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Amaryllis
About the Artwork
Still-life was one of Charles Demuth's favorite genres, and he created works on this theme throughout his career. This drawing of a blooming amaryllis was completed while the artist was convalescing with diabetes in his hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Because of his physical weakness, he was limited to working in watercolor, a less demanding medium than painting, and to subjects that he could easily observe, such as flowers. Demuth drew the amaryllis's form in graphite and then brushed on watercolor precisely, using a blotter to develop the pebbly texture seen throughout.
Provenance
1923: (Daniel Gallery, New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1923-: The Cleveland Museum of Art
Exhibition history
Exhibition of American Painting from 1860 Until Today. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-October 4, 1937). The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941). Exhibition of the Month: The Floral Motif in Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 29-September 30, 1947). Horticulture Motifs in Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 9-April 24, 1955). Water Color. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 6-August 27, 1962). Charles Demuth. The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA (September 24-November 6, 1966). Charles Demuth: The Mechanical Encrusted on the Living. Art, Design & Architecture Museum, Santa Barbara, CA (organizer) (October 5-November 7, 1971); Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA (November 22, 1971-January 3, 1972); The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC (January 19-February 29, 1972); Munson Museum of Art, Utica, NY (March 19-April 16, 1972). America Draws. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1984-March 17, 1985). Charles Demuth. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (February 25-April 24, 1988). Directions in Drawing: 1750-1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 2-August 4, 1991). Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Charles Demuth (American, 1883–1935)
- Date
- c. 1923
- Medium
- watercolor over graphite
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 45.8 x 30.4 cm (18 1/16 x 11 15/16 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection
- Accession no.
- 1923.2490
More by Charles Demuth in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00000326
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