Farm Lantern c. 1940

Richard Taylor made this watercolor drawing of a Farm Lantern sometime in the 20th century. Its subject matter speaks to the realities of rural life and labor during a time when much of the Western world was becoming increasingly urbanized. The lantern, a symbol of illumination and guidance, evokes the daily lives of farmers working before sunrise or after sunset. It reminds us of the tools and technologies that shape our relationship with the land. The artist’s careful attention to the lantern’s texture and form gives us a sense of its history, suggesting that it's a well-used object, that has been handled by many hands. Was Taylor trying to preserve this object from the past? By studying the cultural context in which this image was made, we gain insight into how the artist may have viewed rural life and its place in the changing social landscape of the 20th century.