Threshing c. 1940

LeRoy Dagobert Sauer’s ‘Threshing’ is a print in black and white where a barn and two farm workers are being watched over by a big leafy tree. Imagine Sauer with his tools, meticulously carving out the image in reverse, thinking about light and shadow. Look at the way he renders the tree’s leaves, almost like dark, tangled curls. I wonder, was he thinking about his family's farm? Or was this a collective memory of farm life? This image feels so familiar, like something from a dream or a half-remembered story. The parallel lines forming the sky are meditative. The texture in the print is so tactile, you can almost feel the rough grain of the wood, the hay, the tree bark, and the thickness of the ink. Each element, so deliberately placed, carries a sense of care and connection to the land. It is a conversation with all artists, from the past and the present, who have looked at the land and tried to capture its essence.