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Hull-House Courtyard, ca. 1930

Leon Garland (1896–1941)

A painting depicts several people in an urban courtyard, reading large papers. One person drinks from a fountain. Buildings, an archway, and a water tower are visible, all under a cloudy sky. The scene has a muted color palette.

Details

  • Title

    Hull-House Courtyard

  • Date

    ca. 1930

  • Artist Name

    Leon Garland

  • Artist’s Life Dates

    1896–1941

  • Item Title

    Painting

  • Materials

    Oil on canvas

  • Accession Number

    2002.0029.0001

  • Credit Line

    Hull-House Collection

Not on view

About the painting

Eight male figures stand within the arches and angles of a courtyard; they appear to be out of work during the Great Depression, when newspapers were the source of job advertise­ments. One man bends over a water fountain. Two men in the distance, hunched over, walk with their hands in their pockets. Defying realism, the painting’s striking geometry and muted colors suggest a setting different from the brick buildings of Hull-House, a very important place for the artist.

A Russian immigrant, Garland was introduced to the community at Hull-House through the artist Morris Topchevsky. At Hull-House, Garland met Sadie Ellis; the two married in 1927 with the help of Jane Addams, who hosted the wedding at the settlement. After travel and study in Europe, the Garlands returned to Hull-House, where they lived in a top-floor apartment and taught a wide range of art classes until Leon’s early death, in 1941.