Kane, John

Kane, John, 1860–1934, American primitive painter, b. Scotland. He came to Pittsburgh at the age of 19 and worked for years as a day laborer, painting in his spare time. His paintings exhibit a delight in precise pattern and a sturdy disregard for academic conventions. Examples of his work are Across the Strip (Phillips Memorial Gall., Washington, D.C.) and his striking self-portrait (1929; Mus. of Modern Art, New York City).

Bibliography

See his autobiography (1938).

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Kane, John (1860–1934) painter; born in West Calder, Scotland. He emigrated to America in 1879 and became a steelworker. An untrained artist, he began painting freight cars and houses. It was only late in his life (1927) that he started exhibiting his documentary paintings of Pittsburgh. A symmetrically balanced primitive work, his Self-Portrait (1929) is considered his most famous painting.