“In a long, low cutaway view of a farmhouse at harvestime,” women fuel men with food, supplying energy for harvesting grain under the summer sun. The two genders work in tandem to complete the cycle of food production, farm to table.
Dinner for Threshers by Grant Wood 1934. Work from the collections of the de Young and Legion of Honor museums of San Francisco, CA.
Iowan artist Grant Wood, best known for his ionic “American Gothic” painting, shows both genders cooperating to bring in the wheat harvest. While the men labored in the fields, women worked hard in a steamy kitchen peeling and mashing potatoes, roasting meat on a wood-fueled cookstove, and drawing fresh drinking water from the indoor pump. A friendly cat appears to approve the proceedings.
Behind the Scenes of Grant Wood’s “Harvestime” painting, a one minute, 30 second video review. Farmers’ caps removed reveal white foreheads shielded from the sun’s tanning rays.
Amber Waves of Grain in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Photo: lancasteronline.com Makin’ Hay
Vinny Tennis, Staff Photographer, July 18, 2018
My dad’s business, Longenecker Farm Supply, provided a new harvester for his cousin, Howard Longenecker. A woman is present in the video below, but she is not visible. She is not preparing food either. My Aunt Ruthie is probably the eye behind the camera lens during grain harvest season in the 1950s.
I wrote about this event earlier in a post entitled “Oh, Beautiful – Amber Grain and Grainy Amber.” You can find it here.
Painted barn off Route 283 near Rheems, Pennsylvania displaying the steam engine used in grain harvesting before tractors became available.
- What menu items would you suggest for a farm table like shown in Wood’s painting?
- “Make hay while the sun shines” is one obvious saying that popped into my mind composing this post. Can you think of others?
- What other pieces of art connected to sowing or reaping come to mind?
Lovely post, Marian. My mother always talked about feeding the threshers and how much they ate. Her mother was a great cook. Menu? Probably roast beef, chicken, cole slaw, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, breads, cakes, and pies!
I can imagine the harvester gang eating lustily at your mother’s table. And those fellows didn’t have to go to the gym to burn off calories: your menu fits my image of a groaning board. And like you, all were early risers. Thanks for starting us off again today, Shirley!
The barn in Rheems, Pennsylvania is amazing, Marian. The barn reminded me of cats which made me think, “When the cats away, the mice will play.” I enjoyed this post!
Thank you for commenting with a saying, Jill. Every barn had mice, a feast for the preying cats.
The scene (that I remember fading more and more over the years) was captured from an old post card. Happily, the barn has now been repainted with a similar picture – no women in scene however!
Goof morning, Marian! Although the speaker in the video about Grant Wood’s painting noted that it was a nostalgic look back in the 1930s, it seemed to me that the scene would have been similar to what you grew up with in your part of the world in Pennsylvania.
Van Gogh painted some harvest and harvester scenes. Thomas Hardy described them in rural England. Jane Smiley’s recent trilogy chronicles a farm family in the midwest over a period of about 100 years.
The scene is probably roughly in the same era although we always had running water from a well, no trough in the kitchen. Skirts would have been shorter, but aprons – yes!
Thanks for mentioning Va Gogh’s harvest scenes. His haystacks series stand out in my mind. And who can forget Thomas Hardy’s Diggory Venn in rustic Wessex? I have not read any of Jane Smiley’s trilogy, but I did write a paper on her A Thousand Acres, an Iowan farm family reimagined as King Lear. Thanks for extending the discussion with these references, Merril.
Don’t forget The Gleaners by Millet. And the scene describing the harvesting machine in Tess d’Urbervilles is unforgettable!
Verna
I thought of using Millet’s art as an example, but decided a reader would mention it, and it’s YOU, Verna. Tess herself is unforgettable, but I don’t remember the harvesting machine description, which I’ll have to look up. Thanks, Teach!
And thanks to Shmoop, this: “The narrow lane of stubble encompassing the field grew wider with each circuit, and the standing corn was reduced to smaller area as the morning wore on. Rabbits, hares, snakes, rats, mice, retreated inwards as into a fastness, unaware of the ephemeral nature of their refuge, and of the doom that awaited them later in the day when, their covert shrinking to a more and more horrible narrowness, they were huddled together, friends and foes, till the last few yards of upright wheat fell also under the teeth of the unerring reaper, and they were every one put to death by the sticks and stones of the harvesters.” (14.8)
What lovely, pastoral views you share here! Never mind the paintings, it makes me think of Beethoven’s 6th symphony, my all-time favourite. But you ask about what paintings come to mind and I think of Van Gogh’s Harvest series, all gold and mellow. As for a meal, I would suggest lamb with new potatoes, coated in butter and mint and a pumpkin pie! Thanks for sharing, Marian.
