Our Good Earth

John Steuart Curry, Our Good Earth, 1942, watercolor on illustration board, 13 ³⁄₈ x 11 in. (34.0 x 27.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson and William T. Evans, 2001.4

Free to use

Artwork Details

Title: Our Good Earth
Artist: John Steuart Curry
Date: 1942
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 13 ³⁄₈ x 11 in. (34.0 x 27.9 cm)
Credit Line: Museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson and William T. Evans
Mediums Description: watercolor on illustration board
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Landscape — weather — cloud
Occupation — farm — farmer
Dress — accessory — hat
Figure group — male and child
Landscape — farm
Object Number: 2001.4
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2001.4

Artwork Description

When Curry was asked to create a monumental image for a war-bond poster during World War II, he depicted a noble American farmer, flanked by two carefree children, standing tall in his Kansas wheat field. The imposing figure emphasizes how important farming was to the war effort. This watercolor is a study for the painting, which was then reproduced as a poster captioned “Our Good Earth – Keep It Ours.”

Graphic Masters II: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2009