Husking Bee, Island of Nantucket

Eastman Johnson painted this composition in 1876, 100 years after the founding of the United States. The centennial fostered a sense of nostalgia among some residents as industrialization and urban growth rapidly transformed the nation. Husking Bee, Island of Nantucket depicts a seasonal gathering on the rural Massachusetts island. Community members work together to shuck corn and ready the harvest, a traditional activity that was far removed from daily life for many in the late 19th century. Johnson employed a warm palette and loose brushwork to describe this agrarian subject, presenting an uncomplicated vision of cooperation and closeness to the land.