U.S. 40, Karl Mattern

Artwork Overview

Karl Mattern, U.S. 40
Karl Mattern, U.S. 40
Karl Mattern
U.S. 40
1931
Karl Mattern, artist
1892–1969
U.S. 40, 1931
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: wove paper; watercolor
Dimensions:
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 40.2 x 53 cm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 15 13/16 x 20 7/8 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 20 x 25 in
Credit line: Transfer from the Student Union, April 1970
Accession number: 1970.0201
Not on display
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Archive Label 1999: Mattern studied at the Art Institute of Chicago under George Bellows, although he adopted little from his teacher other than a strong distaste for fashionable trends. At the University of Kansas, where he taught painting from 1941-47, Mattern continued painting the regional landscape. Mattern first exhibited U.S. 40 at the Midwestern Artist's Annual Exhibition in 1934, at which he won the gold medal for watercolor, and later at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1936. The lone automobile travelling down the open road captures the feelings of freedom and release that many Americans sought during the Great Depression.