Ajax

John Steuart Curry, Ajax, 1936-37, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Peter and Paula Lunder, 2001.95
John Steuart Curry, Ajax, 1936-37, oil on canvas, 36 1⁄4 x 48 1⁄4 in. (92 x 122.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Peter and Paula Lunder, 2001.95
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Artwork Details

Title
Ajax
Artist
Date
1936-37
Location
Dimensions
36 1⁄4 x 48 1⁄4 in. (92 x 122.5 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Peter and Paula Lunder
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — farm
  • Animal — cattle
  • Animal — portrait — Ajax
Object Number
2001.95
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2001.95

Artwork Description

Curry created this painting of green pastures and fat cattle to reassure Americans worn down by the Dust Bowl years. A prize bull fills the canvas, grazing contentedly in meadows that fall away on all sides. Cowbirds light daintily on his back, feeding on the insects that would otherwise torment him. This image slyly evokes the myth of Ajax, the Trojan hero who went mad and slew all of his army’s cattle, thinking they were his enemies. Curry's Ajax stands between the viewer and the herd, his one wary eye suggesting that the cows might get their revenge.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006

Works by this artist (61 items)

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Elihu Vedder, The Cup of Death, 1885 and 1911, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William T. Evans, 1912.3.3
The Cup of Death
Artist
Date1885 and 1911
oil on canvas
On view
Elihu Vedder, Volterra, 1860, oil on canvas mounted on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1977.105
Volterra
Artist
Date1860
oil on canvas mounted on canvas
On view
Image Not Available
The Muse of Tragedy
Artist
pastel
Not on view
Elihu Vedder, Muse of Tragedy, 1899, pastel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.156
Muse of Tragedy
Artist
Date1899
pastel
Not on view

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