id:			127739
accession number:	1950.397.a
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1950.397.a
updated:		2024-08-08 15:14:13.058000

June (recto), c. 1926. William Sommer (American, 1867–1949). Oil on cardboard; unframed: 77.5 x 57.8 cm (30 1/2 x 22 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 1950.397.a

title:				June (recto)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1926
creation date earliest:		1921
creation date latest:		1931
current location:		
creditline:			Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	America, Ohio, Cleveland
technique:	oil on cardboard
department:	American Painting and Sculpture
collection:	American - Cleveland School
type:		Painting
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* William Sommer (American, 1867–1949)  - artist
Born in Detroit to a family of German immigrants, Sommer first studied drawing at the age of 11 with Julius Gari Melchers. Pursuing a career in commercial lithography, Sommer apprenticed at Calvert Lithography in Detroit, 1881–88, and subsequently worked at various lithography shops in Boston, New York, and England. In 1890 he went abroad for a year of study at the Kunstakademie in Munich. In 1891 he returned to New York and spent the next 16 years working as a commercial lithographer. In 1907 he moved to Cleveland to work for the Otis Lithograph Company, where he became friendly with William Zorach. Around 1910, and under the influence of Abel Warshawsky, Sommer began to experiment with impressionist colors; subsequently he experimented with a fauvist palette. He exhibited with the Cleveland “secessionists” at the Rorimer-Brooks Studios in early 1911 and cofounded the Kokoon Klub that summer. Around 1914 he moved to Brandywine, a rural valley about 20 miles south of Cleveland, where he converted an abandoned schoolhouse into a studio that became an important meeting place for modern artists, poets, and musicians. In May 1918 Sommer designed stage sets and programs for a production of <em>Everyman</em> by the Cleveland Play House. He exhibited in the annual May Shows at the Cleveland Museum of Art (1922–50). In the 1930s and 1940s he exhibited on a regular basis in Cleveland, Chicago, and New York. During the Depression he was employed by various New Deal art programs to paint murals for Cleveland Public Hall (1933), Cleveland Public Library (1934), the post office in Geneva, Ohio (1938), and the Akron Board of Education (1941). After the death of his wife in 1945, he was struck by chronic bouts of depression and alcoholism. Sommer died in Brandywine. <br>"Transformations in Cleveland Art" (CMA, 1996), p. 238
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measurements: Unframed: 77.5 x 57.8 cm (30 1/2 x 22 3/4 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	signed lower left:  Wm Sommer.
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		The May Show: 8th Annual Exhibition of Works by Cleveland Artists and Craftsmen
	opening date:   1926-05-04T04:00:00
	<i>The May Show: 8th Annual Exhibition of Works by Cleveland Artists and Craftsmen</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 4-June 7, 1926).

	title:		Painting & Sculpture from 16 American Cities
	opening date:   1933-12-11T05:00:00
	<i>Painting & Sculpture from 16 American Cities</i>. Museum of Modern Art, NY (organizer) (December 11, 1933-January 7, 1934).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* {'description': 'CMA, 1926: "Eighth Annual Exhibition of Artists and Craftsmen of the Western Reserve," honorable mention, oil portrait', 'opening_date': '1926-01-01T00:00:00'}

* {'description': 'New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1933: "Painting and Sculpture from 16 American Cities," repr.', 'opening_date': '1933-01-01T00:00:00'}

* {'description': 'CMA, 1950: "William Sommer Memorial Exhibition," cat. no. 43, repr. Pl. VI.', 'opening_date': '1950-01-01T00:00:00'}

* {'description': 'New York, NY, Kraushaar Art Galleries, January 8 - February 3, 1951: "William Sommer Memorial Exhibition', 'opening_date': '1951-01-08T00:00:00'}

* {'description': 'Akron, Akron Art Institute, October 25 - November 29, 1970: "Retrospective of the Works of William Sommer."', 'opening_date': '1970-10-25T00:00:00'}

* {'description': 'CMA, June 28 - September 10, 1989: "Cleveland Art Comes of Age: 1919-1940," no cat.', 'opening_date': '1989-06-28T00:00:00'}

* {'description': 'Akron, Akron Art Museum, November 6, 1993 - January 9, 1994: "The Art of William Sommer"', 'opening_date': '1993-11-06T00:00:00'}

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PROVENANCE

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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	William Sommer Entry Card to 1926 May Show. Cleveland Museum of Art May Show Records, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
	page number: 	
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAMS01201

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.397.a/1950.397.a_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.397.a/1950.397.a_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.397.a/1950.397.a_full.tif