Our Good Earth
| Artist | John Steuart Curry (American, 1897–1946) |
|---|---|
| Title | Our Good Earth |
| Date | 1942 |
| Medium | Lithograph on paper |
| Dimensions | Image: 12 3/4 x 10 1/8 in. (32.4 x 25.7 cm) Sheet: 16 3/4 x 12 5/8 in. (42.5 x 32.1 cm) |
| Credit Line | Gift of Thomas T. Solley, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 68.123.33 |
| This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request. | |
A farmer stands with two small children in a dense wheat field. He is holding three stalks of wheat in his right fist.
Regionalist artist John Steuart Curry's iconic image of Depression-era resilience depicts a heroic young farmer standing watch over his children and America's "amber waves of grain." It has been interpreted as a symbol of hope, plenty, and patriotic identity. For this very reason the U.S. Department of the Treasury commissioned a painting (based on the 1938 lithograph) for a war bond poster with the message: "Our Good Earth…Keep It Ours." The poster proved so popular that the Associated American Artists reissued this second version of the print.
| Publisher | Associated American Artists |
|---|
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
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"Our Good Earth | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=68.123.33