Citizen of Onsted

Novotny, who taught art at Kent State University for nearly 40 years, embraced portrait painting traditions that call for the illumination of a sitter’s character or personality. This figure’s weathered face, beefy hand and simple work shirt suggest a man of industry, conviction and integrity. Posed in profile, the man is also reminiscent of Renaissance-era portraits in which the sitter is shown from the side to lend a sense of dignity or nobility. Novotny painted the mill in the background of this image while visiting the lumber town of Onsted, Michigan, but added the figure in his Ohio studio.