High Museum acquires Samuel Johnson Woolf’s ‘Brown the Wheats’

Samuel Johnson Woolf (American, 1880-1948), ‘Brown the Wheats,’ 1913. Oil on canvas. Purchase through funds provided by patrons of Collectors Evening 2022, 2022.75. Image courtesy of the High Museum of Art
Samuel Johnson Woolf (American, 1880-1948), ‘Brown the Wheats,’ 1913. Oil on canvas. Purchase through funds provided by patrons of Collectors Evening 2022, 2022.75. Image courtesy of the High Museum of Art
Samuel Johnson Woolf (American, 1880-1948), ‘Brown the Wheats,’ 1913. Oil on canvas. Purchase through funds provided by patrons of Collectors Evening 2022, 2022.75. Image courtesy of the High Museum of Art

ATLANTA — Samuel Johnson Woolf’s Brown the Wheats, recently acquired by the High Museum of Art, is big on color and chock-full of concept. Painted in 1913, the charged scene is executed in a range of tones that distinguish the haves from the have-nots. As for sentimental appeal, it is neither an idealized scene nor a picturesque vision of tenement life. It is instead discomfiting in its directness and at the same time captivating for its unresolved drama — and a welcome addition to the High’s collection. The work was purchased in May 2022 with funds provided by patrons of that year’s Collectors Evening.

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