Cornell University Library Digital Collections
The Obstacle
- Title:
- The Obstacle
- Collection:
- Alison Mason Kingsbury: Life and Art
- Creator:
- Kingsbury, Alison Mason (American artist, 1898-1988)
- Date:
- 1952
- Location:
- Ithaca (N.Y.)
- Country:
- United States
- ID Number:
- AMK2011_0520
- Collection Number:
- 3663
- File Name:
- AMK2011_0520.tif
- Culture:
- American
- Work Type:
- oil paintings (visual works)
- Materials/Techniques:
- oil paint (paint)
- Subject:
- cityscapes (representations)
- Measurement:
- 91.5 x 76 (centimeters)
- Description:
- In this piece, the artist sends the viewer along an Ithaca street to the doorstep of a quiet, impenetrable home. Obstacle exhibits some of the artist's earliest work playing with abstraction. A student at the New York Art Students League in the 1920s, she was taught by conservative teachers who emphasized particular rules for seeing, drawing, and painting. Thirty years later, one can see the artist beginning to gently push these systems through perspective and transparency for a subtle, yet effective result.
- Cite As:
- Alison Mason Kingsbury papers, #3663. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
- Repository:
- Collection of The History Center in Tompkins County
- Archival Collection:
- Alison Mason Kingsbury Papers
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For information regarding copyright for this image, send inquiries to rarerepro@cornell.edu
