Hayfield

Maker Helen Allingham (British, 1848-1926)

ClassificationsDRAWINGS

Date1878

Mediumwatercolor and white opaque watercolor on wove paper

Dimensionssheet: 4 1/2 × 7 in. (11.4 × 17.8 cm.) image: 3 13/16 × 6 5/8 in. (9.7 × 16.8 cm.)

DescriptionIn this drawing, a few farm workers are shown toiling and haymaking on a field. The two women in the front use a pitchfork to shook out the newly cut grass for the first days drying.

SignedSigned in lower right of recto in watercolor: H. Allingham. 1878

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gilbert Davis Collection

Status

Not on view

Label TextAllingham made her career painting rural scenes at a time when laborers were increasingly leaving the countryside to work in city factories. Like many of her landscapes, this peaceful scene of rural labor minimizes that reality. Figures stand still or move in gentle rhythm. The women’s bright white head scarves lend their clothing an old-fashioned appearance, as do their traditional farm implements. It is a nostalgic view—by this time, most farmwork was done with machines. The soft palette and feathery brushstrokes contribute to the idyllic quality of the scene (2022).

Object number59.55.30

Terms