Cabin in the Cotton
Horace Pippin (American, 1888–1946)
c. 1931–37
- Medium
- Oil on cotton, mounted on Masonite
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- 51 × 85 cm (20 × 33 1/2 in.)
- Culture
- United States
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of the Americas
- Credit line
- Purchased with funds provided by Thomas F. Pick and Mary P. Hines in memory of their mother Frances W. Pick
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
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.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
