Accession Number
2002/1.180

Title
Mary's Little Lamb

Artist(s)
John Kane

Object Creation Date
1910-1934

Medium & Support
oil on canvas

Dimensions
15 x 18 1/8 in. (38 x 46 cm);15 x 18 3/16 in. (38.1 x 46.04 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of The Daniel and Harriet Fusfeld Folk Art Collection

Label copy
Born near Edinburgh, Scotland, John Kane immigrated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1879. During his life, Kane worked in a variety of occupations, including as a steel worker, bricklayer and coal miner. He did not have formal art instruction, but he did have a youthful interest in art, which continued throughout his adult life. In 1927, Kane submitted a painting to the Carnegie Institute of Art and was accepted at the insistence of American painter Andrew Dasburg. This recognition led to exhibitions in Chicago, Cincinnati, and New York City.
Kane’s art deals with contemporary issues such as prejudice and industrialization. In the communication of controversial subjects, Kane uses traditional devices, like perspective. In Mary’s Little Lamb, the combination of the unusual subject and the realistic rendering of the landscape makes a personal statement on the loss of innocence following the industrial age. The subject of a nursery rhyme adds to the feeling of lost childhood innocence.
Lindsay Meehan
Modern and Contemporary Art Intern
2002

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Primary Object Type
landscape

Additional Object Classification(s)
Painting

Collection Area
Western

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
buildings
flags
girl
lambs
standing
trees