Art, literature & historyLand of Cotton
1939/45
- Dating
- Date range
- Held at
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Medium
- Watercolor and gouache, with pen and black ink, and touches of scraping, over traces of graphite on ivory wood pulp laminate board (illustration board)
- Dimensions
- 55.7 × 76.2 cm (21 15/16 × 30 in.)
- Collection no.
- 1981.1178
- Attribution
- By the artist
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
About this artwork
Land of Cotton — Robert Gwathmey. 1939/45.
Medium: Watercolor and gouache, with pen and black ink, and touches of scraping, over traces of graphite on ivory wood pulp laminate board (illustration board). Dimensions: 55.7 × 76.2 cm (21 15/16 × 30 in.).
Collection record: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.
Land of Cotton is one of several works by Robert Gwathmey that illustrates the social conditions of tenant farmers and sharecroppers in the rural South. Although Gwathmey described himself as an “observer,” his images are not detached or dispassionate depictions of his subjects. This empathetic portrayal of cotton-field workers demonstrates Gwathmey’s close relationship with the people of rural Charlotte, North Carolina, and his desire to draw attention to their harsh way of life.
Description: © Art Institute of Chicago, original record, CC BY 4.0. HTML formatting removed; wording retained. Other artwork metadata: CC0.
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.