Charlene Barnes - Mormon Family Settling the West 20" x 16"

Charlene Barnes
Mormon Family Settling the West, n.d.

Oil on canvas
Canvas: 20” x 16”
Unframed

Signed Lower Left: Charlene Barnes

A woman in long, simple clothes treks beyond the viewer. On her hip clings a child, on her bosom she holds an infant, and in her hand, she stabilizes herself with a stick. A man on horseback and a bull-drawn, covered wagon trail behind her. There is both determination and exhaustion in this piece. The child whines to be held, the baby curls in her swaddle, even the cattle seem to struggle up the hill. Yet the mother treks on, the horse rider bridles his steed, and the cart conquers a steep slope.