63: JOSEPH VORST (1897-1947) REGIONALIST OIL CIRCA 1938

Joseph Paul Vorst (Missouri, 1897-1947)
Untitled (Missouri Mules) (Circa 1938)
The classic Joseph Vorst image with simplified landscape in earthy tones is signed lower right.

Like Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton and John Steuart Curry, Joseph Vorst became a key figure in American Regionalism during the 1930s. As such, Vorst often included mules in his compositions, almost as allegories or cultural emblems of labor, persistence (stubbornness), quiet strength, rural dignity and survival in hard times.

The words Missouri Mule were often spoken together as early as the 1830s. During the Civil War, and even more so World War I, Missouri's reputation for, and association with, these hardy animals had spread nationwide. Over time Missourians have embraced their association with the toughness, intelligence and reliability of these animals.

Joseph Vorst was a portrait and mural painter, block printer, and illustrator born in Essen, Germany who emigrated to America, initially settling in St. Louis. He later made his way to the Ste. Genevieve Artist Colony in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri where he became both friend and student of Thomas Hart Benton, the two eventually sharing a studio. From 1936 to 1938, Vorst exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1939 his work was included in the Corcoran Biennial and on a more grand scale, his paintings were featured at the New York World's Fair of 1939. During this same year he joined the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and was awarded Post Office mural projects in Vandalia, Missouri (Corn Harvest, 1939), Paris, Arkansas (Rural Arkansas, 1940) and Bethany, Missouri (Time Out, 1942). Vorst's work can now be seen in the public collections of the National Gallery, the Smithsonian, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the St. Louis Art Museum.

Joseph Vorst could be regarded as member of the Kansas City School of American Art, albeit a less tightly affiliated member who is still geographically and thematically aligned with the regionalist focus of this informal and underrecognized group. Just as the band of painters identified as the Ashcan School of American Art had no common institution, an artist like Joseph Vorst fits the 'Kansas City School' narrative regardless of institutional connections. It's the artist's focus on Midwestern rural life and regionalist themes, the emphasis on depicting the character of the Midwest that warrants this designation.
Board measures 11.5 x 13.5 with a framed size of 15.75 x 17.75 inches.
Very good untouched condition. There are no issues of scratches, losses, repairs, in-painting or touch-up to any degree.
Provenance: Private collection, Illinois.
$3,000 - $5,000