Leaving the Farm for Army Training Camp
Artist
John Steuart Curry
(American, 1897 - 1946)
Date1941
MediumTempera on gessoed masonite
Dimensions15 x 42 in.
ClassificationsTempera
Credit LineGift of Mr. Pare Lorentz
Terms
Object number1967.02
DescriptionCurry understood the close bond between a farmer and his land. He was born in Kansas and raised on a family farm. This poignant scene represents a soldier's farewell to his home as he sadly surveys his land and the source of his livelihood one last time before catching a bus to report for training. In his heart, he knows he might never return home from World War II.Pare Lorentz, the donor of Leaving the Farm for Army Training Camp, was a pioneering cinematographer and director, whose film The Plow that Broke the Plains, was regarded as one of the most influential documentaries of its time. Completed in 1936, it was a propaganda film promoting the New Deal's agricultural reforms.
On View
On view
