Magnolia Blossoms

Josephine Joy, Magnolia Blossoms, ca. 1935-1941, oil on canvas, 36 ¹⁄₈ x 40 ¹⁄₈ in. (91.8 x 101.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from General Services Administration, 1971.447.44

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Artwork Details

Title: Magnolia Blossoms
Artist: Josephine Joy
Date: ca. 1935-1941
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
1st Floor
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West Wing
Dimensions: 36 ¹⁄₈ x 40 ¹⁄₈ in. (91.8 x 101.9 cm.)
Credit Line: Transfer from General Services Administration
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on canvas
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: New Deal — Works Progress Administration, Federal Art Project — California
Still life — flower — magnolia
Object Number: 1971.447.44
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1971.447.44

Artwork Description

Josephine Joy grew up on an Illinois farm, where she loved to sketch birds, trees, and flowers. Circumstances prevented her from following her artistic calling until 1927, after her children were grown and her husband had died. Joy lived in California then, and the WPA's California Art Project afforded her the opportunity to work gainfully as an artist. In the 1930s, "non-academic" painters were increasingly celebrated alongside their professional peers. By the early 1940s, Joy was a nationally acclaimed painter whose work had been featured in a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.