The artwork titled “Picking and Hauling Cotton,” painted by Clementine Hunter around 1969 in Natchitoches, United States, is a genre painting rendered in oil. This piece is part of the Folk art and Outsider art movements and measures 59.69 by 74.93 centimeters.
The artwork captures a vivid scene of individuals engaged in the labor-intensive process of cotton picking and hauling. This pastoral setting features several figures, each occupied with different tasks on the cotton field. Women in colorful dresses and hats are depicted picking cotton from the bushes and collecting it in sacks tied around their waists. To the right appears a wagon filled with cotton, driven by a figure in an orange top and white hat. The background includes a red building with green doors, emitting winding plumes of smoke from its chimneys, bordered by lush greenery and dynamic, colorful skies. This genre painting offers a poignant glimpse into the everyday lives and labor of cotton workers, emphasizing communal effort and pastoral environments.
