Anchorage Public Library >> Picturing America >> Art
"Picturing America" - January 2009 at Anchorage Public Library...
The following images were featured at Z. J. Loussac and Muldoon Branch Libraries during the month of January, 2009. Click on the "resources" link for each image to locate books and websites about American history and other related topics that connect with these works of art.
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Winslow Homer, The Veteran in a New Field, 1865
Winslow Homer, who favored scenes of ordinary life, depicts a Civil War veteran harvesting wheat in an empty field. We know the farmer is a veteran as his military jacket and canteen are discarded and partially covered in the field. During the Civil War, fields of grain were associated with fallen soldiers since many battles were fought in the fields. In The Veteran in a New Field, Homer depicts life returning to normal and a harvest to bring comfort and hope to a healing nation.
What is the man in the picture doing? What could the bountiful wheat field represent?
The man is cutting wheat with a scythe. The harvest can represent hope, bounty and a renewal of life.
Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910), The Veteran in a New Field, 1865 , Oil on canvas; 24 1/8 x 38 1/8 in. (61.3 x 96.8 cm): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Miss Adelaide Milton de Groot (1876–1967), 1967 (67.187.131) Image © 1995 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Thomas Eakins, John Biglin in a Single Scull, 1873
Trained in Paris, Thomas Eakins returned to Philadelphia to paint realistic scenes of American life. Rowing became a very popular sport on the Schuylkill River. In 1872 the Biglin brothers came to compete in a championship competition. Professional rowers, they had great power and form as oarsmen. The painting John Biglin in a Single Scull shows the power and concentration needed in a competitive sport. To make sure the light, shadows, and location of the sculls were correct, Eakins made a preliminary painting in oil paint before painting the final version in water color.
How did the artist show distance in the painting? Can you find the sailboat, tower, second scull and crew team?
Distant objects are less detailed, smaller and lighter than those in the foreground. The sailboats are in the far distance; the tower is in the center distance; the back of the second scull is on the left and the crew team (a boat with many rowers) is in the left background.
Thomas Eakins (American, 1844-1916), John Biglin in a Single Scull, c. 1873. Watercolor on off-white wove paper; 19 5/16 x 24 7/8 in. (49.2 x 63.2 cm): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fletcher Fund, 1924 (24.108) Photograph © 1994 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Mary Cassatt, The Boating Party, 1893/1894
Mary Cassatt taught herself to paint by copying paintings in the Louvre Museum. Cassatt started in the Impressionist style but later began painting in a Japanese style of bold patterns of flat color and solid forms. She used the Renaissance theme of Madonna and Child for The Boating Party. The mother and child are in the center, and the child's bonnet circles the head like a halo. The rower's strokes make him appear to be bowing to the mother.
What is the center of interest in the painting? How does the artist balance the figure of the rower? Why does the man have his foot on the yellow support?
The central interest is the child. Cassatt has the white sail billowing to the left to balance the dark rower. The man has his foot on the support to help steady his balance and give more force to his oar strokes.
Mary Cassatt (American, 1844–1926), The Boating Party, 1893/1894. Oil on canvas, 35 7/16 x 46 1/8 in. (90 x 117.3 cm.). Chester Dale Collection. Image courtesy of the Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother and Children, 1936
Dorothea Lange was one in a team of photographers sent to document the lives of migrant farm workers. In a pea pickers' camp in California, Lange found a woman with many children inside a makeshift tent. In ten minutes, Lange took many photos of the squalid scene. Migrant Mother was the close up view of her subject. The mother’s furrowed brow and lined face show the despair and uncertainty of continual poverty. The photographs, published in newspapers nationwide, were shocking: how could the workers who put food on American tables themselves go hungry?
Why might Lange have taken such a close up photograph? How is our attention drawn to the woman’s face?
The close-up brings the subject closer and makes the picture feel more personal. Light shines on the woman’s face; her arm and hand lead to her face and the children face toward her.
Dorothea Lange (1895–1965), Migrant Mother and Children (Destitute pea pickers in California, a 32 year old mother of seven children), February 1936. Black-and-white photograph. Farm Security Administration, Office of War Information Photograph Collection. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.
Norman Rockwell, Freedom of Speech, The Saturday Evening Post 1943, 1943
In painting the "Four Freedoms" series, Norman Rockwell hoped the works would become his statement as an artist. Painting for commercial hire during the 1940s was not considered fine art. Rockwell's homespun images were not appealing to the intellectual art community. In Freedom of Speech, Rockwell used the classic pyramid style with the speaker at the apex. The central figure is viewed from below eye level and the onlookers’ upward glances help direct focus to the speaker. The black chalkboard contrasts with warm facial tones, giving the speaker a heroic appearance. Long after the conflict of World War II, the message of the painting still resonates and is a tribute to Rockwell's artistic abilities.
Where is the viewer of this scene located? Can you find the words TOWN and REPORT? Who is attending this meeting?
The viewer is seated two rows in front of the speaker, looking up. The words are on the blue paper near the lower edge. There are young and old men and one lady in a black hat attending the meeting.
Norman Rockwell (1894–1978), Freedom of Speech, The Saturday Evening Post, February 20, 1943. Oil on canvas, 45 3/4 x 35 1/2 in. (116.205 x 90.170 cm.). The Norman Rockwell Art Collection Trust, from the permanent collection of the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Mass. www.nrm.org ©1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, Ind. All rights reserved. www.curtispublishing.com.
