Artwork
Wisconsin Landscape
Wisconsin Landscape is an oil painting by the Regionalist artist John Steuart Curry. It dates from 1938 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition features a sprawling farm setting that includes a house and a prominent haystack, elements explicitly identified as the work's primary subjects.
Created in 1938, John Steuart Curry's Wisconsin Landscape functions as a regionalist depiction of rural America. The composition features a sprawling farm setting that includes a house and a prominent haystack, elements explicitly identified as the work's primary subjects. By focusing on these specific agricultural structures within a broad landscape format, the painting represents the everyday reality of farm life.
The inclusion of the haystack and dwelling serves as iconography for the agrarian economy and domestic stability characteristic of the Midwest during this period. As a landscape genre piece, the work visually documents the physical environment of Wisconsin, grounding its meaning in the tangible features of the countryside rather than abstract concepts.
Technique & Style
Wisconsin Landscape (1938) is an oil painting executed on canvas, as documented in the work’s catalog entry and confirmed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s records. The piece belongs to the landscape genre and portrays a rural scene with a house, haystack, and surrounding farm terrain. Curry’s technique employs oil paint to render the terrain with a blend of naturalistic detail and simplified forms, characteristic of his regionalist style. The canvas support is noted in the museum’s physical description, indicating its role as the painting’s substrate.
History & Provenance
John Steuart Curry painted Wisconsin Landscape in 1938 using oil on canvas, as recorded in contemporary documentation. The work was logged with an inception date of 1 January 1938 and measures 106.7 cm by 213.4 cm. It is classified as a landscape painting and depicts a house, haystack, and farm scene. Since its creation, the painting has remained in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which holds it in its permanent holdings. No evidence of prior private ownership or commission details is documented in the available sources.
John Steuart Curry's 1938 oil painting, Wisconsin Landscape, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The work, which depicts a rural scene featuring a house, haystack, and farm, measures 106.7 cm in height and 213.4 cm in width. While the sources confirm the painting's location and physical dimensions, they do not provide a specific inventory or accession number for the piece.
Furthermore, the available records do not contain details regarding the artwork's exhibition history or previous ownership before its acquisition by the museum.
Overview
John Steuart Curry, an American painter, completed Wisconsin Landscape in 1938 using oil paint. This painting exemplifies his focus on rural American life, a key characteristic of the Regionalism movement. It depicts a broad agricultural vista, featuring rolling fields, farm structures, and a dramatic sky, capturing the essence of the Midwestern countryside. The work is part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection.
Context
Wisconsin Landscape was created during the height of American Regionalism, an art movement of the 1930s that championed realistic portrayals of rural American scenes. John Steuart Curry, alongside artists like Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood, was a prominent exponent of this style. His work, often drawing from his Kansas roots, aimed to capture the spirit and challenges of agricultural life, offering a counterpoint to European modernism.
Artist & collection
Artist
John Steuart Curry (November 14, 1897 – August 29, 1946) was an American painter whose career spanned the years from 1924 until his death.
