Stallion and Jack Fighting 1943

John Steuart Curry created "Stallion and Jack Fighting" as an etching, a printmaking technique that uses acid to cut into a metal plate. Curry was part of the Regionalist movement, which sought to represent rural American life, particularly of the Midwest, and to validate the experiences of ordinary people. Here, Curry depicts two male animals locked in a fierce struggle, their muscles tense and eyes wild, while a man stands guard with a rifle. The scene is full of raw emotion and primal energy. The fight between the animals could be interpreted as a metaphor for human struggles and conflicts, reflecting the anxieties and tensions of the time, which included the Great Depression and the lead-up to World War II. Curry spent much of his life rendering the land, people and animals he knew so well. These depictions were, in his words, a way to, "express the feelings of the common people." While on the surface it’s a depiction of animals fighting, it also symbolizes universal themes of struggle and survival.