2009/11

Harvesting,

John Nash (Maker)

This is a print of a painting by John Nash (1893-1977), No. 20 in the second series of School Prints, entitled 'Harvesting'. It is an original lithograph, from 1947. The scene shows a horse drawn binder at work, and other farm workers trying to catch rabbits escaping from the standing crop. The School Prints project was the brainchild of Derek and Brenda Rawnsley with the aim of bringing art to the classroom.

1 lithograph print

Collecting 20thc Rural Culture blog [Friday, 3 April 2009] – 'The School Prints II, 1947 // Our other School Print, this one from the second series of 1947, is Harvesting by John Nash (1893-1977). It is a bright golden scene that typifies Nash's finely observed but lighthearted sense of landscape and rural life. He was a natural, down to earth artist with no formal training behind him (unlike his brother Paul) and one who expressed himself through a charming romanticism and good humour in spite of serving as a War Artist in both world wars. // Here, a field of corn is being cut and tied into sheaves by a horse drawn reaper binder. As the machine goes round in ever tighter circles, the rabbits trapped in what remains of the standing crop are obliged to make a run for it. Distracted from their task of collecting the sheaves into stooks, the other figures are trying to bag a rabbit or two for the pot, without too much success it seems. // There are so many neat touches in the picture: the glorious variety of trees that skirt the field; the ramshackle farm workers' bikes propped in the hedge; the yappy dogs; and the curious geometric pattern of the remaining corn that can indeed result when starting at the outer edge and working inwards. In a very few years this kind of scene would be rare as the combine harvester replaced the binder, and shorter-strawed varieties of corn began to dominate. // The twenty-four School Prints were produced by a process known as auto-lithography in which the artists themselves applied their designs directly to the stone block. It was this that enabled the company, somewhat controversially, to term them as 'original' lithographs. They sold in large numbers to both schools and the general public and captured a mood in those early post-War years.', MERL OLIB database note – 'Harvest scene showing a horse drawn binder at work and other farm workers trying to catch rabbits escaping from the standing crop. It shows Nash's understanding of landscape and rural life and his sense of humour. The School Prints project was the brainchild of Derek and Brenda Rawnsley with the aim of bringing art to the classroom.', MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – 'Original lithograph, 1947 // No. 20 in the Second Series of School Prints // Artist: John Nash (1893-1977) // Dimensions // 495 x 758mm // Purchased as part of the Collecting 20th Century Rural Culture Project. // References // 'The School Prints, A Romantic Project' by Ruth Artmonsky, 2006.'

1947 - 1947

School Prints Ltd (Publisher)
Rawnsley, Derek and Brenda