Farmhouses in Watercolor and Oil

Corman Farmhouse (1976), Corman

I'm inspired to write about buildings rendered in watercolor after my brother sent this painting of a farm where his wife's stepmother's family lived in the 1970s. The artist is Mereda Smith Corman, who was an art teacher at Kennett High School in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. She married John Wilson Corman in 1926 and died in 1993. What I love about this painting is the detail of the windows of the farmhouse, the warm shades of golden brown in the sky and grass, and the treatment of the snow in the trees. It feels like a scene that might have been depicted in a Currier and Ives hand-painted lithograph.

The Old Farmhouse

Here's The Old Farmhouse by Currier and Ives. Note how the color of the sky reflects in the snow in the foreground at the bottom, much like Corman's golden brown in the painting above. Even the composition is similar.

Farmhouse in Provence (1888), Van Gogh

While Van Gogh's colors are much more vibrant and brighter than the above farmhouse paintings, he has included a winding rock wall, which for me ties back to the wall in Corman's work. The person walking on the grassy hillside reminds me of Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth. I'm particularly attracted to the turbulent cyan sky! The angles of the twisting wall, the road, and the grassy border drawing my eye towards the welcoming gate.

Wyeth Tribute (2005), Thompson

I've blogged about the above Van Gogh and Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World in another post. I was impressed by this photograph by Alex Thompson of the (Christina) Olson house in South Cushing, Maine. The photo is more vibrant and the buildings much closer than in the Wyeth painting. Not nearly as dramatic as the painting!

Spring Blossom, Hogerwaard

Dutch impressionist, Frans Hogerwaard painted this beautiful farmhouse. His style is reminiscent of Van Gogh, Monet, and sometimes Edward Hopper when melancholy figures are included. The black outlines in Fin tragique remind me of the art of German Expressionist, Max Beckmann. Instead of black, the impressionists often used purple so as not to clash with the more muted or pastel colors.

A Farm in the Snow, Apol

I'm a sucker for wintry landscapes that include snow, like Louis Apol's A Farm in the Snow. This oil on panel paintings has almost a watercolor feel, and again the background color of the sky is mimicked in the water in the foreground. The white of the snow looks straight out of the tube against the rest of the muted colors.

Farmyard in the Snow, van Soest

Another Dutch Impressionist, Louis van Soest, also painted winter scenes. The trees are reminiscent of those painted by Andrew Wyeth. It's difficult to tell what the golden brown area is atop the snowbank below the trees. My impression is that it is a line of cows. Perhaps they're haybales? What do you think?

Farm Near Duivendrecht (1916), Mondrian

I found this somewhat rare landscape by Piet Mondrian with a farmhouse and its reflection. The scene takes place at twilight, so it is rather dark, with much of the lighter color in the sunsetting sky. The interwoven branches of the overlapping trees apply an unusually high focus, almost obscuring the house. The grey mound in the water is also weird!

This beautiful watercolor rendering of a farmhouse is by Canadian artist, Ben Babelowsky. The red brick building is complemented by the green painted trim. Again, I love the snow gently blanketing the scene.

Home in Manchester, Moses

Anna Mary Robertson "Grandma" Moses began painting later in life and was labeled a 'primitive' artist. Her paintings are characterized by shapes filled in with solid colors and her buildings lack proper perspective. Her designs could have been executed in needlepoint or quilting. Another primitive artist, Warren Kimble, painted Nellie's Barn, which I blogged about in June 2021 in my post entitled, Farms and Barns by Famous Artists.

Long Island Farmhouses (1862), Mount

American genre painter, William Sidney Mount painted from what he saw in Long Island New York observing his relatives' farm, and capturing this pastoral scene in Springtime. It seems like an early morning scene, though the turbulent sky may reflect the turmoil of the Civil War during which it was painted. Once again, the dark sky and shadowy foreground frame the picture.

The Farm (1920-22), Miró

I'm finishing with The Farm by Spanish Surrealist, Joan Miró, who painted this memory of his childhood home in Mont-Roig, Catalonia. With lots of symbolism and the precision of Cubism, Miró has created a dreamlike collage full of nearly every farm-related object he could cram into the painting. It's like Grandma Moses on Steroids! I would love to see this work in person and study each and every element.