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On the Fire Escape |
Madison Museum of Fine Art, Inc.
PO Box 814/ 300 Hancock Street
Madison, GA 30650 mbechtell@prodigy.net |
| 706-485-4530 |
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MMFA receives Gift of Paintings
Lake Oconee News and Eatonton Messenger
Posted December 15, 2007
This month, the Madison Museum of Fine Art was the recipient of a gift of 10 original paintings including "On the Fire Escape" and 5 rare etchings including "Central Park" by American artist Alexander Z. Kruse (1888-1972). The gift from Bettijune Kruse of Pasadena, California is in memory of Benedict W. Kruse (1925-2001) and Martin A. Kruse (1951-1998).
Born to Jewish German and Russian immigrant parents, Kruse was raised in the overcrowded impoverished Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York with some areas housing over 700 people per acre. Despite difficult surroundings, the young Kruse began sketching at an early age and was encouraged by the prominent artist George Luks to attend the East Side Educational Alliance. There Kruse studied alongside such classmates as the Soyer brothers, Jacob Epstein, Leon Kroll, and Abraham Walkowitz.. Kruse later studied with Emil Carlson, and, through the Art Student’s League, he became a protégé of the American Eight especially John Sloan, Robert Henri, and Luks.
Unlike his mentors who subsequently depicted the un-romanticized dire eceonimc conditions of the Depression era Manhatten, Kruse portrayed the noble character of the laborer and the refreshment he found in the un-crowded parks and countryside. Best known for his moody etchings exhibiting exceptional draftsmanship, the artist also painted and created works on paper. In 1932, the Metropolitan Museum of art acquired six of his prints. And in 1933, one of his etchings was selected by the Brooklyn Museum of Art for its exhibition, “The One Hundred Best Prints of the Year of American and European Artists.”
A man of many talents, Kruse also taught and published widely on the subject of art. Among other publications, he authored East of Broadway, a semi-autobiographical novel describing the poverty of his youth, and the best selling book How to Draw and Paint (1953, Barnes and Noble) that sold over 300,000 copies.
Other works by Kruse are held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in Russia, and the Bibliotechque Nationale in Paris.
The Madison Museum of Fine Art is a 501-c-3 charitable institution that collects, preserves, interprets and imaginatively displays original works of art by historically significant visual art masters for the education, edification, and spiritual nourishment of all persons living and traveling in the Southeastern United States. Located at 290 Hancock Street, Madison, Georgia, the museum is open free to the public. For more information, call 706-342-8320.
Select a Press Release
Feb 13, 2010:
"From Dust to Dirt" Retrospective
Jan 22, 2010:
Alexander Z. Kruse Exhibition
Sep 18, 2008:
MMOFA Participates in Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day
Sep 14, 2008:
MMOFA Receives Gift of Early American Primitive Painting
Aug 28, 2008:
MMOFA Preserves a Piece of Stained Glass History
Jul 31, 2008:
“Out of the Sun” Film Festival Offers Retreat From the Heat
Jul 21, 2008:
Portrait of Historic Madison Personality Clementine Turnell Rece
Feb 20, 2008:
Dec 15, 2007:
MMFA receives Gift of Paintings
Jan 11, 2007:
"Night of the Three Kings" MORGAN COUNTY CITIZEN
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