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Strange Worlds

A work made of oil on canvas.

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  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

1928

Artist:

Todros Geller (American, born Vinnytsia, Russian Empire, now Ukraine, 1889–1949)

About this artwork

Todros Geller reflected on the complex blending of immigrant traditions and modern culture that characterized early 20th-century Chicago—what he termed the collision of many “strange worlds.” Focusing on Jewish themes and subject matter in his work, here Geller depicted a man in somber garb staring guardedly out at the viewer from beneath the diagonal steel stairway of a Chicago “L” station. Behind him, pedestrians and vehicles stream past, rendered by the artist in a swirling, modernist array of circles and fractured planes. The figure’s immobile posture and his isolation from the frenetic activity suggest his resistance to—and perseverance amid—a changing world.

Status

On View, Gallery 263

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Todros Geller

Title

Strange Worlds

Place

Chicago (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.

1928

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed lower left: TODROS / GELLER.

Dimensions

71.8 × 66.4 cm (28 1/4 × 26 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Leon Garland Foundation

Reference Number

1949.27

Extended information about this artwork

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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