History of a Picture No. 1: Before the Jury (c. 1929): Art, History and Details

History of a Picture No. 1: Before the Jury (c. 1929) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Frank Wilcox (American, 1887–1964).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Frank Wilcox submitted this satire of art exhibitions to the Cleveland Museum of Art’s annual May Show, suggesting his sense of humor. In the first part, a group of judges assesses a picture. Although one holds a notepad and another crouches before the picture, the rows of frames leaning against the wall in the background suggest the men work quickly. The man in the middle stares directly outward, shifting the judgment from the framed picture onto the viewer.

Object facts

• Title: History of a Picture No. 1: Before the Jury
• Date: c. 1929
• Creator attribution: Frank Wilcox (American, 1887–1964)
• Culture: America, Ohio, Cleveland
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: pencil and wash heightened with white
• Dimensions: Paper: 35.3 x 41.8 cm (13 7/8 x 16 7/16 in.)
• Collection: DR - American - Cleveland School
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 1929.422

A detail from the museum

The style of this drawing, reminiscent of caricature, resembles Wilcox’s illustrations from his trip to Europe from 1913 to 1914.

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. Howard M. Hanna

Further reading listed by the museum

• Frank Wilcox Entry Card to 1929 May Show. Cleveland Museum of Art May Show Records, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.