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Parson Weems' Fable

Item

Title

Parson Weems' Fable

Description

1939 oil on canvas 38 3/8" x 50 1/8" in the collection of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art

Publisher

Grant Wood

Date

1939

Format

oil on canvas 38 3/8" x 50 1/8" in the collection of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art
This painting depicts a folk tale of a young George Washington cutting down a cherry tree with a hand axe. Parson Weems stands in the foreground lifting a curtain to the scene within the painting. George Washington's father is depicted condemning the child. African Americans are depicted in the background picking cherries. The artist chose to place them here to remind the viewer that while a prominent figure in American history, George Washington was a slave holder his entire life.Parson Weems' Fable