Artwork
The Harrower
The Harrower is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Horatio Walker. It dates from 1896 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The Harrower depicts a rural agricultural scene centered on a farmer engaged in harrowing, the process of breaking up soil with a harrow pulled by livestock.
The Harrower depicts a rural agricultural scene centered on a farmer engaged in harrowing, the process of breaking up soil with a harrow pulled by livestock. The painting portrays a farmer, a bull, a dog, a farm, and a tree, situating the work within the everyday labor of late nineteenth-century rural life. Horatio Walker, working in 1896, framed the farmer and his animals as the principal subjects, emphasizing the working relationship between man and bull as they till the land.
The inclusion of a farm dog and a tree reinforces the pastoral setting. Through these elements, the painting represents the dignity and continuity of agricultural labor, presenting the harrower not as an individual portrait but as a figure embodying the broader rhythms of farm life.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil on canvas, the work measures 61 cm in height and 91.4 cm in width. Walker employed a restrained, naturalistic handling to render the rural scene, depicting the farmer, the bull, and the dog within a pastoral landscape anchored by a central tree. The available records confirm the medium and dimensions but do not provide specific details regarding the artist's brushwork, surface condition, or technical handling of the paint layers.
History & Provenance
The Harrower was painted by Horatio Walker in 1896 in oil on canvas. The work depicts a rural scene featuring a farmer, a bull, and a dog, consistent with Walker's focus on farm life, and measures 61 cm in height by 91.4 cm in width. It entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where it remains.
The available sources do not record a specific accession number, commission details, or a documented exhibition history for the piece.
Overview
This oil painting, titled The Harrower, depicts a solitary farmer engaged in agricultural labor. The scene is set under a heavy downpour, with a lone, bare tree in the distance. The artist captures a moment of arduous work as the farmer guides two oxen, which are pulling a harrow across a freshly plowed field. The overall impression is one of raw naturalism and the demanding realities of rural life.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Horatio Walker LL.D. (May 12, 1858 – September 27, 1938) was a Canadian painter. He worked in oils and watercolours, often depicting scenes of rural life in Canada with special attention to French Canadian rural…
