JOHN STEUART Curry is routinely regarded as one of the “Big Three” in 1930s American Regionalism, along with Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton. Of the “Big Three,” Curry is less well known than the others for at least two reasons: One, he died at the age of 49, just a year after the end of World War II; and two, he was not much beloved in his home state of Kansas, though he considered himself a Kansan all his life and found most of his pictorial subjects in his upbringing and life there.
Despite being seen—that offered perspectives on Kansas history of which Kansans didn’t especially want to be reminded. Examples included John Brown’s abolitionist activity during the “Bloody Kansas” period prior to the Civil War and poor farming practices that led to erosion, the Dust Bowl, and the total devastation of his hometown, Dunavant. Initially rejected, the mural now hangs where it was intended, though Curry abandoned the rest of the commission. In 1992 the Kansas State Legislature saw fit to issue a public apology to Curry and to acquire a few of his other works.
