John McCrady (American/Louisiana, 1911-1968), "Discussion", oil on canvas, signed lower right, "Downtown Gallery, New Orleans" label with artist and title on reverse of frame, 20 in. x 34 in., framed, overall 22 3/4 in. x 36 3/4 in. x 1 3/4 in. Provenance: Naomi Marshall, Downtown Gallery, New Orleans, 1997. Note: While John McCrady’s earliest works were more naturalistic in style, after studying at the Arts Students’ League of New York under Thomas Hart Benton and Kenneth Hays Miller, McCrady embraced American Regionalism, as well as studying classical composition and technique. Teresa Parker Farris writes, “Miller introduced McCrady to the multi-stage technique (once used by Rembrandt, Da Vinci, Rubens, and El Greco to give their works an inner luminosity).” Benton, on the other hand, acquainted McCrady with a manner of painting that was stylized and exaggerated. In 1934, McCrady moved back to New Orleans, taking with him the valuable knowledge he had gained at the Arts Students’ League and applying it to southern subject matters with which he was familiar.The current lot, “Discussion,” bears notable similarities to McCrady’s 1935 work, “Political Rally” (sold in these rooms October 11, 2008, lot 245). Both paintings include stylization of the faces, clothing, and hair, although “Political Rally” includes the town square of Oxford, Mississippi for context, while “Discussion” displays indistinct red walls behind the figures. The left side of the crowd depicted in “Political Rally” consists of a group of men arguing and gesticulating in a similar manner to “Discussion;” the animated faces and hand gestures in both works display McCrady’s attention to detail when portraying a passionate debate. Capturing a moment in the lives of the working class is a common theme throughout McCrady’s work and he does so beautifully in this intriguing and exciting painting.Ref.: Marshall, Keith. John McCrady: 1911-1968. New Orleans: Franklin Printing Co., 1975; Farris, Teresa Parker. City on a Hill: John McCrady’s Oxford, Mississippi. University of Mississippi Master of Arts Thesis, 2005.

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