Thank you for adding a musical melody to the mix. The pastoral symphony is perfect, notes skipping like a colt in the meadow! Actually I’m listening to a snippet of it on YouTube now, just a snipped from an hour-long work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMJPZ-mu-Ts
Thanks too for the menu choices. I’d sit down at your table any day. 🙂
Glad to know you approve of my choices. 👍
Absolutely, especially the new potatoes coated in butter and mint!
One of the delights I was introduced to in England!
🙂
I can remember my grandmother talking about peeling huge pots of potatoes and baking pies every day for the men. Unlike today, lack of A/C and hot temperatures didn’t slow her down. It was no small task!
These women didn’t make excuses: they got through it in spite of heat and humidity. I wonder if you have any of your grandmother’s pie recipes, Jenn.
I too recall harvest time and mom cooking all that food. I love the video. One of my favourite paintings is The Gleaners (Des glaneuses), an oil painting by Jean-François Millet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gleaners During my recent visit to Paris I was able to see my favourite painting. I was in awe.
This is one of my favourites too. Thanks for supplying the link, Darlene. Grandma had a copy of this painting in her guest room, but when we cleared out her house last year, we couldn’t find it. My generous aunt may have given it to someone.
Did you see this painting in Musee d’Orsay? We may have seen it there too.
Yes, I saw it in Musee d’Orsay, along with many other favourites. It was well worth a visit.
In my memoir scene, the mid-day menu included large platters of eggs, kielbasa, cabbage salad, potatoes, other vegetables and loaves of freshly baked bread plus deserts and coffee.The meal location was a farm in Porter County, Wisconsin.
Thanks for the hearty menu, Audrey! The diners won’t lack protein, fresh grain and some sweets before they tackle the afternoon labor. I think we may have eaten kielbasa when we visited Ukraine several years ago.
I’m curious about your memoir. Is it too set in Wisconsin?
There is no Porter County in Wisconsin.
I’m guessing you live in Wisconsin, Athanasia. Yes?
Since she did not respond, I am not sure what to think. A memoir is supposed to be factual. There is a Portage County that contains a good sized Polish population, hence the kielbasa mention. But the name would not have to be changed from Portage to Porter. That is then fiction.
From what I can find online, Porter is a small town in Rock County, Wisconsin. I’ll take your word that a Portage County exists, Athanasia. 🙂
Marian — I remember my maternal grandma talking about feeding the threshers. The table in their ginormous kitchen could easily and comfortably seat twelve people. Rather than chairs (as in the pictures above), she had two benches on each side (fitting three bottoms each – for six on each side). I can’t remember if there was a chair at each end, or not. I remember playing under the table (and on it, but we won’t talk about that)…
Benches make perfect sense, Laurie, as they allow for wide and not-so-wide backsides. I am curious though about the shenanigans under the table. And “on” it too!
I’m not going to answer your questions, but tell you that my mother, when she was a little city girl, used to go with her mother, back to the farm, to help on threshing days. Mom said it was SO FUN! She was a helper to the women who would be cooking and baking all day, preparing breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the men. There were crews that the family farmers hired to help them do the work, and according to Mom those men were as pleasant and hardworking as the women who feed them. She always smiled when the topic of threshing came up.
I so glad you ignored the questions, which are only prompts anyway. Thank you for telling your mother’s memory, SO FUN to read, Ally!
Thank you, Marian. The card was a hoot! Much appreciated.
🙂
Funny what came to mind from your photos was how I envisioned some of the stories my husband told me about when he was a boy growing up on a farm. The Mennonites helped work their farm and part of the day’s pay was being fed at long tables for lunch. 🙂
So Gordon knew about Mennonites from his parent’s farm, very interesting. Now I’m wondering what was served on those long luncheon tables. Hmmm!
Thanks for sharing, Debby!
Well I can find out for you, but I do recall a story about his mom asking him to take over a pitcher of cider one day and the pitcher never made it because he shared it with his brothers. The workers complained they never got their cider and G got the belt! 🙂
No need to pester G with more questions. The cider pitcher story is juicy enough. Thanks!
