“The true test of civilization is not the census, nor the size of cities, nor the crops, but the kind of man that the country turns out.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Society and Solitude, 1870. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man.

Abraham Rattner, "The true test of civilization is not the census, nor the size of cities, nor the crops, but the kind of man that the country turns out."--Ralph Waldo Emerson, Society and Solitude, 1870. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man., 1958, gouache and pencil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.245
Copied Abraham Rattner, "The true test of civilization is not the census, nor the size of cities, nor the crops, but the kind of man that the country turns out."--Ralph Waldo Emerson, Society and Solitude, 1870. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man., 1958, gouache and pencil on paperboard, sheet: 30 3⁄8 x 11 1⁄2 in. (77.2 x 29.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.245

Artwork Details

Title
“The true test of civilization is not the census, nor the size of cities, nor the crops, but the kind of man that the country turns out.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Society and Solitude, 1870. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man.
Artist
Date
1958
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 30 3⁄8 x 11 1⁄2 in. (77.2 x 29.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Container Corporation of America
Mediums
Mediums Description
gouache and pencil on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
  • Figure male — head
Object Number
1984.124.245
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1984.124.245