America has always been proud of its farms - even in the 1930s when the Dust Bowl hit agriculture in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas and the boll weevil wiped out cotton in the South.
California offered hope for displaced farmers.
William H. Johnson, born Florence, SC 1901–died Central Islip, NY 1970
Early Morning Work
about 1940
oil on burlap
38 1/2 x 45 5/8 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation
1967.59.1082
Marion Post Wolcott, born Santa Barbara, CA 1910–died Montclair, NJ 1990
Barn and silos on rich farmland. Bucks County, Pennsylvania
1939, printed later
silver print
11 x 14 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. John H. and Jann Arrington Wolcott
1998.120.45
James E. Allen, born Louisiana, MO 1894–died Larchmont, NY 1964
Prayer for Rain
1938
lithograph
10 1/2 x 14 1/8 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the family of James E. Allen
1972.74.24
Thomas Hart Benton, born Neosho, MO 1889–died 1975 Kansas City, MO
Planting (Spring Plowing)
1939
lithograph
9 7/8 x 12 5/8 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Frank McClure
1970.89
Alexandre Hogue, born Memphis, MO 1898–died Tulsa, OK 1994
Dust Bowl
1933
oil on canvas
24 x 32 5/8 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of International Business Machines Corporation
1969.123
Kenjiro Nomura, born Gifuken, Japan 1896–died Seattle, WA 1956
The Farm
1934
oil on canvas
38 1/4 x 46 1/8 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor
1964.1.36
John Steuart Curry, born Dunavant, KS 1897–died Madison, WI 1946
Ajax
1936–37
oil on canvas
36 1/4 x 48 1/4 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Peter and Paula Lunder
2001.95
Ross Dickinson, born Santa Ana, CA 1903–died La Jolla, CA 1978
Valley Farms
1934
oil on canvas
39 7/8 x 50 1/8 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor
1964.1.40
Ralston Crawford, born St. Catherines, ON, Canada 1906–died Houston, TX 1978
Buffalo Grain Elevators
1937
oil on canvas
40 1/4 x 50 1/4 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase
1976.133
Earle Richardson, born New York City 1912–died New York City 1935
Employment of Negroes in Agriculture
1934
oil on canvas
48 x 32 1/8 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor
1964.1.183
Marion Post Wolcott, born Santa Barbara, CA 1910–died Montclair, NJ 1990
A woman from New Jersey picking beans. Hampers are heavy and must be moved along as one picks. Homestead, Florida
1939, printed later
silver print
14 x 11 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. John H. and Jann Arrington Wolcott
1998.120.46
Marion Post Wolcott, born Santa Barbara, CA 1910–died Montclair, NJ 1990
Black workers
about 1938, printed later
silver print
11 x 14 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. John H. and Jann Arrington Wolcott
1998.120.58
John Steuart Curry, born Dunavant, KS 1897–died Madison, WI 1946
Our Good Earth
1942
watercolor on illustration board
13 3/8 x 11 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson and William T. Evans
2001.4
Ethel Edwards, born New Orleans, LA 1914–died New York City 1999
Afternoon on a Texas Ranch (mural Study, Lampassas, Texas Post Office)
about 1939
tempera on fiberboard
25 3/8 x 43 1/2 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration
1974.28.13
Joe Jones, born St. Louis, MO 1909–died Morristown, NJ 1963
Men and Wheat (mural study, Seneca, Kansas Post Office)
1939
oil on canvas
15 1/2 x 35 1/4 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
1965.18.5