Lollllllll, glad you enjoyed Marian. 🙂 He was a little devil and still has the devil in him which keeps him spunky. 😉
Spunky is good: Hold on to that!
🙂
Ahhhh such memories this post invokes…My grandmother cooking rabbit stew and all those veggies and potatoes and of course the pies…I used to run behind the baler and help stack the hay and now we have little Lily helping with the rice..tradition lingers on in Asia and it is lovely to watch….Thank you for the memories, Marian 🙂 x
You have memories of menus both British and Asian Carol. Also traditions of grain and rice harvests. I wonder if you have a hard time imagining yourself running behind the hay baler and stack the bales now that you live in Thailand.
Readers, Carol is an expert cook and publishes recipes weekly on her blog: https://blondieaka.wordpress.com
No not really I think as you get older you reminisce much more ..Rice is just more relatable now and in the present…Thank you for your kind words and link to my blog 🙂 xx
You’re welcome, Carol.
When I read your blog post the painting that entered my head was also one by Jean Francois Millet, the one depicting a man and a woman bowing in a field over a basket of potatoes.
Others agree with you, Elfrieda. The painting seems to show appreciation for the land and reverence for the provident God. Thanks!
No one ate inside as shown in the painting. The kitchen table would have been covered with the ready and waiting food and room to work on last minute dishes. The workers all ate outside on long tables.
Wood is painting an Iowa scene. In your state, he would have painting a different scene, outdoors. I’m guessing he went with what was familiar to him. Thanks for reporting your memory here, Athanasia.
I do not understand your response. I am telling you how it was here. I thought I was answering your question, so not sure where you are going.
Oh, Athanasia, this shows the limitations of online conversations rather than face to face. Sorry!
I think I was trying to contrast the Grant Wood’s indoor rendering with the experience of feeding harvesters outdoors, which is what you described above. I hope that helps. 🙂
Barn quilts are a popular form of artistic expression around here.
I wonder if you are a quilter, Athanasia.
And I wonder if barn quilts would have bigger dimensions than quilts used on beds. Thanks for adding this.
google barn quilts Shawano county and that will explain. That is the largest example here. There must be thousands in the state now. We put one on our 1895 barn. And no, they are not just “hex signs”.
I grew up in Lancaster County, PA, not Shawano County, WI. I appreciate your giving me an education here, which I’ll share with others: http://www.shawanocountry.com/barn-quiltstours/about-barn-quilts/
Thanks, Athanasia!
Thanks for the harvest images! I see quite a few similar scenes out here in Amish country; right now, the fields are dotted with haystacks, and the teenage boys are starting to load them onto wagons pulled by patient horses. Grant Wood would have found plenty to work with out here. On a personal note, I’m sorry I don’t get onto your blog to post my responses more often, but I always admire your work, and I hope all’s well with you and your family!
You are a busy mother with lots to do – no need to apologize. I can imagine Amish fields are teeming with action right now, the teenage boys with bulging muscles. Thanks for posting here, Rebecca! You are always welcome, whenever . . . .
I love the new season that we are about to embark . The abundance of produce is truly humbling. Stews , casseroles, soups, puddings and pies are what come to mind and I can imagine being served it ‘Woods’ painting .
I feel all warm and glowing now just off for a mug of leek and potato mmmmmm!
Cherryx
Wouldn’t it be lovely to sit down at table each with a mug of leek and potato. Maybe one day! You have certainly whetted my appetite. oxo
I love those paintings!
Yes, worth a thousand words, Fiona!
As a child, All things Bright and Beautiful is the hymn that meant harvest for me.
You inspired me to check YouTube for the lyrics. I found some childish voices . . . and lyrics too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT_oDqOEGpc
Thanks for brightening my day with words and a musical tune, Ellen.
This was delightful, Marian. A different world, but also a familiar one for me. I enjoyed both videos (the first had closed captions!!) and especially loved Aunt Ruthie’s and how pleased the men were.
I remember the big harvest dinners with my grandma and her friends sweating over the wood cookstove and usually frying chicken. There was always homemade biscuits and pies baked the day before. Missouri farming was hard, but these men and women loved the land. I’d call it “Community.”
“Community” is the perfect word for this farm to table experience, one no more important than the other. How pleasant that you have memories of Missouri family farming. 🙂
I’m please that the video came through as close-captioned. This was serendipitous, but if I have a choice for future blog posts, I’ll be sure close-captioning is turned on. The few Netflix shows we watch are captioned. Cliff’s hearing is deteriorating dramatically. 🙁