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Cabin in the Cotton

Painting of a cabin set below a dark blue sky and fluffy white clouds. Behind it is a field of many small white dots. In front, a dark-skinned woman sits and a dark-skinned child plays among roaming chickens and dogs in a fenced-in yard.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Painting of a cabin set below a dark blue sky and fluffy white clouds. Behind it is a field of many small white dots. In front, a dark-skinned woman sits and a dark-skinned child plays among roaming chickens and dogs in a fenced-in yard.

Date:

c. 1931–37

Artist:

Horace Pippin
American, 1888–1946

About this artwork

Constructed of dense, thick layers of paint, Cabin in the Cotton exemplifies the tactile and vivid style of selftaught artist Horace Pippin. At a southern homestead, an older woman cares for a young child. Beyond, an expansive field of cotton evokes the hard labor, likely that of family members, required to harvest the crop. Pippin turned to painting as a mode of rehabilitation after injuring his arm while serving in World War I. Born in Pennsylvania, the artist’s interpretation of cotton fields drew upon a visit to South Carolina with his regiment in 1917. Popular culture also may have informed his work: “Cabin in the Cotton” was the title of both a song and a film in the 1930s. On view in a shoe repair shop outside Philadelphia in 1937, the composition caught the attention of artists, critics, and gallerists, winning Pippin wide acclaim and furthering his career.

Status

On View, Gallery 263

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Horace Pippin

Title

Cabin in the Cotton

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

c. 1931–1937

Medium

Oil on cotton mounted on Masonite

Inscriptions

Signed lower right: H. PIPPIN

Dimensions

51 × 85 cm (20 × 33 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Thomas F. Pick and Mary P. Hines in memory of their mother Frances W. Pick

Reference Number

1990.417

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/111617/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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