Name/Title
Print: Country Man 516-5 and Country Woman 516-6 (aka: Country Couple 516-5)Description
Two seven-color silkscreen prints on off-white linen depicting a Pennsylvania “Dutch” man and woman surrounded by tools of daily work on an early American farm.
The “Country Man” is dressed for work, standing at a split rail fence with four essential farm tools: a pitchfork, spade, ax and water bucket. In the background is a tall red silo topped by a black rooster weathervane. In the sky is a radiant sun. Blue meridian lines support black zodiac symbols as a crescent moon sets over the farmer’s left shoulder, indicating the relationships of the sun and moon to the zodiac, and referencing The Farmers Almanac. In the foreground a calico patterned chicken pecks in the grass. Following Wert’s signature is his zodiac symbol, Leo (partially obscured by the frame).
The “Country Woman” is in a kitchen churning butter, the butter churn sitting on a spindle back chair. On the brick floor in the foreground are baking and cooking tools, and a finished loaf of bread to go with the freshly made butter. A green glass demijohn sits on a bench, while a painted tin coffee pot rests above on the tabletop. A heart shaped gridiron hangs from an overhead beam, indicating a happy union. A potted trailing vine frames the upper right corner, and a red barn and silo are visible outside the window, making a connection between the work of the man and the work of the woman.
Designed c.1955, this pair is a revision of a c.1952 set. They appear individually in black painted pine frames in the c.1955 brochure “Country Prints in Frames”. They are also listed in the Spring 1958 and January 1960 Country Prints price lists, and appear in the c.1960 brochure “Country Prints in Frames Designed by Robert Darr Wert” as Country Couple 516-5 in a choice of antique birch or flat black frames.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Robert Darr WertRole
ArtistManufacturer
Country PrintsDate made
circa 1955Time Period
20th CenturyPlace
Location
Gill MA.Continent
North AmericaNotes
Linen prints are dry mounted on chipboard, backed with cardboard printed with the Country Prints story, and secured within Country Prints black painted pine frames with staples. Cleated hanging hardware is affixed at top back of frames.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Country Man print: “wert” in black script, and leo zodiac symbol, lower left corner; “by hand” in black print, lower right corner.
Country Woman print: “wert” in black script, lower left corner; “by hand” in black print, lower right corner.
Back of frames: Country Prints story imprint silkscreened in light brown.Dimensions
Dimension Description
Prints, exclusive of framesHeight
16 inWidth
5 inDimension Description
FramesHeight
16-3/4 inWidth
5-3/4 inColors
Color
Light Brown, Red, Aqua, Green, Flesh Tone, Black, Light Yellow OchreColor Notes
Additional colors and tones produced by overprinting two or more colors.
