Magnolia Blossoms

Josephine Joy, Magnolia Blossoms, ca. 1935-1941, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from General Services Administration, 1971.447.44
Copied 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
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Magnolia Blossoms
Artist
Date
ca. 1935-1941
Location
Dimensions
36 1⁄8 x 40 1⁄8 in. (91.8 x 101.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Transfer from General Services Administration
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Still life — flower — magnolia
  • New Deal — Works Progress Administration, Federal Art Project — California
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.