Fall of the Leaf

Sybil Andrews

1934 · Color linocut on Japanese paper · Drawings and Prints

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.

Artist

Sybil Andrews

Date

1934

Medium

Color linocut on Japanese paper

Department

Drawings and 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