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To the Dance (Apaches)

A work made of oil on canvas.

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  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

1919

Artist:

Léon Gaspard (American, born Vitebsk, Russian Empire, now Belarus, 1882-1964)

About this artwork

The Russian émigré Léon Gaspard painted in Taos, New Mexico, from 1916 to 1919, finding a chromatic brilliance and folk culture reminiscent of his homeland there. After his return to Chicago, an exhibition of his work at the Art Institute attracted the attention of Julius Rosenwald—president of Sears, Roebuck and Company—and the lawyer Lessing Rosenthal. Together they gathered a group of 20 Jewish professionals to purchase To the Dance for the museum. The group’s support of Gaspard, a Jewish immigrant, signaled their commitment to a modernism based on cross-cultural affinities. They also may have felt a special regard for New Mexico, which was a tolerant home for Jews during the Spanish Inquisition.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Léon Gaspard

Title

To the Dance (Apaches)

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

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.

1919

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed recto, lower-right, in grey pigment: Leon Gaspard, Taos, 1919.

Dimensions

81.7 × 91.8 cm (32 1/8 × 36 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Friends of the Artist

Reference Number

1920.95

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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