Earthen Churn 1935 - 1942

Clyde L. Cheney created this watercolor of an Earthen Churn sometime during his long life between 1855 and 1995. Here we have an image that documents an object of rural life. The churn suggests a way of life dependent on farming and agricultural production. As an artist, Cheney engaged with the American past at a moment of great transformation. This image speaks to the institutional history of museums and collections. Objects like this churn were considered important artifacts for understanding the material culture of ordinary people. How do we understand the politics of this imagery? It seems self-consciously conservative, nostalgic for an agrarian past that was quickly disappearing due to industrialization and urbanization. The fact that it was made into a watercolor points to the ways in which mundane objects can be elevated to the status of 'Art'. Further research into Cheney’s life and artistic production, as well as the collecting institutions of the time, would shed further light on the cultural meanings of this earthen churn.