The Rise and Fall of the American Farm “The welfare of the farmer is vital to that of the whole country” said President Taft in the year (Taft). Farming played a vital role in the American way of life. Farms, were so essential to America, they served as the subject matter for artists, Alexandre Hogue and Anna Robertson Mary Moses. Each artist created a unique vision of the American rural farm that illuminated the emotions that were abundant during a particular time frame. Alexandre Hogue depicted rural farming through the lense of the Dust Bowl, a natural disaster that affected the Midwestern states in the 1930’s. In contrast to tragedy, Anna Mary Robertson Moses, known as Grandma Moses since she started her career at age 78, portrayed
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Hogue’s painting was created during the Dust Bowl, a major drought that occurred during the 1930’s. This drought created massive wind storms that stripped the ground of topsoil, rendering the land infertile. The drought and the loss of topsoil caused farms in the midwest to begin to fail. The loss of farmland and a sustainable income led to the collapse of the rural farms. This was exemplified in Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, in which farmers abandoned their lands and head west. “The dispossessed were drawn west-from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico; from Nevada and Arkansas, families, tribes, dusted out, tractored out” (Steinbeck). In contrast, Moses’s painting was created during a time of war and economic recovery in the nation. Before 1941, the American economy was stuck in the Depression with “one worker in seven was still without a job” (Roark). After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, the nation transformed into a wartime economy based on production of military goods. In 1943 when Grandma Moses created the Home of Hezekiah King, the nation 's economy was beginning to recover. Her paintings give a sense of optimism and hope that were well received by people during emerging from desperate times. Moses selected a farm from 1776 to show how things once prospered and give the public something to hope for in the future during a time of rebound in America. Context provides the backstory that allows the viewer to gain understanding and interpretation of the piece of
Hogue’s painting was created during the Dust Bowl, a major drought that occurred during the 1930’s. This drought created massive wind storms that stripped the ground of topsoil, rendering the land infertile. The drought and the loss of topsoil caused farms in the midwest to begin to fail. The loss of farmland and a sustainable income led to the collapse of the rural farms. This was exemplified in Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, in which farmers abandoned their lands and head west. “The dispossessed were drawn west-from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico; from Nevada and Arkansas, families, tribes, dusted out, tractored out” (Steinbeck). In contrast, Moses’s painting was created during a time of war and economic recovery in the nation. Before 1941, the American economy was stuck in the Depression with “one worker in seven was still without a job” (Roark). After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, the nation transformed into a wartime economy based on production of military goods. In 1943 when Grandma Moses created the Home of Hezekiah King, the nation 's economy was beginning to recover. Her paintings give a sense of optimism and hope that were well received by people during emerging from desperate times. Moses selected a farm from 1776 to show how things once prospered and give the public something to hope for in the future during a time of rebound in America. Context provides the backstory that allows the viewer to gain understanding and interpretation of the piece of