Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009379Wisdom and Destiny
by Henry Keller
About the Artwork
Henry 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.
Inscriptions
signed lower left: H. G. Keller.
Exhibition history
Second Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 8-July 10, 1922). 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). Retrospective Twenty-fifth Anniversary May Show. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 13-February 14, 1943). Henry G. Keller Memorial Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 1-March 19, 1950). Work of Cleveland Artists for the 41st Annual Meeting of the College Art Association. The Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 29-31, 1953). Men of the Armory Show. Miami University, Oxford , OH (organizer) (January 1-February 1, 1956). The Armory Show, 50th Anniversary Exhibition. Munson Museum of Art, Utica, NY (organizer) (February 17-April 28, 1963); Henry Street Settlement, New York, NY (April 6-28, 1963). May Show Retrospective - 50 Years. The Cleveland Museum of Art (April 23-June 16, 1968). Burchfield / Keller. Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY (organizer) (June 24-August 13, 1973). Cleveland Art Comes of Age: 1919-1940. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 28-September 10, 1989). Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 19-July 21, 1996). To Be or Not To Be: 400 Years of Vanitas Painting. Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI (organizer) (February 4-April 2, 2006).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Henry Keller (American, born Germany, 1869–1949)
- Date
- 1912
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 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.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- American Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift of Mrs. Henry A. Everett for the Dorothy Burnham Everett Memorial Collection
- Accession no.
- 1928.580
More by Henry Keller in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009379
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