The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Wisdom and Destiny

Wisdom and Destiny

1913
(American, 1869–1949)
Framed: 94.6 x 120 x 5.8 cm (37 1/4 x 47 1/4 x 2 5/16 in.); Unframed: 76.5 x 101.9 cm (30 1/8 x 40 1/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

Keller championed modern art in Cleveland through lectures, teaching, and the example of his own work. Wisdom and Destiny, based on an essay by the Belgian writer Maurice Maeterlinck, features the two allegorical figures at the right, while a carefree shepherd at the left seems oblivious to their existence. The painting was featured in the famed Armory Show of 1913, a large-scale traveling exhibition often credited with introducing the American public to avant-garde art. Because of the critical success surrounding Wisdom and Destiny, Keller was commissioned to create a 70-foot mural of the composition for Cleveland City Hall. However, he resentfully withdrew from the project when asked to paint clothing on the nude figure.
  • Henry G. Keller family papers. 1891-1949. Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. library.clevelandart.org
    Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Henry G Keller, and William Mathewson Milliken. The Henry G. Keller Memorial Exhibition: Catalogue of an Exhibition of Works by Henry G. Keller. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1950. Mentioned: p. 22; Reproduced: Plate III archive.org
    Robinson, William H., et. al. Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946: Community and Diversity in Early Modern America. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: p. 74; Mentioned: p. 74, 248
    Channing, Laurence, "Before Neo: The May Show", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 45 no. 07, September 2005 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 3-4 archive.org
    Kraynak, Scott, Henry Adams, Douglas Max Utter, William G. Scheele, R. A. Washington, and Mike Hudson. The Heart of Cleveland. Shaker Hts, OH: Red Giant Books, 2018. Reproduced: P. 19, fig. 8
  • To Be or Not To Be: 400 Years of Vanitas Painting. Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI (organizer) (February 4-April 2, 2006).
    Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 19-July 21, 1996).
    Cleveland Art Comes of Age: 1919-1940. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 28-September 10, 1989).
    Burchfield / Keller. Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY (organizer) (June 24-August 13, 1973).
    May Show Retrospective - 50 Years. The Cleveland Museum of Art (April 23-June 16, 1968).
    The Armory Show, 50th Anniversary Exhibition. Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, NY (organizer) (February 17-April 28, 1963); Henry Street Settlement, New York, NY (April 6-28, 1963).
    Henry G. Keller Memorial Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 1-March 19, 1950).
    The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936).
  • {{cite web|title=Wisdom and Destiny|url=false|author=Henry Keller|year=1913|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1928.580