972, carved and painted wood and fabric, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.4
Untitled (Possum Trot Doll)
Dateca. 1953-1972
carved and painted wood and fabric
Not on view
Calvin Black, Ruby Black, Gladys (Possum Trot Doll), ca. 1953-1972, carved and painted wood, fabric, sequins, and foil bow, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.3
Gladys (Possum Trot Doll)
Dateca. 1953-1972
carved and painted wood, fabric, sequins, and foil bow
Not on view
Calvin Black, Ruby Black, Sylvia (Possum Trot Doll), ca. 1953-1972, carved and painted redwood with fabric, cord, and nails, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.233
Sylvia (Possum Trot Doll)
Dateca. 1953-1972
carved and painted redwood with fabric, cord, and nails
Not on view

Related Books

1934_500.jpg
1934: A New Deal for Artists
During the Great Depression, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised a “new deal for the American people,” initiating government programs to foster economic recovery. Roosevelt’s pledge to help “the forgotten man” also embraced America’s artists. The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) enlisted artists to capture “the American Scene” in works of art that would embellish public buildings across the country. Although it lasted less than one year, from December 1933 to June 1934, the PWAP provided employment for thousands of artists, giving them an important role in the country’s recovery. Their legacy, captured in more than fifteen thousand artworks, helped “the American Scene” become America seen.

More Artworks from the Collection

Louise Todd Cope, Flax II, ca. 1970s, flax and linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Helen Williams Drutt English and H. Peter Stern in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery, 2007.47.8
Flax II
Dateca. 1970s
flax and linen
Not on view
Unidentified, Untitled (Child's quilt), ca. 1930, cotton and wool, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia S. Smith, 2016.57.1
Untitled (Child’s quilt)
Artist
Unidentified
Dateca. 1930
cotton and wool
Not on view
Unidentified, Untitled (Amish Doll), ca. 1940, cotton, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia S. Smith, 2016.57.11
Untitled (Amish Doll)
Artist
Unidentified
Dateca. 1940
cotton
Not on view
Richard Timothy Evans, Miss Havisham (Scrap Doll), ca. 1975, muslin and lace, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1975.138
Miss Havisham (Scrap Doll)
Dateca. 1975
muslin and lace
Not on view