Fall of the Leaf
Fall of the Leaf is an idealized scene of harmony between man and nature. While it initially appears to be pure landscape, on closer inspection one sees, underneath the fanned-out trees, a man at a plough led by three horses whose forms mirror the patterning of the fields. The linocut is dominated by decorative and textural elements and composed of multiple tones, with overlapping curving shapes. Although such landscapes had a timeless quality and offered a sense of security, British farming was in decline. As the British historian Eric J. Hobsbawm and others have noted, by the 1930s British agriculture was no longer central to the economy and "had become a very minor factor indeed." In fact, there was such a crisis that the government had to intervene to save the British agricultural industry.
Artwork Details
- Title: Fall of the Leaf
- Artist: Sybil Andrews (Canadian (born England), Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk 1898–1992 Victoria, British Columbia)
- Date: 1934
- Medium: Color linocut on Japanese paper
- Dimensions: Sheet: 15 3/4 × 11 3/4 in. (40 × 29.8 cm)
Image: 14 1/4 × 10 3/16 in. (36.2 × 25.8 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Purchase, Leslie and Johanna Garfield Gift, Lila Acheson Wallace, Charles and Jessie Price, and David T Schiff Gifts, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, Dolores Valvidia Hurlburt Bequest, PECO Foundation and Friends of Drawings and Prints Gifts, and funds from various donors, 2019
- Object Number: 2019.592.39
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Sybil Andrews
1930
Sybil Andrews
1933
Sybil Andrews
1931
Sybil Andrews
1934
Sybil Andrews
1930
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