John McCrady (American/Louisiana, 1911-1968) "Self Portrait - Grand Isle", 1952, multi-stage on canvas, 25" x 30", signed lower right John McCrady". Bears New Orleans Museum of Art label en verso. Presented in the original carved, painted and inked pine frame in the Spanish Colonial taste. Note: A painter, illustrator and highly respected teacher, John McCrady is today one of the most esteemed Louisiana artists of the twentieth century. This work might well be subtitled "The Artist at Rest in the Noon of Life", for the images employed represent a recapitulation of his creative activity. The portrait resting near his head dates from his days at the Art Students' League of New York, and the figures descending from Heaven are taken directly from Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. The leaping dogs, so common in McCrady's work, represent his paintings of the rural South; and the domestic items and cropped figure belong to his recent paintings of family life. The most interesting image, however, is that of the large angel, taken from Oh! Them Golden Slippers, who lies tangled in the driftwood. No longer soaring, she confirms the death of this imagery in the artist's work. Provenance: Estate of John McCardy; Private New Orleans Collection. Exhibited: "John McCrady, 1911-1968", New Orleans Museum of Art, 1975. Reference: Keith Marshall, "John McCrady, 1911-1968", New Orleans Museum of Art, 1975, illustrated on page 40.