Description:

Joseph Paul Vorst
Missouri, (1897-1947)
Arkansas Farmer, ed. 23/50
lithograph
signed and numbered in pencil lower margin, unframed.

This lithograph is the original study for the Arkansas Post Office mural. This depiction of "Rural Arkansas" was deemed offensive by the local leaders of Paris, Arkansas, as it wasn't "in keeping with the progress of the state," so Vorst changed the scene of the mural to incorporate elements of modern farming.

Joseph Paul Vorst (1897-1947) was born outside Essen, Germany. He grew up in poverty and then fled Nazi Germany for Sainte-Geneviève, Missouri, where he practiced his craft and became a successful "American" artist whose works have been collected by the MET, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, SLAM, and many others. He gained popularity because of his capacity to capture Missouri folks: the poor and their struggles; German-American and African-American farmers and labourers; farm life in general; country spirituality; and some of the joys and pains of simple living in Hoovervilles during the Great Depression. His own childhood poverty and struggles in Germany and as an immigrant here surely helped him empathise with all sorts of folks in rural Missouri. "Arkansas Farmer" features a lovely day on the farm for a lone farmer as he plows his land while smoking a corncob pipe. His log cabin stands in the background. Two donkeys watch from beyond a makeshift portable wooden fence built next to a babbling brook. A large clump of sunflowers rise in the centre of the image, a tall birdhouse provides shelter for some lucky Arkansas birds, squash grow big in the foreground, and trees bloom across the scene. Vorst's focus on simple, healthy, natural, beautiful country living in the New World reminds us of the artist's entirely new life that he created for himself in rural America, so very far away from his Old World upbringing.

  • Dimensions: 10 x 14 7/8 inches
  • Medium: lithograph

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Shipping

We do not maintain an in-house shipping department, After payment is received you will be contacted by a third party shipper with a shipping quote within 72 hours.

June 10, 2023 10:00 AM CDT
St. Louis, MO, US

Link Auction Galleries

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000