The Plains

$18.00$329.00

Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), The Plains, 1931, oil on canvas, 26 x 30 1/8 inches.  Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 1937.

Framing available for canvas prints between 10 & 21 inches.

Canvas prints are rolled and packaged in a shipping tube. Paper prints that are smaller than 14” are shipped flat and prints that are larger than 14” are rolled and shipped in a shipping tube.

Framed work is wrapped in packaging foam and shipped in a framed art box.

SKU: N/A Categories: , ,

Description

The Plains

Maynard Dixon, 1931

“Give me the plains—the barren and sun-beaten plains! . . . Alone and close up under the skies . . .”

—Maynard Dixon, “The Plains”

As noted by art historian Linda Gibbs, in this painting of the endless Western plains, “the expanse is the subject.” There is no wagon, no horse, no car—only a dirt road, Dixon’s signature clouds, and emptiness. For some, like those fleeing the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, this painting of the Western plains may have suggested endless possibilities. Others, however, may see it as an image of a coming storm. Please see Dixon’s 1938 painting Roadside, where a lonely figure appears on the side of a similar road. For this figure, the endless possibilities seem to have disappeared. (Branding the American West)

In the summer of 1900, Maynard Dixon journeyed into the Southwest from his native California, traveling “Eastward to see the West.” It was the first of many trips he would make during his lifetime to sketch and paint in the often remote western regions of the country. In the dramatic scenery and profound silences of what he called “my western world,” Dixon found what he referred to on numerous occasions as “the Real Thing.” (Excerpt taken from Escape to Reality: The Western World of Maynard Dixon)

Dixon had very specific ideas about the ideological components of the West. His landscapes such as “The Plains,” with its broad horizons and wide open spaces, perpetuated into the 20th century the notion of the West as a national symbol of limitless opportunity and freedom.

What’s Going On?

The image is a panoramic landscape of gently rolling yellow plains and a cloudy sky.   A dirt road cuts across the grassy plain diagonally from right to left and disappears into the distance.  On the far side of the road a few shrubs can be seen.  A dark blue stripe is seen on the horizon line.  Dramatic clouds give way to a bright blue sky.

More About Dixon

Maynard Dixon was an important 20th-century American painter. He often depicted images of the American West.

Originally from California, Dixon painted subjects in both Arizona and New Mexico. He eventually settled in Southern Utah. There he developed his signature style of unique compositions. These often featured low horizons and simplified, yet imposing clouds and rock formations in bold colors.

Dixon also focused on preserving the image of Native American peoples whom he believed were disappearing from the American West. While married to the famous photographer Dorothea Lange, Dixon also focused on social realist subjects. These depicted people struggling to make a living during the Great Depression.

Additional information

Material

Canvas, Paper

Size

10" x 8.5", 14" x 12", 21" x 18", 30" x 25.7", 36" x 30.9"

Frame

Black, Espresso, Natural, Print Only

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “The Plains”