(Akron, Ohio, 1883 - 1952, Akron, Ohio)
late 1930s
Watercolor and graphite on illustration board
19 3/4 x 29 in. (50.3 x 73.7 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Anonymous gift
1958.13
As was typical for much art of the time, Griffiths’ work seems to comment upon the trend of fast-growing urban spaces and the diminishment of the rural countryside. In this painting, the city’s dusky skyline, the slightly ramshackle gas station, and the commuters shuffling toward the waiting buses form a dark halo around the brightly colored and illuminated billboard advertising locally grown produce. Although Griffiths spent much of his career in Akron, he also lived in Chicago and studied in Cleveland, and the specific city depicted in this painting has not been identified.