Dole

Artist / Maker Lynn Nelson Stacey (American, 1903 - 1979)

Date1934

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions37 x 27 in. (94 x 68.6 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LinePurchased by Iowa State College from the Iowa PWPA Studio Projects, Iowa City. In the Art on Campus Collection, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberU82.119

Status

Not on view

Collections

CultureAmerican

Label TextLynn Stacey’s painting expresses the troubles of Americans during the economic catastrophe of the Great Depression. When the Public Works of Art Project, the first art program of the New Deal, was established in 1933 to alleviate the economic hardships of artists (and provide works of art for the public), Stacey was hired by the Iowa director, Grant Wood, and it was under this agency that Dole was created. The heart of the picture is the man who sits with a combination of both dejection and dignity, hands lying idly in his lap. Over the sitter’s shoulder can be seen a portion of a sign that reads “Emergency Relief Committee,” along with several people carrying bundles of their possessions. Before the New Deal began to provide nation-wide assistance to Americans, many poor, unemployed, or homeless relied on local charity, but these organizations were overwhelmed and could not help all who needed it. 5:10 P.M. was the title given when Iowa State inventoried its art collection in the late 1940s, but a hand-written label discovered on the back of the painting has a one-word title—Dole—which was almost certainly given by the artist. It is not surprising that the original label was covered over because “dole” was a pejorative term in the Depression suggesting that a person is being given something that he does not deserve. -Lea Rosson DeLong from Artists in Iowa, University Museums, 2019

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