Farm

Robert A. Darrah Miller, Farm, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.140
Robert A. Darrah Miller, Farm, 1933-1934, oil on canvas, 2228 18 in. (55.971.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.140

Artwork Details

Title
Farm
Date
1933-1934
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
2228 18 in. (55.971.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — season — winter
  • New Deal — Public Works of Art Project — Pennsylvania
  • Landscape — farm
  • Architecture Exterior — farm — barn
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — farmhouse
Object Number
1964.1.140

Artwork Description

Robert Miller's painting of a Pennsylvania farm amid snow-covered hills seems the very picture of cold rural silence. No one travels the road running past the farm. The people and livestock all shelter in the solidly built house and barn. Even the trees are under cover for winter, cut back without a leaf braving the frosty air. Yet the sky is a rich blue, and the barn and house glow in warm tones of red and yellow. The diagonal lines of the trees and buildings suggest suppressed life waiting for spring.

The farms around Miller's home in New Hope, Pennsylvania, held the promise of more than sprouting crops. He was only one of the artists and writers attracted to Bucks County by the picturesque scenery. As the Depression pushed down real estate values, New York City theatrical luminaries such as George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart bought newly affordable Pennsylvania farms. They made an old mill into the Bucks County Playhouse. In New Hope, as in artistic centers across the country, the fresh life emerging in the spring of 1934 would be both creative and agricultural.

1934: A New Deal for Artists exhibition label

Works by this artist (3 items)

Manuel Acevedo, Altered Sites #7, 1998, printed 2016, inkjet print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center, 2016.45, © 1998, Manuel Acevedo
Altered Sites #7
Date1998, printed 2016
inkjet print
Not on view
Manuel Acevedo, Rising, 2002, printed 2012, inkjet print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by William W.W. Parker, the R.P. Whitty Company and the Cooperating Committee on Architecture, 2013.53.2, © 2002, Manuel Acevedo
Rising
Date2002, printed 2012
inkjet print
Not on view
Manuel Acevedo, Hartford Re-visions Project I, II and III, 2004, printed 2012, inkjet prints, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by William W.W. Parker, the R.P. Whitty Company and the Cooperating Committee on Architecture, 2013.53.1A-C, © 2004, Manuel Acevedo
Hartford Re-visions Project I, II and III
Date2004, printed 2012
inkjet prints
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.

More Artworks from the Collection

Mark Matthews, Leopardus pardalis (Ocelot), 1998, hot glass and Graal technique, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist and family in honor of Francis M. Greenwell, 1999.21.11, © 1999, Mark Matthews
Leopardus pardalis (Ocelot)
Date1998
hot glass and Graal technique
On view
Mark Matthews, Neofelis nebulosa (Clouded Leopard), 1998, hot glass and Graal technique, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist and family in honor of Francis M. Greenwell, 1999.21.10, © 1999, Mark Matthews
Neofelis nebulosa (Clouded Leopard)
Date1998
hot glass and Graal technique
On view
Mark Matthews, Acinonyx jubatus (Cheetah), 1998, hot glass and Graal technique, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist and family in honor of Francis M. Greenwell, 1999.21.9, © 1999, Mark Matthews
Acinonyx jubatus (Cheetah)
Date1998
hot glass and Graal technique
On view
Mark Matthews, Panthera onca (Jaguar), 1998, hot glass and Graal technique, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist and family in honor of Francis M. Greenwell, 1999.21.7, © 1999, Mark Matthews
Panthera onca (Jaguar)
Date1998
hot glass and Graal technique
On view