Sundown

April 3, 1923

Not on view

British by birth, Crowley arrived in New York by 1903 and joined an avant-garde circle centered on the sculptor John Mowbray-Clarke (1869–1953) and the latter's wife Mary Mowbray-Clarke (1874–1962)—she was a part owner of the radical Sunwise Turn bookshop. Crowley’s art includes detailed ink drawings of temples, visionary landscapes, and "Wigglemuch" creatures—cartoon-like beings freighted with psychological and symbolic meaning. Despite receiving positive reviews to works he exhibited in New York, Crowley returned to England in 1917 and joined the army. After World War I, he married one of his New York friends, Alice Lewisohn (1883–1972), a founder of the Neighborhood Playhouse. In 1928 the couple moved to Zurich to be close to Carl Jung. The artist’s sketchbooks are filled with fascinating notes and small drawings and separate drawings include a self-portrait that conveys Crowley’s sense of himself in middle age, and a 1930 work documents his split with Jung.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Sundown
Artist: Herbert E. Crowley (British, Eltham, Kent 1873–1937 Ascona, Switzerland)
Date: April 3, 1923
Medium: Graphite and watercolor
Dimensions: Sheet: 3 1/8 × 5 7/16 in. (7.9 × 13.8 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Gift of Susanna Wettstein Scheidegger and Family, 2023
Object Number: 2023.296.20
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By Herbert E. Crowley

In the same medium

From the same time and place

The Sultan Rests, Herbert E. Crowley British, Watercolor and brown ink — The Sultan Rests
Herbert E. Crowley
1902–36

Piano Harmonica, J. B. Cramer & Co., Wood, various materials, British — Piano Harmonica
J. B. Cramer & Co.
ca. 1870–96

Eastern Coast of Rügen with Shepherd, Caspar David Friedrich German, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over graphite, with white opaque watercolor; partial framing lines in pen and brown-black ink — Eastern Coast of Rügen with Shepherd
Caspar David Friedrich
1805–6

Newly Hatched Bird of Prey, Herbert E. Crowley British, Watercolor with pen and black ink — Newly Hatched Bird of Prey
Herbert E. Crowley
1902–36

Cornu, Bronze, British — Cornu
British
late 19th century

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.