Kuehn - "Summertime" Abstract painting of group of people having a picnic

Edmund Kuehn • American: 1916-2011

Summertime • Water Media on Paper 15” x 20”

It took the son of a factory worker to turn Columbus, Ohio into an art mecca. Before Edmund Kuehn, Columbus was never confused with the bright lights, big city of New York. His passion made him the Pied Piper of modern art in central Ohio. During his long life, Edmund Kuehn helped assemble world-recognized collections, spread an appreciation for modern art throughout central Ohio, and saw his own work hung on museum walls.

According to Columbus art dealer, Jim Keny, Kuehn’s wife, Liese, loved to tell how Edmund stumbled into his first art job. Lost after his scholarship year in New York, Kuehn spent time reading about art and art history in the Columbus Gallery of Fine Art’s library. One day director, Paul Adams, asked for his help putting away books. Kuehn, with his photographic memory, immediately saw some were mislabeled. Imagine a kid with no job and no prospects telling a museum director he was wrong. From that day forward Kuehn had the art-related job he craved, rising to Director of the Columbus Museum of Art before retiring in the 1970’s. His special talent for talking about art without condescension endeared him to Columbus residents who loved art, but hated the social barriers that often surrounded the topic.

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Kuehn’s own paintings were filled with art history references. This can be seen in Summertime, his 1950s painting of a family enjoying a picnic. The loose brushstrokes, moment-in-time subject matter and graphic shapes reference the finest Post-Impressionism works of Cezanne and Lautrec. Of special interest is the lilly-filled pond in the background, reflecting the famed Water Lilly paintings of Claude Monet. Kuehn had surely seen at least one of the originals while visiting MOMA in New York.

During his lifetime, Kuehn spread his passion for art to people high and low. He was instrumental in bringing Guernica, Picasso’s famed masterpiece to Columbus as it toured America in 1941 to raise money for the war effort. He created a series of museum lunches for Columbus businessmen, where they could learn about art history, and he took special delight in exposing Columbus-area residents to the rich artistic buffet available at nearby museums in Cleveland, Toledo and Cincinnati.

By the time he died at age 96, Edmund Kuehn had become the undisputed champion of modern art in Columbus.

See more of Edmund Kuehn’s work in the slideshow below.

Canton Museum of Art Permanent Collection • Margretta Bockius Wilson Fund, 2009.1

4 Ways to Sound Smart When Viewing at The Canton Museum of Art

1.
“Kuehn was strongly influenced by early German Expressionists and members of the Aschcan School who championed a gritty new realism.”

2.
“The lilly-filled pond in the background references Monet’s famed “Water-Lilly” paintings that Kuehn surely saw during his year of study in New York.”

3.
“Kuehn had a profound impact on the modern scene in Columbus from the time he helped bring Picasso’s famed painting “Guernica” to Columbus to the Businessman Lunches he staged while Director of the Columbus Museum of Art.”

4.
“It is said he had a special talent for explaining art in an easy-to-understand manner. Wish he was her now.”

Kuehn Timeline. Scroll over images to see timeline.

1916

Born into a traditional German-American family on the south side of Columbus, Ohio. Kuehn’s father was a mill worker.

1938

Graduated from the Columbus School of Art and Design.

1939

Won one of only nine scholarships awarded to promising art students, nationwide, by the Art Students League in New York City.

1940

Began working at the Columbus Gallery of Fine Art, now the Columbus Museum of Art. He stayed for over 30 years, rising to the position of Director.

1941

He was instrumental in bringing Picasso’s monumental masterpiece, Guernica, to Columbus as part of an effort to raise funds for the war effort. The work had been lent to the Museum Of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York by Picasso. It visited leading cities across America before returning to New York in 1958.

1970s

Resigned as Director of the Columbus Museum of Art to pursue his painting full time.

2007

An exhibition of Kuehn’s work was organized by Keny Gallery in Columbus.

2011

Died at home in Columbus at the ripe old age of 96. He left behind Liese, his wife of 59 years, and a reputation as the champion of modern art in Columbus.