Banana Grove

George Biddle

Following service in World War I, George Biddle traveled to Jamaica, Cuba, and Tahiti, in part to separate himself from the hardships of his tour of duty. These trips appear to have grounded the young artist and inspired him to portray the lives of everyday people, staving off the pressure to create decorative works for an ever-growing materialist art market. The theme of working class and poor citizens throughout the U.S., South America, and elsewhere would be the driving theme behind Biddle’s work, his desire to bring to light the hidden fallout of modernity eventually leading to his fight to establish what would become known as the Federal Art Project, working alongside his college friend, president Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In “Banana Grove,” women workers, likely in Jamaica, appear to take a rest from tending to a banana grove, three hogs grazing beside them. Biddle employs a shimmering, delicate texture to the stone, making the composition seem bathed in a shifting light.