Western Portrait Artist Langdon Kihn Exhibition to Open at Foosaner Art Museum March 22
MELBOURNE, FLA.—The Foosaner Art Museum of Florida Institute of Technology presents the exhibition: Langdon Kihn: An American Story, March 22 – May 11.
Langdon Kihn (American, 1898-1957) was a highly acclaimed international painter and illustrator, especially known for his Native American portraits. Motivated by a desire to document the disappearing aboriginal culture, Kihn spent many years visiting and living with Indian tribes, beginning in the Western United States. His portrayal of Indian subjects began in the 1920s when new social legislation and new attitudes toward Native Americans infiltrated the national consciousness.
During his lifetime he traveled more than 20,000 miles throughout North America, successfully completing over 450 Indian paintings in 35 different tribal locations—more than any known artist. From the 1920s through 1940s he executed major commissions for the Cunard Line, two Canadian railroads and the National Geographic magazine; his works were featured in exhibitions in more than 100 museums and galleries in the United States, Canada, England and France.
The nucleus of the exhibition consists of works from the private collection of Melbourne Beach resident Clifford Bragdon, Kihn’s nephew. This collection includes never-before exhibited portraits, landscapes and drawings as well as Native American artifacts given to Kihn by the people he depicted. Other works in the exhibition will come from the National Geographic Society Collection, Washington, D.C., the Vancouver Art Gallery in Canada and from several private collections throughout North America.
The Foosaner Art Museum is located at 1463 Highland Ave. in the Eau Gallie Arts District of Melbourne. It is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $5 for adults, $2 for children and students with ID and free on Thursdays and always for members, Florida Tech faculty, staff and students with their ID. Call (321) 674-8916, or visit foosanerartmuseum.org, for more information.
Image credit: Langdon Kihn, Andalusian Gypsy, Milagro, Seville, Spain. 1931. 19 inches x 14 inches, polycolor crayon on poster board. Courtesy Clifford and Sarah Bragdon. ###
