Collections: American Art: Loving Moon

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This image is presented as a "thumbnail" because it is protected by copyright. The Brooklyn Museum respects the rights of artists who retain the copyright to their work.

Loving Moon

A modernist landscape painter, Oscar Bluemner believed that individual colors embodied specific meanings; red, for example, directly expressed a powerful life force. When the death of his wife in 1926 left him in despair, Bluemner found solace in painting a group of watercolors of vividly toned landscapes with suns and moons that signified the ecstatic transformation of matter into spirit. The atmospheric quality of his watercolor washes infuse his nocturnal subjects with an air of mystery.


• Artist: Oscar Bluemner, American, born Prussia, 1867-1938
• Medium: Watercolor, possibly with a surface coating, on cream, medium weight, slightly textured wove paper mounted to thick black woodpulp board
• Dates: 1927
• Dimensions: 9 15/16 x 13 5/16 in. (25.2 x 33.8 cm) Frame: 15 5/8 x 18 3/4 x 1 3/8 in. (39.6 x 47.6 x 3.5 cm)
• Signature: Signed lower center (name in monogram): "Bluemner"
• Inscriptions: Labels on verso, in artist's hand: 1) #4 'Loving Moon' record #63 1928 / varnish 'water color' painting / Oscar Bluemner 1927. 102 Plain Str. S. Braintree. / Put under colorless crystal glass. / Cut this paper at pencil lines and replace with glue. / Do not hang in sunlight 2) Oscar Bluemner 1927 102 Plain St S. Braintree, Mas. / #4 The Loving Moon / water color lightly varnished / Put under colorless crystal glass [glass underlined twice] with 1/8 inch air space [air space underlined] between / glass and painting and close up with cardboard / Therefor [sic], woodstrips should be glued to frame (for nailing) / and the sealing paper should be re-glued, finally. / Clean the painting from dust with soft cloth, only / Do not place or hang in sunlight
• Collections: American Art
• Museum Location: This item is not on view
• Accession Number: 1996.150.9
• Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Carl L. Selden
• Image: Overall, 1996.150.9_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Oscar Bluemner (American, born Prussia, 1867-1938). Loving Moon, 1927. Watercolor, possibly with a surface coating, on cream, medium weight, slightly textured wove paper mounted to thick black woodpulp board, 9 15/16 x 13 5/16 in. (25.2 x 33.8 cm) Frame: 15 5/8 x 18 3/4 x 1 3/8 in. (39.6 x 47.6 x 3.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Mrs. Carl L. Selden, 1996.150.9 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1996.150.9_SL1.jpg)