Yellow Grain

c. 1942

Dating: Approximate date range
Held at: The Cleveland Museum of Art
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: Framed: 98 x 122.5 x 9.5 cm (38 9/16 x 48 1/4 x 3 3/4 in.); Unframed: 74.9 x 101.6 cm (29 1/2 x 40 in.)
Collection no.: 1943.62
Attribution: By the artist

About this artwork

Yellow Grain — Joe Jones. c. 1942.

Medium: oil on canvas. Dimensions: Framed: 98 x 122.5 x 9.5 cm (38 9/16 x 48 1/4 x 3 3/4 in.); Unframed: 74.9 x 101.6 cm (29 1/2 x 40 in.).

Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

Joe Jones’s Yellow Grain presents a Midwest wheat harvest as a communal activity, with 10 workers engaging in a variety of tasks that include pitching hay and loading a thresher. This subject of harmonious collective labor may reflect the artist’s enthusiasm for Communist politics. The individual stalks of wheat, artfully arranged in the foreground, suggest the beauty and bounty of the crop.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.

Location checked Sep 10, 2026. This does not indicate whether the work is on display.

Artwork sources