Sun Worshippers 

Carrie Graber made this painting, Sun Worshippers, using oils to capture a sunny scene of leisure. The pool and diving board suggest a particular kind of middle-class lifestyle that became more commonplace in the USA around the mid-20th century. The title, Sun Worshippers, hints at some of the social conditions that shape artistic production. The bright sunlight and color palette associates sun-tanning with fun, health, and beauty. The composition also focuses on the slender bodies of the two women. So the image might be read as promoting a California ideal of carefree consumerism, where freedom is expressed through lifestyle choices. To better understand this painting, we could use a range of resources, including magazines, advertisements, and sociological studies of leisure and consumer culture. Art history reminds us that artworks are embedded in their time and place.