Bishop Hill: Bandwagon c. 1939

H. Langden Brown made this Bishop Hill: Bandwagon with an intriguing mix of precision and whimsy. I can imagine him bent over it, trying to get the perspective just so, yet also wanting to capture the sheer celebratory spirit of this fairground wagon. The way he’s rendered the ornate scrollwork makes me think of cake decorating, all these swirly flourishes picked out in gold against that faded red. The green seats look surprisingly comfy, like mossy benches in a fairytale wood. I love how the stars and stripes are kind of casually draped on the back. This image makes me think about what it means to be festive, what it means to create a space for joy and gathering. Brown probably saw a similar wagon in action, and he wanted to somehow capture that sense of motion, of being swept up in something bigger than yourself. It’s like a snapshot of a feeling, of a community coming together.