Mahonri M. Young (1877-1957), Cutting Corn, 1937, oil on canvas, 25 1/4 x 30 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, purchase/gift of the Mahonri M. Young Estate, 1959.
Today’s featured artwork from the MOA’s permanent collection celebrates autumn and harvest activities. The fall season has often served as a unique opportunity for artists to depict the vibrant, warm autumn colors and also ruminate on the cyclical nature of life. Cutting Corn by Mahonri Young depicts an open cornfield, with trees in the background and a pile of pumpkins in the foreground. Many of the leaves on the trees have turned a golden yellow or orange color, which provides a parallel to the colors of the round pumpkins throughout the work. It appears that the last ears of corn have been harvested and now the two farmers bind the corn stalks to prepare for the winter season.