Painting entitled "Clinic" by Martina Gangle Curl
This painting is one of the many treasures uncovered in the Gold Room. Painted by the Oregon artist Martina Gangle Curl, it depicts a man using a stethoscope to listen to the heartbeat of a small child, while his headlight shines on red-haired woman with her hand on her chest. A reluctant figure stands in the dark background, hand held up to its distressed face.
Curl (1906-1994) was a prominent Oregon painter, printmaker and social activist. She attend the Museum Art School in Portland and worked with the WPA Federal Art Project and federally funded Oregon Art Project on public art at Timberline Lodge, Rose City Park Elementary School and Pendleton High School. A one time member of the Communist Party, she was a vocal advocate for civil rights, peace, and immigration and labor issues. Read more about Curl in Dr. David Horowitz’s article: Martina Gangle Curl (1906-1994): People’s Art and the Mothering of Humanity.
We’d love to know more about how this painting came to OSH or where it used to hang. If you have any information, please leave a comment or contact us.
Signature on the back of "Clinic," painting by Martina Gangle Curl
