The Monongahela River Valley, Pennsylvania. Artist: John Kane (America, West Calder, Scotland 1860-1934 Pittsburg, Pennsylvania). Dimensions: 28 x 38 in. (71.1 x 96.5 cm). Date: 1931.John Kane was born of Irish parentage in West Calder, Scotland. At the age of nineteen he came to America, eventually taking up residence in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a city famous for its steel refineries. About 1897, while working as a laborer, Kane began to dabble in painting. Since he could not afford the expense of art school, Kane was self-taught, and his style has been variously classified as "naïve," "primitive," and "folk art," a genre that gained critical acceptance in the 1920s and 1930s.<p>"The Monongahela River Valley, Pennsylvania" is one of several paintings by Kane that celebrate the ever-growing industrialization of the American landscape during the 1930s. He was intimately acquainted with Pittsburgh's heavy industries, having worked for both the steel industry and the railroad. Despit