Old Homesite

Description

Old Homesite

Maynard Dixon, 1937

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)

What’s Going On?

Brown grasses and sage brush shrubs provide the foreground for a large tree prominent in the middle ground with a horse on the right grazing.  Behind the tree a barn stands in the tree’s shadow; rail fencing extends on both sides of the barn to the edge of the image.  On the left, behind the fencing, other structures and trees can be seen.

More About Dixon

Maynard Dixon was an important 20^th-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.