Farm Scene 1851 - 1899

This American watercolor of a farm scene presents a cluster of wooden buildings and a haystack surrounded by roaming chickens. The artist was working in a period when agricultural life still predominated in the United States. But as we look closer, we can detect that this apparently simple scene has something to say about American society and the institutional development of art. The soft rendering of the scene, in muted earth tones, speaks to the influence of the Barbizon school of French painting. This movement was closely associated with an emerging class of art collectors, critics, and institutions that promoted a new appreciation for humble and unaffected subject matter. But the scene also speaks to the transformation of agricultural life and the emergence of a nostalgic attitude toward it. The artist invites us to contemplate our relationship to the land and the changing face of American life. To better understand this artwork, one might consult agricultural journals, exhibition catalogues, and other historical sources.