Flood

Artist / Maker Christian Petersen (Danish - American, 1885 - 1961)

Date1938

OriginUSA

MediumPainted plaster cast

Dimensions16 1/2 x 9 in. (41.9 x 22.9 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of the Iowa State College Class of 1919. In the Christian Petersen Art Collection, Christian Petersen Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberum85.48

Status

Not on view

Collections

CultureAmerican

Label TextIn 1938 Christian Petersen and his family vacationed in Kentucky. He visited rural people and witnessed their celebrations and sorrows. During this time, the federal government was planning the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) which was a major public works project in the southeast region of the United States to control flooding and provide electricity. This sculpture may reference some of the severe and devastating floods that people of Kentucky endured prior to the implementation of the TVA.

PeriodDepression Era

Published ReferencesIowa Homemaker, Nov. 1942; Des Moines Tribune, Nov. 26, 1942; Wallace's' Farmer, Col 68, Issue 1, 1943; Olson, Gwen (1954) "Aesthetic Fingertips," The Iowa Homemaker: Vol. 34 : No. 7, Article 3; Battle Creek Enquirer (Battle Creek, Michigan), Apr. 4, 1971.

Locations