AFA Autumn 2018

Antiques & Fine Art 121 2018 Francis Colburn (1909–1984), Charley Smith and His Barn, ca. 1939. Oil on canvas, 34 x 29 inches. Collection of Bennington Museum. Ronald Slayton (1910–1992), Unemployed, ca. 1936. Oil on homasote, 46½ x 30 inches. Collection of Robert Hull Fleming Museum; Gift of Gary Michael. Francis Colburn and Ronald Slayton were two of the most significant native Vermont artists to participate in the Federal Art Project (FAP), directed in the Green Mountain State by Pierre Zwick, with the goal of “placing New England artists at work on creative projects closely allied to community interests.” 1 Artists participating in the Easel Paintings Division of the FAP were paid small stipends to produce a certain number of works in an allotted time. Slayton and Colburn met through their participation in the FAP and became close friends. Both produced bodies of work notable for their powerful sense of place and willingness to address social issues. Much of their work featured Regionalist subject matter: typical rural people and landscapes. A desire for better working and living conditions for their fellow Vermonters is an overriding theme of their work. Both artists depicted hard-working Vermont farmers, laborers, and their families, with dignity and respect.