Fire Screen

1924–30

Max Kuehne
American, born Germany, 1880–1968

Originally trained as a painter, Max Kuehne began to make furniture in 1917 after a trip to Spain, where he observed craftsmen using Renaissance woodworking techniques. Kuehne’s designs were highly unconventional: he made his own pieces with large areas for decoration, which he incised, gilded, and painted with modern elements inspired by non-Western cultures. The imagery on this fire screen— scrolling clouds and bold animals bounding through a lush landscape—recalls Persian miniature paintings.

Status: On View, Gallery 272
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Max Kuehne
Title: Fire Screen
Place: United States (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: c. 1924–1930
Medium: Gessoed wood, watercolor, silver leaf, and shellac
Dimensions: 91.5 × 63.5 × 29.3 cm (36 × 25 × 11 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Quinn E. Delaney Fund
Reference Number: 2015.313

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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