Alexandre Hogue painted Drouth Stricken Area in 1934 as his first painting to show the devastation brought by the drought of the 1930’s (Figure 1). As reckless farming began to destroy land in the Texas Panhandle, Hogue painted this image to place the blame on careless farmers in the region. His hope was for his paintings to educate Americans on the source of the drought and spark a desire for change. Drouth Stricken Area was widely successful and led to a rise in Hogue’s popularity as an artist in the 1930’s. This recognition led Hogue to create a series of paintings following Drouth Stricken Area. These paintings would later be divided into two categories by Hogue, wind and water erosion. In addition to portraying the impact on land, his paintings would also portray the impact on wildlife and livestock in the region. Letters in the Smithsonian American Archives of Art give evidence for Drouth Stricken Area being the first painting on the drought and the first in his wind erosion series. The painting was mentioned for the first time in a letter to Alexandre Hogue from Robert Harshe on April 16, 1935 (Figure 2). Harshe invited Hogue to exhibit his painting Drouth Stricken Areain an upcoming exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. Figure 2. Alexandre Hogue, letter from Robert Harshe to Alexandre Hogue, April 16, 1935. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Reel No. 1481. Hogue responded to Robert Harshe in a letter on May 1, 1935 (Figure 3). Hogue accepted the invitation and gave an explanation of his influences for Drouth Stricken Area. Hogue wrote, “It became heavy on my heart as saw the lush grazing land of the Panhandle diminish before the plow of the ‘suitcase farmer.’” Hogue explained how the farmers were warned over plowing would lead the country to blow away and as a result it had. He went on to write Drouth Stricken Areawas “no exaggeration” of the devastation that occurred in “their beautiful country.” In this letter, no other Dust Bowl painting was mentioned by Hogue, and he wrote as if this was his first and only painting created as a response to the Dust Bowl at the time. Drouth Stricken Area would also have been created prior to the spring of 1935, mostly likely in 1934. Figure 3. Alexandre Hogue, letter from Alexandre Hogue to Robert Harshe, May 1, 1935. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Reel No. 1481. In a letter to Mrs. Frank Logan on November 6, 1936, Hogue explained his vision for his series on the drought (Figure 4). He wrote Drouth Stricken Area was the “first of five” paintings he planned for the series on the drought. He then goes on to say “the second, Dust is now at the art institute and the third, called Drouth Survivors, has just been completed.” Figure 4. Alexandre Hogue, letter from Alexandre Hogue to Mrs. Frank Logan, November 6, 1936. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Reel No. 1482. In a letter to Alex Weisberg on June 22, 1942, Hogue gave an account of the success of Drouth Stricken Area (Figure 5). He wrote “the fame of this painting enhanced its value” and bragged about how it had been invited to exhibit in “practically all important American exhibitions.” The fame of Drouth Stricken Area was what launched Hogue’s career as a popular “Dust Bowl Painter,” a title he would later resent out of the constraint it brought him. It was also the painting that would push him to create a series of paintings on the drought with the hope of further recognition. Figure 5. Alexandre Hogue, letter from Alexandre Hogue to Alex Weisberg, June 22, 1942. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Reel No. 1482. When donating his letters to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art in 1979, Hogue included photographs of his paintings where he gave a brief description. Unlike Hogue’s other paintings on the drought, Drouth Stricken Area was one painting Hogue did not attempt to backdate. Alongside the photograph of Drouth Stricken Area, Hogue dates his painting to 1934 (Figure 6). Figure 6. Alexandre Hogue, description of paintings, 1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Reel No. 1482. Based on the letters in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, the 1934 date claimed by Hogue was most likely the correct date of completion. The painting would have been completed before his invitation to the exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in early 1935 and before his second wind erosion painting Dust Bowl in 1935. Russell Tether, President Katherine Hillman, Associate Russell Tether Fine Arts Associates, LLC
|