Haytime

In Haytime, Charles Courtney Curran honors the rhythm and dignity of rural labor through a warm, sunlit portrayal of a woman at work in the fields. Dressed in a simple blue-gray dress and wide-brimmed straw hat, she rakes golden hay under a bright summer sky. Her figure is bent with purpose, fully engaged in the timeless cycle of harvest.

The scene is imbued with a gentle serenity, thanks to Curran’s careful attention to light, form, and texture. Loose brushwork captures the softness of the hay and foliage, while the trees in the background add depth and a protective calm to the composition. Another figure in the distance, also tending to the hay, suggests the communal nature of this labor and the quiet persistence of agricultural life.