Valley Farms

Ross Dickinson, Valley Farms, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.40
Ross Dickinson, Valley Farms, 1934, oil on canvas, 39 7850 18 in. (101.4127.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.40

Artwork Details

Title
Valley Farms
Date
1934
Dimensions
39 7850 18 in. (101.4127.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — farmhouse
  • New Deal — Public Works of Art Project — California
  • Landscape — valley
  • Landscape — farm
  • Landscape — mountain
Object Number
1964.1.40

Artwork Description

Stark hills seem to threaten the lush farms at their feet in this vivid painting of a Southern California valley. Californian artist Ross Dickinson dramatized his home state’s eternal confrontation of nature and man by exaggerating the steep slopes of the hills and the harsh contrast between the dry red wilderness and the green cultivated land. The artist stressed the centrality of water in California. A river, reflecting the pale sky, is a milky curve against the verdant valley. The irrigated farms are luxuriant, while the hills during the summer dry season are an arid brown. Dickinson reminded the viewer of the constant threat of fire by showing a farmer burning brush or trash in the foreground, with the red flame sending up a thin column of smoke. In the background, a larger plume of smoke suggests a chaparral fire going out of control, a potential threat to the little white houses in the valley. The danger parallels other stresses that faced the region during the Great Depression, as the homeless and hopeless from the drought-plagued Dust Bowl poured westward in search of agricultural work. The destitute hordes demanded far more jobs than California could offer.

1934: A New Deal for Artists exhibition label

Works by this artist (13 items)

Ilya Bolotowsky, In the Barber Shop, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.79
In the Barber Shop
Date1934
oil on canvas
On view
Ilya Bolotowsky, Architectural Variation, 1949, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia and Phillip Frost, 1986.92.4
Architectural Variation
Date1949
oil on canvas
On view
Ilya Bolotowsky, Tondo Variation in Red, 1978, acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters through its Hassam and Speicher Purchase Fund, 1978, 1979.11
Tondo Variation in Red
Date1978
acrylic on canvas
Not on view
Ilya Bolotowsky, Untitled, 1970, screenprint, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1970.190
Untitled
Date1970
screenprint
Not on view

Related Books

1934_500.jpg
1934: A New Deal for Artists
During the Great Depression, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised a “new deal for the American people,” initiating government programs to foster economic recovery. Roosevelt’s pledge to help “the forgotten man” also embraced America’s artists. The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) enlisted artists to capture “the American Scene” in works of art that would embellish public buildings across the country. Although it lasted less than one year, from December 1933 to June 1934, the PWAP provided employment for thousands of artists, giving them an important role in the country’s recovery. Their legacy, captured in more than fifteen thousand artworks, helped “the American Scene” become America seen.