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About Joseph Vorst
The multi-talented Vorst (1897-1947) studied under a leading German impressionist, Max Liebermann (1847-1935), who became the champion of French impressionism in Berlin. Vorst made his way to Missouri, most likely to escape the Nazis, for we know that he was a member of the American Artists’ Congress, a left-wing organization that stood up to combat fascism. Also in 1936 Vorst exhibited Missouri Mules at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1939, his Madonna of the Tiff Miners was shown at the New York World’s Fair. In addition, during that busy year, Vorst completed a mural in the Vandalia, Missouri Post Office (Corn Harvest). One further post office mural came in 1942: Time Out, in Bethany, Missouri. Vorst worked as an illustrator for Esquire and executed lithographs. In Weighing Cotton, the figures occupy the right part of the composition, inside a simple right triangle. In the background area we see the cotton fields. Vorst abandoned most modernist precepts that he had learned in Germany, to develop a regionalist style, and he seemed to delight in everyday, homespun themes from the world of the American worker.
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Paintings by Joseph Vorst
| Weighing Cotton |
| oil on canvas: 48 x 46 inches |
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Click Picture to Enlarge |
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