Curatorial Narrative The anonymous artist’s “Cornell College” sits at the juncture of Art Nouveau and Modernist tendencies, its creation date tied to the burgeoning architectural landscape of Mount Vernon, Iowa. Executed in linear brushwork, the palette’s muted tones beige and black serve as a foil for the subject’s sinuous lines, evoking the fluid curves found in the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany. As we navigate this spatial representation, it becomes clear that the artist is employing Art Nouveau principles to articulate the structural language of the modern building. The atmospheric weight of the piece lies not in its representational aspects but in its ability to conjure a sense of volume and depth. When enlarged to 44×45, the chromatic structure of “Cornell College” undergoes a profound shift, its spatial rhythm transforming from an intimate reading to a more monumental one. The beige surfaces now appear almost monolithic,