Description:

Joseph Paul Vorst
Missouri, (1897-1947)
Lullaby
lithograph
signed in pencil lower margin, unframed.

Joseph Paul Vorst (1897-1947) was born outside Essen, Germany. He grew up in poverty and then fled Nazi Germany for Sainte-Geneviève, Missouri, where he practiced his craft and became a successful "American" artist whose works have been collected by the MET, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, SLAM, and many others. He gained popularity because of his capacity to capture Missouri folks: the poor and their struggles; German-American and African-American farmers and labourers; farm life in general; country spirituality; and some of the joys and pains of simple living in Hoovervilles during the Great Depression. His own childhood poverty and struggles in Germany and as an immigrant here surely helped him empathise with all sorts of folks in rural Missouri. "Lullaby" is all about peace. Here we have a sleeping baby tucked under its covers after it's been rocked to sleep in a hand-carved wooden crib and after many lullabies have been sung. The baby now sleeps soundly in a chalet-style wooden cabin among a sleeping cat on a chair and above a sleeping dog on the floor. The little baby and the family pets all sleep soundly despite the lantern above them that hasn't yet been spent. This warm scene takes place in winter as we can see the light snow that has accumulated in the window panes. Vorst's focus on new life and peace in the New World reminds us of the artist's entirely new peaceful life that he created for himself in Missouri, so very far away from his Old World experiences.

  • Dimensions: 8 x 11 3/8 inches
  • Medium: lithograph

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June 10, 2023 10:00 AM CDT
St. Louis, MO, US

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