Charles Demuth
American, 1883­1935
. . . And the Home of the Brave
1931
Oil on composition board
74.8 x 59.7 cm
Gift of Georgia O’Keeffe, 1948.650

This scene represents the artist’s hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but things in it come from different parts of the city. It shows the double water towers that stood atop a cigar factory, and a traffic signal. What is the number of the highway that runs through the town?

Demuth had a love/hate relationship with modern life and his own country. The title of the painting is the last phrase of the national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. Why do you think he chose this title for a painting of an industrial scene?