Outdoor Life

Ben Cunningham

At first glance this appears to be a calm, pleasant scene of hikers, picnickers and waders. But look more closely and you'll see both a political statement and some hints at the artist's influences - as well as another piece of "censorship." Start with the picnic table, set for six. Where's the food? There is a single piece of buttered bread, and three rashers of bacon in the frying pan below. That's all — not much of a feast, which would have been the case for many families during the Depression. A look at the trees shows immediately the difference between Cunningham's style and the Social Realism of the first floor; these look more like gummy peppermint candies; Cunningham was an experienced tapestry designer. The woman lying prone lower right with the book is a "quote" from Henri Matisse's "Odalisque with Red Pants." And the boy being photographed in the river originally was nude - the swim trunks were added later, possibly because the caretaker's wife passed the painting every day on her way outside to feed the canaries.