Corn Husking

David Gilmour Blythe

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Blythe, who lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, painted satires, mainly of urban ills, but in "Corn Husking," he portrayed their rural counterpart. The work depicts a sudden outbreak of violence on an eerie, moonlit night among a group of boys engaged in the taxing and tedious task of husking recently harvested corn. The farm is dilapidated and the farming implements are carelessly strewn around the property, conveying the harsh realities of the setting. Blythe pointedly made poverty and discord the crux of a theme that is usually associated with abundance and harmony.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art