Regionalism, also known as American Scene Painting, is an art movement that occurred from the 1920s through the 1950s, with its height in the 1930s in the United States. Regionalism focused on rural scenes and rejected city life and modern industrialism (Regionalism). The main focus of these painting were mid-western architecture and figures. It gave the viewer a heartwarming view of the simple life in the rural United States (Regionalism). One of the main figures of this movement was Andrew Wyeth. Another influential painter of this time was the painter of American Gothic, Grant Wood. The main focus of the following works is mostly farm area with a poor twist to them. They are all inferring that the subjects portrayed are alone in this wide open space, giving the viewer the feeling that every man or woman must fend for themselves or that only the strongest survive.
Winter 1946 was painted by Andrew Wyeth with tempera on a board. This is the painting I chose from the NCMA’s collection. This piece is significant due to being based off of Wyeth’s father’s death. His father reportedly died on the other side of the hill featured in this work. The main subject in the painting was a neighbour of Wyeth named Allan Lynch (Meryman). This painting has very muted colors and a sense of loneliness. This feeling grows deeper when the viewer is made aware of the significance behind the work.
Christina’s World is a painting of a neighbour by Wyeth. Christina Olson was a neighbour who suffered from polio and spent most of her time at home thus giving the title of “Christina's World” (Meryman). She most likely felt very trapped on her property. This painting shows her on the edges looking towards her house. This represents her testing her limits as much as she can. This piece is another regionalist work with muted colors and gives the feeling of loneliness as it must have been for Christina, not being able to venture off of her property. This piece was done in tempera and gesso.
Turkey Pond is another Wyeth painting that continues the lonely theme and uses muted colors. It was made using tempera on panel. It features a man walking away in the distance with no other object to be seen. This indicates that he is on a mission of his own. He appears to be walking away towards nothing of importance signifying a journey into loneliness.
Floodplain is another work by Wyeth. It, unlike his other works does not have a person as the main subject. It instead uses a pile of hay and what appears to be scraps from an old building as its focus. It still uses muted colors and gives a sense of emptiness. It was done in tempera on panel. Most of Wyeth’s works feature a person as the main focus, however this one does not which gives a tone of emptiness which still follows suite with his other works.
American Gothic is regionalist painting done by Grant Wood. It features two people who are farmers, solidifying the regionalist element, these people look very over worked and lonesome similar to Wyeth’s recurring themes in his works. The couple is dressed in nice material but their facial expression and props explain the whole painting. Their faces look tired and faded from long days of work. The pitchfork shows that they still work today despite their age, but it isn’t so much a form of work as it is a way of life for them because that is how they were raised. American Gothic was done in oil on beaver board which is in contrast with Wyeth's common usage of tempera.
References
Meryman, Richard. "Andrew Wyeth." Life 14 May 1965: 93-114. Google Books. Web. 5 Apr. 2016.
"Regionalism." Collections. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.
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