GENERAL DESCRIPTION
In Neighbors, Merritt Mauzey contrasts the farming practices that co-existed in the 1930s as older methods slowly gave way to new and more efficient approaches. Here, each man applies his method to plowing under the remains of last year’s cotton crop. The artist also offers a comparison of the economic capacities of the neighboring farmers. The fence is a gentle dividing line between the larger, impressive home and barn at left, and the small, humbly rough-hewn buildings at right. The church seen on the horizon just left of center is possibly the only “common ground” shared by these two tillers of the soil.
Adapted from
Sue Canterbury, Label text, 2013.
NOTES
Created in 1938
Exhibition: Lone Star Regionalism: The Dallas Nine and their Circle 1928-1945, February 3, 1985-July 10, 1988
From Plain Pictures: Images of the American Prairie by Joni L. Kinsey (for Univeristy of Iowa Museum of Art by Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington and London), 1996. p.p 127-128
"It was not unusual, however, to find two farmers in the same district plowing with very different methods, as Texan Merritt Mauzey (1898-1973) demonstrated in his amusing Neighbors (1938, fig. 68). On one side a farmer plows his cotton field with a tractor, while on the other side of the fence his neighbor uses a horse-drawn plow. In a subtle touch emphasizing the dichotomy, the houses on both sides are noticeably different in scale, and Mauzey tellingly placed the church on the side of the more progressive and substantial farm. The implication is clear in this view: mechanization contributes to (and is fostered by) prosperity on the farm, if it is not the outright cause of the farmer's success. The focus on the old-fashioned plow in the art of the 1930s, as the protaonist in a heroic story or the antagonist in a tragic one, demonstrates the tool's significance not only as a farm implement but also as a symbolic artistic motif. The single most important accessory to the development of the prairies, the plow had begun the process of transformation in the landscape. For good or for evil, it had achieved that goal, and in the paintings and photographs of the period it was recognized for its contribution.
In Neighbors Merritt Mauzey contrasts the farming practices that co-existed in the 1930s as older methods slowly gave way to new and more efficient approaches. Here, each man applies his method to plowing under the remains of last year’s cotton crop. The artist also offers a comparison of the economic capacities of the neighboring farmers. The fence is a gentle dividing line between the larger, impressive home and barn at left, and the small, humbly rough-hewn buildings at right. The church spied on the horizon just left of center is possibly the only “common ground” shared by these two tillers of the soil.
Born in Clifton, Texas, Mauzey understood farming, particularly the farming of cotton. His family had a dry land cotton farm in Oak Creek Valley, owning 160 acres east of Decker. Following the birth of his first child in 1919, he farmed cotton in shares for a brief period. He came to Dallas in 1927 to work as a cotton exporter by day and to pursue his love of art at every other available moment.
Sue Canterbury, Label text, 2013.
Pg. 100 Lone Star Regionalism Rick Stewart
Neighbors is a fine example of Mauzey's stylization of the landscape. In many respects, the folk feeling of such a work, whether conscious or otherwise, was ideally suited to the Texas regional aesthetic. The painting depicts a gentle contrast between the old and the new, between handwork and mechanization; the contrasting philosophies existed side by side, as the title implied, in the Texas that the artist had come to understand.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Depicted location and place of origin: Texas (state/United States): TGN: 7007826
Process/materials
Oil on Masonite
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Individuals
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RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From 1938: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur Kramer and Fred Florence Purchase Prize, Ninth Annual Dallas Allied Arts Exhibition [1]
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933 was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
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General Description
In Neighbors, Merritt Mauzey contrasts the farming practices that co-existed in the 1930s as older methods slowly gave way to new and more efficient approaches. Here, each man applies his method to plowing under the remains of last year’s cotton crop. The artist also offers a comparison of the economic capacities of the neighboring farmers. The fence is a gentle dividing line between the larger, impressive home and barn at left, and the small, humbly rough-hewn buildings at right. The church seen on the horizon just left of center is possibly the only “common ground” shared by these two tillers of the soil.
Adapted from
Sue Canterbury, Label text, 2013.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
Created in 1938
Exhibition: Lone Star Regionalism: The Dallas Nine and their Circle 1928-1945, February 3, 1985-July 10, 1988
From Plain Pictures: Images of the American Prairie by Joni L. Kinsey (for Univeristy of Iowa Museum of Art by Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington and London), 1996. p.p 127-128
"It was not unusual, however, to find two farmers in the same district plowing with very different methods, as Texan Merritt Mauzey (1898-1973) demonstrated in his amusing Neighbors (1938, fig. 68). On one side a farmer plows his cotton field with a tractor, while on the other side of the fence his neighbor uses a horse-drawn plow. In a subtle touch emphasizing the dichotomy, the houses on both sides are noticeably different in scale, and Mauzey tellingly placed the church on the side of the more progressive and substantial farm. The implication is clear in this view: mechanization contributes to (and is fostered by) prosperity on the farm, if it is not the outright cause of the farmer's success. The focus on the old-fashioned plow in the art of the 1930s, as the protaonist in a heroic story or the antagonist in a tragic one, demonstrates the tool's significance not only as a farm implement but also as a symbolic artistic motif. The single most important accessory to the development of the prairies, the plow had begun the process of transformation in the landscape. For good or for evil, it had achieved that goal, and in the paintings and photographs of the period it was recognized for its contribution.
In Neighbors Merritt Mauzey contrasts the farming practices that co-existed in the 1930s as older methods slowly gave way to new and more efficient approaches. Here, each man applies his method to plowing under the remains of last year’s cotton crop. The artist also offers a comparison of the economic capacities of the neighboring farmers. The fence is a gentle dividing line between the larger, impressive home and barn at left, and the small, humbly rough-hewn buildings at right. The church spied on the horizon just left of center is possibly the only “common ground” shared by these two tillers of the soil.
Born in Clifton, Texas, Mauzey understood farming, particularly the farming of cotton. His family had a dry land cotton farm in Oak Creek Valley, owning 160 acres east of Decker. Following the birth of his first child in 1919, he farmed cotton in shares for a brief period. He came to Dallas in 1927 to work as a cotton exporter by day and to pursue his love of art at every other available moment.
Sue Canterbury, Label text, 2013.
Pg. 100 Lone Star Regionalism Rick Stewart
Neighbors is a fine example of Mauzey's stylization of the landscape. In many respects, the folk feeling of such a work, whether conscious or otherwise, was ideally suited to the Texas regional aesthetic. The painting depicts a gentle contrast between the old and the new, between handwork and mechanization; the contrasting philosophies existed side by side, as the title implied, in the Texas that the artist had come to understand.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Depicted location and place of origin: Texas (state/United States): TGN: 7007826
Process/materials
Oil on Masonite
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From 1938: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur Kramer and Fred Florence Purchase Prize, Ninth Annual Dallas Allied Arts Exhibition [1]
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933 was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
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