Our Good Earth

John Steuart Curry, Our Good Earth, 1942, watercolor on illustration board, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson and William T. Evans, 2001.4
Copied John Steuart Curry, Our Good Earth, 1942, watercolor on illustration board, 13 3⁄8 x 11 in. (34.0 x 27.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson and William T. Evans, 2001.4
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Our Good Earth
Artist
Date
1942
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
13 3⁄8 x 11 in. (34.0 x 27.9 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson and William T. Evans
Mediums Description
watercolor on illustration board
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — farm
  • Figure group — male and child
  • Dress — accessory — hat
  • Landscape — weather — cloud
  • Occupation — farm — farmer
Object Number
2001.4
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2001.4

Artwork Description

When Curry was asked to create a monumental image for a war-bond poster during World War II, he depicted a noble American farmer, flanked by two carefree children, standing tall in his Kansas wheat field. The imposing figure emphasizes how important farming was to the war effort. This watercolor is a study for the painting, which was then reproduced as a poster captioned “Our Good Earth – Keep It Ours.”

Graphic Masters II: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2009