Harvest

Albert Pinkham Ryder, Harvest, n.d., oil on canvas, 26 x 35 ³⁄₄ in. (66.0 x 90.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.96

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Artwork Details

Title: Harvest
Artist: Albert Pinkham Ryder
Date: n.d.
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 26 x 35 ³⁄₄ in. (66.0 x 90.8 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of John Gellatly
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on canvas
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Occupation — farm — harvesting
Landscape — farm
Figure male — full length
Architecture — vehicle — wagon
Animal — cattle
Object Number: 1929.6.96
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1929.6.96

Artwork Description

Albert Pinkham Ryder never relied on sketches before he started work on a painting and instead applied large areas of color with quick, expressive strokes of the palette knife. In this unfinished painting, we can see where he changed the composition simply by painting his latest idea over previous attempts. He altered the direction of the hay cart and decided it should be pulled by oxen instead of horses. We can still see the faint outline of a horse behind the wheels, while the oxen are just blocked in with a reddish-brown wash. This painting is a rare glimpse of the early stages of Ryder's work, before he began the painstaking process of adding layer upon layer of translucent glaze. (Broun, Albert Pinkham Ryder, 1989)