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Corn Pickin' In The 1930's By Les Kouba

Corn Pickin’ in the 1930’s painted By Minnesota wildlife Artist Les C. Kouba

Corn, when ready for harvest, is left standing in the field, and when the “ear no longer creaks when wrung,” it is ready to be picked. The artist remembers picking corn by hand in earlier decades before mechanization.

Corn picking was a slow, hard, and sometimes disagreeable job lasting for many crisp, cold days and finally ending about Thanksgiving Day. The corn-husker, eliminating all wasted motion, glides from one corn stalk to the next as he tosses a steady barrage of hard ear corn one after another thumping against the wagon “bang board.” Before one ear came to rest, another was on the way. Except for an occasional “giddup!” or “Whoa!” to the horses, the picking was continuous until the wagon was full, and the corn was shoveled into the corn cribs at the farmstead.

The pheasants, Kouba’s ubiquitous thirteen, scurry ahead of the horses as they seek food in a quieter area of the corn field. Viewers at first probably will find only eleven birds, but on closer observation will make the happy discovery of the tails of another hen and rooster.

Kouba has a penchant for hiding things in his painting, and this time he’s camouflaged a cottontail rabbit. And his usual pigeons are perched high on the hip-roof of the bar. The “K” on the bridles is also part of the Les Kouba mystique.

Our source of food is still the land, the farm community, and its people. It is part of our cultural heritage. Now, production is the criterion, and the ethic of the machine has replaced the old-time farmer’s stewardship and love of the land.

Corn Picking in the 1930's by artist Les C. Kouba This is the fourth print in the six print American classic series. A farmer is surrounded by pheasants while hand picking corn and throwing it by hand into a horse drawn wagon.

Corn Pickin' in the 1930's by Les Kouba is available for sale as a signed and numbered limited edition art print with a 15 x 23 image size priced at $__ unframed.

Order yours today. All artwork is professionally boxed and insured and guaranteed to arrive in mint condition. All of the prints have been hand signed by wildlife artist Les C. Kouba.

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