top of page
Rainey Knudson

66. Kermit Oliver, K.J.'s Calf

Kermit Oliver, K. J.'s Calf, 1975. Acrylic on Masonite panel with artist's frame, approx. 24 × 48 inches.

Squint your eyes and you could be looking at a fragment of a medieval altarpiece. Except here, the gold leaf background is a field of dry grass, and the central sacrificial figure is not the god-man in agony, but an innocent calf. We feel the reflexive, sweet “aww” of seeing any young creature, but the calf side-eyes us warily in the way that animals sometimes do, foreshadowing what's coming down the line. That commonplace barnyard tragedy has been sublimated, however—by beauty, by the canna flower on the left that echoes the carvings on the frame—elevated into timeless mythology.




 

To receive a weekly summary of the MFAH 100 series rather than a daily email, please subscribe on my Substack blog The Impatient Reader.

Sign up to receive a notification when a new Impatient Reader is published.

Thanks for subscribing!

IR post subscribe form
bottom of page