Ox Cart 1935 - 1942

Wilbur M. Rice made this 'Ox Cart' with watercolor and graphite on paper. Look at the pale hues, like faded memories of wood and labor; they evoke a sense of nostalgia. I can imagine the artist carefully applying thin washes, building up the forms of the ox cart with delicate precision. It’s like he's trying to reconstruct something from the past, piece by piece. The graphite lines add a subtle texture, almost like the grain of the wood itself. I wonder what Rice was thinking as he painted this? Was he remembering a time when ox carts were a common sight? Maybe he was drawn to the simple beauty of this humble machine, or maybe the painting speaks to the transience of time, the way things fade and disappear. His choice to portray such a common subject is reminiscent of Charles Sheeler, who elevated industrial forms to high art. Artists have always been inspired by the everyday, finding beauty in unexpected places.