Farm scene

Object NameDrawing

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

Date1940s

OriginUSA

MediumPaper; pencils and colored pastels

Dimensions13 3/4 x 16 1/2 in. (34.9 x 41.9 cm)

ClassificationsDrawings

Credit LinePurchased by University Museums from Mary Petersen with the Christian Petersen Memorial Fund. In the Christian Petersen Art Collection, Christian Petersen Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberum92.612

Status

Not on view

Collections

CultureAmerican

Label TextFrom the University Museums Collections Handbook, vol. 2, 2025: Christian Petersen’s provincial Farm Scene drawing captures the labor of threshing, with a focus on the intricate machinery and horse-drawn wagons. A barbed-wire fence divides the composition, guiding the viewer’s gaze toward the background, where a barn, windmill, and cornfield are depicted. The work highlights the interplay between the agricultural process and the surrounding rural landscape. As a resident of Iowa, Petersen would have been familiar with the state’s farming practices and the rural life that defines much of its culture. Additionally, as a faculty member and artist-in-residence at Iowa State College, he would have been aware of the college’s growing art collection, which included works by other Iowa artists. One notable acquisition was Threshing by Dorothea Tomlinson Marquis (1898−1985), which was displayed in Agricultural Hall (Curtiss Hall) after its purchase from the Annual Artists’ Dinner exhibition at the Memorial Union following the 1934 Iowa Art Salon. Marquis, a contemporary of Petersen, was a prominent Iowa artist known for her versatility in various mediums, including landscape painting, portraiture, and industrial design. Her work demonstrates stylistic influences from Regionalist artists such as Grant Wood and Marvin Cone. These same stylistic elements and rural themes can be found in Petersen’s Farm Scene drawing, suggesting that he may have studied Threshing, creating an artistic dialogue between the two artworks.

Locations