Landscape 

Martyl Langsdorf created this landscape painting with oil on canvas. Langsdorf was active during a period of significant social and political change in the United States. The painting presents an abstracted view of a landscape, possibly somewhere in the American Midwest, using a patchwork of colors to evoke fields, buildings, and sky. Considering the cultural context in which Langsdorf worked, it is hard not to see an echo of social realism, a style which valorized rural and working-class life. Yet this image veers from strict representation in its fragmentation of the picture plane. Langsdorf also produced socially conscious art that was politically charged. Her work prompts us to examine the role of artists in shaping public opinion. To more fully understand Langsdorf's landscape, we can look to archives of her letters and exhibition records. The meaning of art always hinges on its place in broader social and institutional contexts.